I just learned that Donald Trump had graduated from Wharton, U-Penn. (“Trump graduated from Wharton in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in economics.” - wiki). All three of his children are U-Penn graduates. (Two other children are still too young for college).
By comparison, U-Penn had not admitted a single student for the last year from our STEM magnet school. Students with perfect ACT/GPA/EC etc. Really bright students. Not a single one was admitted.
From U-Penn web site:
“We look for students who aspire to develop and refine their talents and abilities within Penn’s liberal arts-based, practical, and interdisciplinary learning environment. Our ideal candidates are inspired to emulate our founder Benjamin Franklin by applying their knowledge in “service to society” to our community, the city of Philadelphia, and the wider world. To best understand prospective students’ paths through Penn, we approach applications holistically and with great care.”
What a power of holistic approach! What a great example for future generations!
The ire over allowing race to be one factor in holistic admissions decisions while the tradition of accepting legacy students goes unchallenged puzzles me. If we don’t want a holistic approach then we should admit students on the basis of a test score, problem solved. It’s my understanding that test score approach is the norm in the UK, India, and Korea. If we believe in a more holistic approach in the US, than every factor should be fair game for consideration in the college acceptance process - gender, race, geographic diversity, legacy, musical instruments played, sports played, community service and other evidence of good character development, etc.
I think there isn’t much fuss over legacies because the people who would be discriminated against in one generation become those who would benefit a couple of generations later.
The whole legacy thing was partly motivated by trying to keep Jews out of the Ivy League, right? But nowadays, vast number of Ivy League legacies are Jewish.
Just to clarify, not that it matters to the point of the thread -
Wrong. Only one of Trump’s kids is too young for college. Three of them (Donald, Ivanka and Tiffany) are Penn grads, the fourth (Eric) went to Georgetown.
The legacy factor existed before the rise of discriminatory quotas against Jews and other “undesirable groups” such as Southern and Eastern Europeans.
What you’re probably thinking about is the origin of the modern college application and holistic admissions in elite/respectable colleges which DID ORIGINATE in large part as an effort to enact and maintain such quotas and facilitated greater use of the legacy/developmental factor.
An effort which arose in the early 20th century after Ivies/peer elite college admins felt besieged by a rapidly increasing influx of Jewish and Southern/Eastern European immigrant/ethnic applicants gaining admission through the more academically oriented entrance examinations which existed before.
One of his sons went to Georgetown.
There is a popular clothing designer who is a Penn grad, who has twins enrolling at Penn this fall. Legacy and $ help a lot.
To the OP…you realize that Penn and schools of its type have extremely low acceptance rates. The fact that stellar students from your HS were rejected at Penn is pretty common. Many qualified students are rejected when acceptance rates are this low. You don’t have to be rich like Trump to be accepted. You don’t even have to have a hook. Or be a legacy. My own kid was accepted to Penn as a Ben Franklin Scholar and received financial aid as well. She did not attend.
If I remember correctly, the Donald transferred to Penn from a school in NY. Ivanka was also a transfer from Georgetown. Seems to me they didn’t get in the first time.
Admissions to Penn and all of the Ivies was much easier then. However, Donald transferred from Fordham and his family used influence to get him in to Penn.
“By comparison, U-Penn had not admitted a single student for the last year from our STEM magnet school. Students with perfect ACT/GPA/EC etc. Really bright students. Not a single one was admitted.”
So what? There are 30,000 high schools in this country. It is highly arrogant to believe that one’s high school is so special that it is “owed” acceptance. And it’s highly naive not to realize that adcoms aren’t just interested in admitting students from the same-old-same-old schools year after year, especially if doing so just perpetuates affluent high school dominance.
I have not seen anything to indicate that Trump’s children were unqualified, unintelligent, or didn’t/don’t work hard. His children’s achievements and families are something he can legitimately point to with pride (and it’s not easy for me to say anything positive about the man at this stage of the game). I don’t think it’s a slight on either them or Penn that they are legacies. Lots of legacies are rejected.
“By comparison, U-Penn had not admitted a single student for the last year from our STEM magnet school. Students with perfect ACT/GPA/EC etc. Really bright students. Not a single one was admitted.”
Like all the Ivies, getting into Penn is really difficult. You need more than grades and test scores.
“All three of his children are U-Penn graduates.”
He has five children that I know of. Two Penn grads, one Georgetown grad, Tiffany is currently a student at Penn, and he also has one young son.
