My neighbor kid has a Spanish surname. He’s about 1/8 Mexican and 7/8s Dutch and German. He has blond hair and blue eyes. The family is filthy rich. Two homes, one on Chesapeake Bay. The kid always had the best iPods and laptops. Grandpa was always taking the whole family on cruises, and renting beach houses on the Outer Banks.
Anyway, he’s applying to colleges. He’s an average student but he’s getting accepted to every place he applies. And a week after the acceptance letter comes the scholarship letters — they are throwing money at him. The letters speak of “the great personal contributions” that he will make to the class of 2014.
It’s so bizarre. All the colleges want is his Spanish name on a list so they they can brag about how diverse and caring they are.
They probably want his family’s money on the alumni mailing list more than anything. Rich alumni are the whales of the college industry, and they’ll do anything in their power to land one.