This discussion is now closed.

Check out other Related discussions

Corruption

I heard somewhere that some people can 'buy' an Oxbridge offer :eek:

Any chance of this actually happening?

Also, may it be possible that the person having bought an offer can bribe Oxbridge officers for a degree?

It seems that money can lay all ways we can and cannot think of today.... :mad:

PS: I also heard that such corruptions actually occur at other eminently prestigious universities as well...

Reply 1

~Raphael~

9

Yes, and I am the go-between...I will furnish you with my Swiss bank account and you will receive your offer in the mail in 3-4 working days :biggrin:

Reply 2

visesh

17

If I cant pay you with money, would my body count?

Reply 3

Ipsen

OP

~Raphael~

Yes, and I am the go-between...I will furnish you with my Swiss bank account and you will receive your offer in the mail in 3-4 working days :biggrin:

Thanks, but I already have one :rolleyes:

Any idea for use of the second offer if I wanted one :biggrin:

Reply 4

WhatFreshHell?

2

I doubt that any such situation exists today in which someone can offer a large sum of money in exchange for an Oxbridge offer. Oxbridge admissions are very closely scrutinised by both the media and the government, so anyone who did so, or any academic who accepted such a bribe, would be very stupid indeed. Of course, it could happen, but if it did it would be highly anomalous, i imagine.

However, some people would hold that by paying tens of thousands of pounds to go to a private school and be 'trained'* for Oxbridge is buying a place to some degree, although not as corrupt.

It would seem obvious, though, that in a highly personalised admissions system such as Oxbridge's, there would be some weighting in favour of the children of the rich and powerful - surely name-dropping and such like goes on in interviews and perhaps colours it somewhat? It's worth noting here though that Oxford did reject Tony Blair's son, although Jesus Cambridge did allow Prince Charles admission with CCD or something at A-Level (but that was a while ago!).

I suppose the answer to your question really lies in your definition of buying a place.

*It's probably best if we steer clear of the whole 'private school = oxbridge coaching' debate here; suffice to say going to a good provate school substantially increases the chances of a successful application.

Reply 5

Drogue

19

The only way I know that might be possible is if you were to found a college. But we're talking about tens of millions here, and to be honest, founding a degree-giving institution probably get's you a degree anywhere.

I'm not sure that's even possible, but I could imagine it would be if the university agreed to the new college.

Reply 6

WhatFreshHell?

2

I suppose buying an honorary degree isn't completely outrageous.

Reply 7

Drogue

19

WhatFreshHell?

It's worth noting here though that Oxford did reject Tony Blair's son
They didn't, he just missed his offer. It was probably an examining mistake actually (typical 5As and a U in one subject) but I'm sure Tony wouldn't have liked his son to help fuel the marking fiasco, as it was that year it got really bad press.

Reply 8

Ipsen

OP

WhatFreshHell?

I doubt that any such situation exists today in which someone can offer a large sum of money in exchange for an Oxbridge offer. Oxbridge admissions are very closely scrutinised by both the media and the government, so anyone who did so, or any academic who accepted such a bribe, would be very stupid indeed. Of course, it could happen, but if it did it would be highly anomalous, i imagine.

However, some people would hold that by paying tens of thousands of pounds to go to a private school and be 'trained'* for Oxbridge is buying a place to some degree, although not as corrupt.

It would seem obvious, though, that in a highly personalised admissions system such as Oxbridge's, there would be some weighting in favour of the children of the rich and powerful - surely name-dropping and such like goes on in interviews and perhaps colours it somewhat? It's worth noting here though that Oxford did reject Tony Blair's son, although Jesus Cambridge did allow Prince Charles admission with CCD or something at A-Level (but that was a while ago!).

I suppose the answer to your question really lies in your definition of buying a place.

*It's probably best if we steer clear of the whole 'private school = oxbridge coaching' debate here; suffice to say going to a good provate school substantially increases the chances of a successful application.

Well, it is ridiculous that such degrees/offers are bought not for a career prospect but only as the adornment of wealthy individuals :biggrin:

I heard (no generalisation please) that some Chinese oligarchs spend tens of thousands of pounds for their kids being accepted, and such kids in turn become the family's decorative gems.

