Links Between Donors and College Admissions Explored

Some high-profile colleges make special efforts to admit children from wealthy families in the hopes of gaining donations and fame, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper examines in detail how Duke University pursued wealthy students to bolster its endowment and how Brown University sought to attract sons and daughters of celebrities in the hopes of gaining attention.

The Journal says it focused on those institutions because they went beyond what other colleges or universities do to help the children of people who are wealthy and famous.

Duke University’s spokesman acknowledged that some students are admitted because the institution hoped their families will make big gifts. Brown University’s dean of admission told the newspaper that all the students who are admitted are able to handle the academic work there.

However, former administrators at the two universities raised questions about whether some of the people who were admitted were qualified.