fatbrit

You can sue anyone if you pay the filing fee with the complaint. I don't think it would be sensible to have it any other way.

Desdemona

The short answer

Giantaxe

As the link I posted stated "Some supporters of the elimination of all non-academic preferences also point out that many European universities, including highly selective institutions such as Oxford and Cambridge, do not use any racial, legacy, or athletic preferences in admissions decisions". Didn't used to be the case, which is how someone as thick as Prince Charles got into Cambridge.

There was actually a case at an Oxford college a few years ago - can't find a link now- where a parent tried to buy his child admission. It ended with a number of sackings at the college.

What I find ironic is that Americans think they have a meritocracy. The reality is that these days they have less of one than the countries of "old Europe"that they disparage as being class based.

chartreuse

I think it might be more accurate to say that America had a meritocracy, in the past, but a few generations ago a bunch of folks made it to the top and pulled the ladders up after them.

Giantaxe

I don't think it ever had one. After all, this is a country that practiced slavery and apartheid, the latter until a half century ago. It's done a pretty good job of selling the idea it's a meritocracy though. Here's a great editorial from The Economist on the subject:

http://www.economist.com/node/2333345?story_id=2333345

“legacy preferences”—affirmative action for the children of alumni. Indeed.

nettlebed

Hoover: Kent is a legacy, Otter. His brother was a '59, Fred Dorfman.
Flounder: He said legacies usually get asked to pledge automatically.
Otter: Oh, well, usually. Unless the pledge in question turns out to be a real closet-case.
Otter, Boon: Like Fred.

cindyabs

I can only speak for THIS American, and rather than make a generalization or disparaging another country, I would go for the school that would help me in my career aspirations.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing,

AmerLisa

Oregon4now

avanutria

Seems to me...the kid should have worked harder to pass the exam.

I wonder if he doesn't WANT to go there and flunked it on purpose.

Giantaxe

Here's the incident I referred to earlier. It was actually an undercover media sting as opposed to an actual parent trying to buy a place at Oxford for their child:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pembrok...ssions_scandal

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...s-scandal.html

Given the legacy policies of the top US universities, it's somewhat difficult to imagine this happening in the "meritocratic" US either:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...at-Oxford.html

nettlebed

At UKL300K, did that include a guaranteed degree too?

cindyabs

Well, there is that angle, after all just because the parents want the kid to go there, for whatever reason doesn't mean the kid wanted to go there. If I had it to do over, I would've done a gap year. You can bet your bottom dollar however, I would've been doing a working gap year,

Bob

So's the kid clearly, or he'd have got in on merit...

chartreuse