In my opinion…all this will do is guarantee that your application is read and not put aside in the first go round. You haven’t done anything personally with this higher end person. They can’t really even give you a character reference, because they don’t know you. All they can do is pass your application on to admissions for a probable review.
Consider this for what it is.
Re: your AP test scores. Except in a very few cases, you don’t have to submit these at all until after you are accepted…to possibly get course credit. If you are worried about them, don’t submit them now.
And I agree…you need a well balanced list of colleges on your application list…not just tippy top ones. Your current GPA is on the lower side for these tippy top schools…and unless YOUR family donated money for a building…the connections likely won’t make up for any deficiency in your application.
This is similar to people asking friends and neighbors to refer (or “put in a good word” for) their kid for a job. Happens all the time and in most cases, only amounts to the hiring manager reading the resume (which can certainly be a big deal if there are hundreds of applicants for a job). It doesn’t mean the kid gets in except on her/his own merit - and I certainly don’t know of any cases where it was held against the applicant. I imagine the situation is similar with such referrals for college admissions.
That’s certainly one perspective, yes. I think for the donor it probably felt like it hurt their kids application. Especially since another kid they “sponsored” did get in. No way to know these things exactly.
Just to clarify… I think you are an excellent student for many schools… but not necessarily for Ivy League schools. Apply if you want, but apply to a range of schools and see what happens.
I don’t know whether your plan is unethical or not. I recognize that people do this all the time with jobs, internships etc- but for some reason in this particular case it doesn’t sit well with me.
I think it will help, but w/o knowing a lot more about you and this person, it is really hard to say how much – maybe a tiny bit (they read your applicaiton even more closely), maybe a moderate amount…I doubt a second degree connection will ever be anything close to automatic, though.
Taking hardest rigor is super helpful…and I agree with others that GPA is more contextual than a lot of people seem to realize. There are places a 3.75UW is top notch and other places it is “above average” and AOs can glean this from school profile, recommendations, etc. Ivy admissions seems to have time and resources to take this into account.
Anyway good luck, do your best on your essays and application and build a balanced list like you would anyway!
I do not think it will help as the OP does not have a close connection. I think people are overstating the number of applicants that end up on the infamous “Dean’s List” or in the “special pile” where a few children of mega-donors and the President’s nephew land. The list is simply not filled with the hundreds of children of a friend of a friend.
And if this does, indeed, help, and the OP (whose credentials are excellent but certainly not exceptional for Ivys) is admitted, my question would be why. Why was this particular very distantly connected OP selected? No matter how you cut it (mega-donor essentially gets to select their own admits, Dean of Admissions or Administrator are seeking or offering other benefits), it looks kind of yuck.
If I were OP, I wouldn’t even want to be considering these questions. OP, you worked hard and achieved huge success in high school. You don’t need to enter this game. You will end up at a wonderful school regardless with your accomplishments.
The Class of 2026 started college two years ago. Did you mean HS Class of 2026?
If so, you’re only a sophomore now and have two more years ahead of you to raise your GPA, class rigor and EC accomplishments. Ultimately you might be a very strong applicant on your own.
Note, I am taking the poster at their word that their “friend” is actually close to head of admissions and president and not an acquaintance, vaguely friendly, etc.
By help, I made clear it could simply mean they get a closer read. You may not think that helpful, but I do
Do you think this poster will be treated 100% the same as anyone else (or worse?) Certainly possible, and also may depend on which ivy…
Yeah, this jumped out at me, as well. OP is saying they have taken 7 APs, with test results, before the end of sophomore year? This seems…unlikely? Unless OP really means self-studying exams, a tactic that I’ve never seen recommended by AOs even when scores are strong; self-studying and getting mediocre scores seems like a total waste of time.
The best think OP can do is focus on having a really successful junior year; that will have the biggest impact on chances at highly selective schools—much more than a single tenuous connection.
