Parents interested in Ivy Coach’s services sometimes write to us inquiring about what it takes to be a development case. For those unfamiliar with the term “development case,” these are college applicants whose parents donate significant funds to a university. The funny thing is that most parents significantly underestimate what it takes for their child to be considered a development case. These parents also don’t seem to realize that when you have no ties to a university and you donate funds to it all as your child applies for admission, if you think it smells like you’re trying to buy your way in, you smelled right. Oh, yes, it can backfire! Now don’t get us wrong. Colleges will accept those donations. They’ll even send ’thank you’ notes. Maybe they’ll be handwritten. But that doesn’t mean it’ll help the donor’s child’s case for admission to that school.

Underestimating the Development Case Magic Number

Do you want to get your child into a highly selective school through the development case back door? If so, $1 million is not going to cut it. Nor is $5 million. The bare minimum donation required for schools like the University of Pennsylvania and Dartmouth College to take notice is $10 million. Anything less will be received with gratitude but without any kickbacks in the form of expedited admission. And even if you meet this $10 million threshold, there is still no guarantee that your child will be accepted. Just as the legacy applicant boost nudges the odds that an applicant will be admitted in the right direction, development cases receive a boost in their chances but nothing more. 

Do the odds of admission scale with the size of your donation? Sure. Ken Griffin’s children, fortunate enough to have a father who has donated over half a billion dollars to Harvard University and counting, will likely have no trouble securing admission to the Crimson. But the same cannot be said of the children whose parents donated $12 million, as shocking as that may seem. The buy-in for actual development case status is far more expensive than even the richest among us are usually willing to donate. And believe us when we say that the donor backlash in the face of blatant campus antisemitism has not shaken things up to the extent that some would have you believe.

Why the $2 Million ‘Donor Door’ Story is a Misleading Claim

We’re responding, of course, to an article published in The New York Post titled “Ivy League slashes price of ‘donor door’ from $20M to $2M after antisemitism storm,” which makes the spurious claim that donor backlash to allegations of antisemitism on Ivy League campuses has left these schools short on cash and desperate enough to put a 90% discount on the development admissions boost price tag. Running this claim through the Ivy Coach fact checker has revealed that a resounding falsehood is in the air.

While donor backlash to the handling of antisemitism on elite college campuses was undoubtedly real — and deserved, considering the hostile environment many of these schools fomented on their campuses in the wake of Hamas’ October 7th terrorist attack on Israel — it’s absurd to suggest that this left places like Harvard University reeling to the extent that they are willing to save slots for children of those who have given as little as $2 million. Elite colleges would never slash their donor door so precipitously in a mere matter of months. 

Help Secure Your Child’s Place at an Elite University Without Breaking the Bank

The New York Post’s claim is totally misleading. Take it from us: your money is better spent on Ivy Coach’s services. For a fraction of the price you need to buy your child into a highly selective college, you can optimize their odds of admission through a compelling application centered around a singular admissions hook.

If you’re interested in working with our team of former elite college admissions officers to give your child the best shot at a prestigious undergraduate education, fill out our complimentary consultation form and we’ll be in touch with an outline of our services.