Survey: 25% College Admissions Officers Feel Pressure To Admit Students With Better Connections Than Qualifications

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- It's college admissions season, and millions of applicants and their parents are getting rejection letters despite high grade point averages, test scores and extra curricular activities. The reason some of the nation's highest achievers were not accepted at many of the top universities could boil down to a matter of how connected they are.

The survey by Kaplan Test Prep asked admissions officers at 400 of the top colleges if "the admissions process rigged for the well-connected applicant?" A quarter of those polled said yes, and 16% said children and siblings of alumni also have an advantage.

Those connections, according to the survey, include business, political as well as legacies -- second and third generation applicants.

However, the survey found the large majority of applicants are accepted based on their own merits.

For more information about the survey contact Kaplan Test Prep at 212.453.7538 or contact Russell Schaffer at russell.schaffer@kaplan.com.