My mother is an expert applier to prestigious colleges, and 3 of her 4 children went to very highbrow type places (guess who’s the odd duck…yep). The one thing she always tells people about swank college admissions is that at a place like Harvard where 90% of applicants are valedictorians with thousands of community service hours to their names, they select people who are of most use to them. IE if their first-chair bassoon player just graduated, they’re gonna be perusing the applications for those youth orchestra credentials. Which doesn’t actually make it more merit-based, but all the more swayed toward wealth. Likewise, if Yale’s movie star cred is low this term, ScarJo is gonna get the call.

It’s not surprising what admissions officers are willing to overlook if you check the box that says you will not be needing any financial aid.

It’s always strange to me to hear about other people’s college experiences and find out there is such a thing as a young republican. At my massive blue-state state university we were relying on tax dollars by default — a concept at odds with conservatism at its core. So the tiny cache of vocal campus conservatives were always sort of looked upon as freaks of nature. But then again, it was a big place, so maybe I just didn’t meet very many.