Is it true you can BUY your way into Oxford?

Don't rate me down, but I've heard across the grapevine that some people with contacts in Oxford and with some extra moolah can BUY their way into Oxford.

For example, this super rich russian guy in my year is not really oxford mat. He's a distinctly average student who isn't really loquacious enough to blag his way in via interview or personal statement. He has links to admissions tutors in Oxford and a **** load of money and got an Oxford offer for law at BBB.

WTF?

OPINIONS?

Right, so you reckon that a First from De Montefort is equivalent to a First from Cambridge?

My parents both work in higher education (postgrad) and say that the quality of schools for their subject varies significantly. I'm sure the course has to meet some kind of standard, but this can be pretty low.

Lol. People regularly entered with Ds? Yeh sure.

It wasn't that hard to get an A either. Anyone in the top 10% of marks got an A.

Anyway, I I doubt he did the entrance exam. The man is a moron.

percieved prestige has an impact on how things are viewed, but in the case of courses where professional accreditation is integral to the validity of the course even running ... ( Health Professional pre-reg, also various engineering, science and business courses where a lack of professional accreditation substantially reduce the value of the course to the graduate)

if the 'lower' universities were so inferior, as suggested by some of the silly little children who post this kind of rubbish. surely they wouldn't get accredited as professional accreditations are often governed by international agreements.

This is very true. I know many people who have bought places at Oxbridge. This isn't a lie because I know some people who have done so and one of my teachers know few people have done it because they did it when they were young. So yes, it's apparent.

My sister worked at one of the colleges as an assistant accountant and regularly received donations in excess of a million pounds from alumni, which is all Oxbridge are really after. Everyone who works in the offices talks about how they encounter some right thick toffs who are only there because daddy is a barrister and they went to some snooty private school, but they know they're likely to get a nice big donation at the end of it.

It would be rather naive to assume that it never happens. People seem to forget that money is king.

Yep, but thing is, I'm just thinking, how do the admission tutors and others know that the person has given donations and they should give him/her an offer?

Not many give donations before they get in, it's once they leave as a sort of "cheers" for letting them in without putting them through the same vetting process that a state school kid who also got 3 A's would go through. It's an almost unwritten rule that the wealthiest parents of just average graduates will provide a donation once their child graduates. The key to getting in therefore is all in the private school you attend, Oxbridge will always look at where you attended and then will look at your parents occupations (which you MUST note when applying to these universities)

Paying to go to the top private schools is simply a way of paying to get into Oxbridge. It's still paying your way in, but not in a way that they can ever get caught out.

But you can't apply that to all private schools :-) It's only the top.

I don't follow. I'm pretty sure the person you quoted just make some statement about difference in difficulty, which you asserted would be impossible due to accreditation. My point is that accreditation surely just relies on a minimum standard being met, they're hardly going to discredit a certain university's course for being "too rigorous", are they?

surely the converse would be the claim , especially given the commonly held view on TSR ... i.e. that 'inferior' HEIs such as Ex -polys wouldn't possibly be able to meet the internationally agreed standards to accredit courses in professional subjects such as engineering, Health Professional courses leading to registration, and various business / accountancy or Science courses where Degrees provide the academic part of the educational and experience requirements for professional registration ...

Oxbridge will always look at where you attended and then will look at your parents occupations (which you MUST note when applying to these universities)

Except that that's bull****. I had the normal UCAS option whether or not to state my parents' education level/job when I applied - there is no requirement to do so.