Oxbridge college donations - impact on chance of child getting a place

[retrorobot]

First off, I don't think that whether a parent is an alumnus should be a factor (positive or negative) in whether a child gets a place at an Oxbridge college. Equally, I don't think that whether a parent is a donor to the college should be a factor.

However, I want to ask about the specific case where a child of an alumnus applies to a college. Is there any possibility that the college will look at whether the parent has donated to the college and that a failure to have donated will count against the applicant.

The background is that I did a one year taught postgrad at Oxbridge. I liked the faculty I was studying at and have made a number of donations to it. I didn't have a great experience with the college - I found quite a bit of soft discrimination as a non-British non-Commonwealth student (this was 1990s) and I've never felt like donating, despite several requests/calls a year. However, my spouse is worried that, in the (very unlikely) event that one of our children ends up applying to that college, it would count against them, and thinks that I should donate.

Does anyone have any experience / thoughts on this? Sorry - I know that it is the epitome of first world problem.

Absolutely categorically not.

They would have to donate something like an entire new library for it to be remotely possible, from what I understand. And that's more likely to apply to US universities rather than ones here.

Agree with titchy. As someone with 10 years of experience as an Oxbridge tutor doing admissions, this would not happen. Beyond the fact that it was so obviously unethical, we have absolutely no contact with our alumni relations department over admissions, and are provided with no more information about candidates than that which appears on the UCAS form.

Have you thought this through OP? How would admissions know whether the parents of an applicant had even attended let alone donated? Applications are done via UCAS in any case, not secret handshakes.

Oh robot ... With all the troubles there are in the world right now it's good to know that you can go to bed tonight reassured that your spouse is talking nonsense - your one year's postgrad and utter failure to donate anything subsequently will have absolutely no effect on your offspring's application chances.

Unless you are extraordinarily famous billionaires.

Doubt it. We know one affluent alumnus who kept in touch with his College and regularly donated and supported various things. His bright son was pooled but did not get a place.

I doubt if his involvement had ulterior motives, but wonder whether he will give as much in future. He very much wanted his son to follow in his footsteps.

That must be a bitter pill Needmoresleep ...

Grauch, I think these things have a way of working out. The son is very happy in London, and though the father would have liked his son to experience the Oxbridge college he had so enjoyed, he is equally happy to see his son thriving in his own place.

But then again in this case I don't think the earlier support was motivated by a desire to secure his son a place.

I wonder though whether others, more used to the American process, have expectations which are then not achieved.

DD had a friend whose family were "legacy" at a well known Ivy League college. The girl was in fact very bright, probably strong enough to be a plausible candidate without additional help. I'm not sure how it works, and whether global competition for places has made much difference, but there seemed to be an assumption that this is where she would study.

I heard that $20m gets a place at Harvard, but then it is a private college & $20m would help a lot of other students.

Devil's advocate, but would £20 million not buy a library in Cambridge? get a child a place?

I heard that Cambridge is more likely to look favourably on such an applicant but that would presumably be denied. I presume you can buy a place at Buckingham or the Liberal Arts university (whatever it's called) as they are private.

About 20 years ago a Very Posh client whom I was caretaking during a colleague's maternity leave announced he was going to give £50,000 to his old Oxford College to help his daughter's application. I never heard whether she got in I'm afraid. He always asked questions that were apparently so simple that I couldn't work out if he was really stupid or really clever.

Your spouse could not be more wrong. It's a worrying attitude, TBH.

I can think of a library situation not at all long ago and even that didn't work :)

Answer is no in most cases. I remembered the Gadaffi son debacle so looked it up. They tried and failed at Oxford but LSE seems to have given in.
www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/8926790/Blairs-government-tried-to-get-Oxford-place-for-Saif-Gaddafi.html

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2068183/Blair-government-tried-Saif-al-Islam-Gaddafi-place-Oxford.html

Even in Cambridge in it makes no difference. My great uncle contributed massively to the international fame and therefore the current wealth of a particular college ( so much so that entire wing of rooms is named for them, portraits the whole 9 yards). Two of us a great niece and a great nephew, we are incredibly close family who have regularly held events in the college. Nephew got in, but he was clearly Oxbridge material, I didn't with hindsight I was not Oxbridge material. Went to course specific London College (200 year long family connection) I was much better suited there and thrived.