How much influence can a donor recommendation have..

TS0104
Sun, 09 Dec 2018 22:51:58 +0000

My dad was a significant donor to a school in our state, or at least known amongst the list of donors. He wrote a couple letters about admissions over his time. Some got in, some didn’t. He seemed to have more success when advocating for an applicant for a specific scholarship (need and merit based) when he was the recommendation letter writer. Of course, in these cases, the student was well within the stats for both the school and the scholarships.

OP, I think you are looking at it a little wrong when you say a non admit would be like the college saying “no” to the donor. Of course your kids’ app is going to get looked at and evaluated, with or without this phone call. If he doesn’t get admitted, it’s not saying no to the donor. It’s saying, at best, taking into consideration this highly important personal recommendation from a valued donor, we feel that this student is not a fit for this incoming class.

Plus is your son only applying because its Top 25 and you have a connection to a donor? IMO there are much better criteria to choose a school.