VIP Treatment In College Admissions

By this point, we are all familiar with the recent Supreme Court ruling overturning race-conscious admissions, otherwise known as Affirmative Action. The Justices who voted to overturn the policy argued that Affirmative Action created an advantage for Black and Latinx students. While the Court did decide that race can no longer be a factor in admissions, the Court did not limit or prohibit other advantages that exist in college admissions. 

Ivy Link founder, Adam Nguyen, recently sat down with Vox to discuss how VIPs benefit from a certain amount of special treatment in the admissions process. “VIPs, you’re talking maybe the president of China or prime minister XYZ. Their children actually get preferences, believe it or not. Maybe it’s believable but they do and people don’t talk about it…And often, when they get to campus, they attend under pseudonyms or use aliases so you don’t know who they are.”

VIPs are not limited to just children of politicians, but also to children whose parents have some cultural influence: pop-culture celebrities, CEOs of major corporations, and professional athletes, to name a few. 

Many of the top colleges have a “dean’s interest list” that gives special attention to VIP students. Even more attention will be given if those VIPs make sizable donations to the college in advance of their student applying. 

However, not all VIPs are created equal. Many students with VIP parents still need to bring something more to the table, including stellar grades and test scores, and a compelling extracurricular record. This is particularly true when applying to ultra-selective colleges like Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. 

At Ivy Link, we work with students one-on-one to cultivate an academic profile that will make them stand out (in their own right!) and be a desirable candidate for top colleges. 

Wouldn’t you like your student to reach their dream school? Contact us below to learn how Ivy Link can help make that happen.