Recently, Zhang Xin, wife of Pan Shiyi, posted photos on social media of sending their youngest son Luc to his Harvard orientation.
The news quickly sparked heated discussion. Onlookers lamented the injustice of fate—why give him both wealth and good looks—while also questioning what exactly got him into Harvard.
This scene also reminds us of 2014, when the Pan Shiyi couple donated $15 million to Harvard University. Many believed Pan was securing an early "admission ticket" for his son.
In fact, Harvard is not the only school to which Pan Shiyi has donated, nor is Pan the only celebrity to donate to Harvard. Over the past 20 years, donations received by the Harvard University endowment have increased year by year. Today, it seems almost fashionable for Chinese tycoons to donate to elite US universities. At the same time, this has evolved into an alternative path for parents to help their children.
Can Money Buy Admission to Elite Schools?
First of all, even without paying, if you are a family member of an alumnus, you can receive certain benefits for free—that is, as long as you meet the basic standards, you may be admitted. The school likes nothing more than seeing successive generations attend, and then jointly contribute generously during fundraising campaigns.
If you lack such behind-the-scenes connections, as long as you are willing to splash cash to fund a teaching building or library, you can still gain the committee's favor and secure admission.
However, those with exceptionally low scores are excluded. After all, these schools bear the Ivy League name and cannot afford to tarnish their reputation. Not all wealthy parents succeed in getting their children into elite schools—the recent admissions bribery scandal showed that many opportunists tried to exploit loopholes in donations, leading to parents gaining nothing.
Additionally, US undergraduate education is renowned for its academic rigor, which is the familiar concept of "easy to enter, hard to graduate." So even if children of the rich manage to sneak into a top university, if they lack the ability to complete the degree, they still end up without a diploma.
In short, the higher the scores of wealthy children, the less worry for their parents.
How Can Ordinary People Get into Elite Schools?
In any society, unfair distribution of resources, culture, and wealth may exist. Those born with a silver spoon occupy resources dozens of times superior to those of ordinary people. So, are we ordinary people truly hopeless in this competition?
The answer is, of course, NO. Aside from the donation route, most students still need to go through the normal application process to compete for a spot at a top university. After all, only a small fraction are at the top of the pyramid; our competitors are the general public who succeed on their own merit.
What Do Elite Schools Really Value?
So, what exactly do elite schools value?
Most students are only willing to spend time on grades, thinking that aggressively boosting scores will solve everything. However, compared to the previously rigid score cutoffs, today's schools place more emphasis on a student's overall quality and ability.
GPA, language test scores, SAT/ACT, extracurricular activities, recommendation letters, essays...
These are the points that admissions officers comprehensively evaluate.
From this, we can see that schools no longer seek just a pile of cold, objective numbers; they want a warm, thoughtful individual with boundless potential.
Take a look at Harvard's admissions considerations:
Growth and Potential
Interest and Activities
Character and Personality
Contribution...
Everyone's different experiences shape different personalities and values. Schools not only want to see your current abilities but also want to glimpse your future potential through them.
How to Strive?
Standardized Test Scores: First, you must work hard to improve your GPA, then try your best to achieve ideal scores on language exams and the SAT/ACT. You can check the school's official website for profiles or program statistics to understand the score standards of different schools.
Extracurricular Activities: For example, volunteer activities or community service. Compared to domestic preferences, American universities actually dislike "bookworms." They favor students who not only have strong academic abilities but can also apply their knowledge, are eager to help others, and possess the ability to communicate and collaborate with others.
Competitions/Research Projects: Whether you have talent in a certain field, and whether you participated in relevant projects during school.
Recommendation Letters: For US undergraduate applications, most require a counselor—similar to a homeroom teacher in China—to write a recommendation letter. Many schools also request subject teacher recommendations. Remember, when asking for a recommendation, try to find a teacher who knows you well; such letters are more persuasive.
Essays: The difference between a good essay and a bad one can be the difference between an offer and a rejection letter. Your essay must selectively highlight personal experiences that best match the applied school, uncovering unique strengths. Such an essay will make the admissions officer's eyes light up.
In short, even if we can't compete with others in terms of parental connections, we can still rely on our own efforts to turn the tables. The inherited ladder may be high, but the stairs built step by step through our own hard work are higher, steadier, and will help us stand taller!
