> It's not "that" expensive to donate to USC to get the donor boost assuming your kid isn't an idiot - it's just a couple million total over a consistent period (5-15 years depending on when your kid is starting).
Do you think your kid will need a $2m+ boost to get into USC?
Imho, the degree will largely be wasted on a student not smart enough or not motivated enough to get in without that help.
The folks who already run around in moneyed/connected circles have plenty of less rigorous college options that still provide access to social capital, and it’s trivially easy to get into some masters programs at USC if the student is willing to pay and wants the badge (fwiw, this is largely true at HYPS schools as well).
> Do you think your kid will need a $2m+ boost to get into USC
Before AB1780 - yes. We're Asian American, and Asian American admissions at top privates has declined after the Supreme Court's AA ruling at the expense of legacies.
> Imho, the degree will largely be wasted on a student not smart enough or not motivated enough to get in without that help
Not necessarily. It's easier to make a case for a nepo hire/referral if your kid has a "Good" degree.
If you dig closely in intern and new grad hiring across early career tech roles, I'd say a solid minority (20-25%) were landed due to parents leveraging their professional networks.
With a "Good" degree it makes it easier.
Unethical - yes. But such is life
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All of this is moot now with AB1780 and the eventual addition of teeth to it in the next 30 years.
I think legacy admissions will eventually get banned in CA due to the political implications now that us Asians and Latinos are the plurality in California, but severely underrepresented in legacy admissions.
Do you think your kid will need a $2m+ boost to get into USC?
Imho, the degree will largely be wasted on a student not smart enough or not motivated enough to get in without that help.
The folks who already run around in moneyed/connected circles have plenty of less rigorous college options that still provide access to social capital, and it’s trivially easy to get into some masters programs at USC if the student is willing to pay and wants the badge (fwiw, this is largely true at HYPS schools as well).