And please, the topic here is corruption, not any trainy brain-stuffy process :smile:

Reply 9

~Raphael~

9

visesh

If I cant pay you with money, would my body count?

Only if you let me have your liver and maybe your retinae and maybe your balls (for camfo! :rofl:

) for the black market!

Reply 10

WhatFreshHell?

2

And please, the topic here is corruption, not any trainy brain-stuffy process

What does that mean?

Also, is that true about China? I know the chinese really respect Ox & Cam, but that much?

Reply 11

visesh

17

funnily enough, i had to write an essay about organ trade etc for my BMAT:|

Reply 12

~Raphael~

9

Don't talk to me of BMAT, I am scarred.

Reply 13

Ipsen

OP

WhatFreshHell?

What does that mean?

Also, is that true about China? I know the chinese really respect Ox & Cam, but that much?

It means I am asking here about bribery, not the Oxbridge-oriented training.

Rumours go that some years ago, a Chinese kid was accepted into Cam in exchange of about 30 grands. But he failed the tripos and was kicked out :biggrin:

But what if his family had wanted to throw more money as bribe for a degree?

Reply 14

~Raphael~

9

lol we can't really answer - if it were general knowledge Gordon Brown would have taken a bulldozer to OXbridge by now :eek:

Reply 15

magicalsausage

10

Ipsen

Well, it is ridiculous that such degrees/offers are bought not for a career prospect but only as the adornment of wealthy individuals :biggrin:

I heard (no generalisation please) that some Chinese oligarchs spend tens of thousands of pounds for their kids being accepted, and such kids in turn become the family's decorative gems.

And please, the topic here is corruption, not any trainy brain-stuffy process :smile:

But everyone has just said that degrees cannot be bought.

Reply 16

JaF

1

WhatFreshHell?

It would seem obvious, though, that in a highly personalised admissions system such as Oxbridge's, there would be some weighting in favour of the children of the rich and powerful - surely name-dropping and such like goes on in interviews and perhaps colours it somewhat? It's worth noting here though that Oxford did reject Tony Blair's son, although Jesus Cambridge did allow Prince Charles admission with CCD or something at A-Level (but that was a while ago!).

Charles went to Trinity.

Reply 17

kellywood_5

17

I really hope not! I would have thought society in the 21st century is now advanced enough for that not to happen anymore. I believe it happens quite routinely in the American Ivy League universities, so it's possible, but if it does ever happen, it's probably very rare and it would have to be extremely hush-hush so the press didn't get wind of it. Also, the students would have to get the right grades so it wouldn't arouse suspicion.

Reply 18

grumballcake

8

To be honest, I think you may be being a bit naive. To get someone an offer is a case of bribing the right people. The key person is obviously the admissions tutor and you'd pay her to a) give your child high marks at interview and b) make sure that the second interview is also conducted with a sympathetic (bribed) tutor. Then you pay another tutor to write the written work that's submitted in support of the application.

Because the interviews aren't taped, that would be enough to shift a moderate student up into the offer range and no-one would be any the wiser. As long as the chap isn't a complete dunce, it would be shrugged off if they under-perform later. It's also possible to 'assist' the person while at colleg, at least until exam time.

There would be the written work and the interview scores to support any questions about the decision. It's likely that they might decide the chap had a good day at interview and maybe had some help with the written work. Hey, it's hardly as if the latter is completely unknown.

Of course, if the prospective applicant's grades are crap then it's much more glaring and they'd still need to make the offer grades. After all, an EE offer to a dummy is not going to bear much scrutiny. Still, with careful A-level selevction (heavy on coursework) even that could be managed.

Overall cost? Maybe £20k-30k.

Reply 19

tenjon

8

I think a few years ago some TV 'investigative documentary' tried this, and got someone to apply to all Oxbridge colleges, with the help of their bribe (they did it in some way to circumvent the UCAS/College choice procedures). If I remember correctly, Pembroke College Oxford was the only one to accept the bribe - unsurprising given its relative poverty as a college. However, I may be getting that completely wrong - anyone else remember it?

Corruption

Related discussions

Articles for you