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> This is a battle against powerful people Powerful institutions especially. USC is the primary political powerbroker in Los Angeles (and by extension Souther

> This is a battle against powerful people Powerful institutions especially. USC is the primary political powerbroker in Los Angeles (and by extension Southern California, and thus by extension all of California). They're the largest land developer and one of the larger employers in Los Angeles (city and county), and both Democrat and Republican mayoral candidates make sure not to cross USC's path, and USC has been caught in LA corruption scandals multiple times due to this [0][1][2][3][4] [0] - https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-11/usc-la-mayor-election-bass-caruso https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-09-11/usc-la-m... [1] - https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-12-19/lapd-chief-ordered-internal-affairs-investigation-of-mayor-bass-detectives-claim https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-12-19/lapd-chi... [2] - https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/mark-ridley-thomas-found-guilty-bribery-and-fraud-involving-benefits-son-exchange https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/mark-ridley-thomas-foun... [3] - https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-usc-george-tyndall-sg-storygallery.html https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-usc-george-ty... [4] - https://documents.latimes.com/los-angeles-memorial-coliseum/ https://documents.latimes.com/los-angeles-memorial-coliseum/ ------- Anecdotally, I and my SO seriously considered doing part-time grad programs at USC (something EngMgmt or CS for me and Medical for my SO) because of the legacy+donor boost (specifically donating to the Athletic Fund, Association Chairman Fund, Widney Society, Parent Teacher Circle, and a couple other donor programs) which could help any kids we might have in the future. It's not "that" expensive to donate to USC to get the donor boost assuming your kid isn't an idiot - it's just a couple million total over a consistent period (5-15 years depending on when your kid is starting). Glad to see we probably don't need to worry about that anymore, as I expect penalties for offending private schools to become stringent over the next 30 years, as us Latinos and Asians are underrepresented in legacy admissions but are now the plurality in California but also a swing demographic. We're much happier spending a similar amount in actual philanthropy instead.

csa 2y ago
> It's not "that" expensive to donate to USC to get the donor boost assuming your kid isn't an idiot - it's just a couple million total over a consistent period (5-15 years depending on when your kid is starting). Do you think your kid will need a $2m+ boost to get into USC? Imho, the degree will largely be wasted on a student not smart enough or not motivated enough to get in without that help. The folks who already run around in moneyed/connected circles have plenty of less rigorous college options that still provide access to social capital, and it’s trivially easy to get into some masters programs at USC if the student is willing to pay and wants the badge (fwiw, this is largely true at HYPS schools as well).
- alephnerd 2y ago
  > Do you think your kid will need a $2m+ boost to get into USC Before AB1780 - yes. We're Asian American, and Asian American admissions at top privates has declined after the Supreme Court's AA ruling at the expense of legacies. > Imho, the degree will largely be wasted on a student not smart enough or not motivated enough to get in without that help Not necessarily. It's easier to make a case for a nepo hire/referral if your kid has a "Good" degree. If you dig closely in intern and new grad hiring across early career tech roles, I'd say a solid minority (20-25%) were landed due to parents leveraging their professional networks. With a "Good" degree it makes it easier. Unethical - yes. But such is life ------------ All of this is moot now with AB1780 and the eventual addition of teeth to it in the next 30 years. I think legacy admissions will eventually get banned in CA due to the political implications now that us Asians and Latinos are the plurality in California, but severely underrepresented in legacy admissions.
beart 2y ago
> It's not "that" expensive to donate to USC to get the donor boost assuming your kid isn't an idiot - it's just a couple million total over a consistent period (5-15 years depending on when your kid is starting). That is a staggering amount of money! > According to research published by the National Library of Medicine and the Social Security Administration, the lifetime earnings of the average U.S. citizen (over 50 years from age 20 to 69) vary substantially, depending on the various factors we will cover in this article, with an overall average median lifetime earnings of $1,850,000 for men and $1,100,200 for women. https://www.theknowlesgroup.org/blog/average-american-lifetime-earnings/ https://www.theknowlesgroup.org/blog/average-american-lifeti...
- OkayPhysicist 2y ago
  Are you lost? This is a forum basically exclusively for people working in tech, a disproportionate fraction of whom are tech founders. If you're in this line of work and making anything vaguely resembling median income, you've fucked up terribly.
  - beart 2y ago
    It seems like you are trying to insult me and I'm not sure why. However, I will address the issue you raised regardless. The typical tech worker makes far less than you seem to believe. For example, The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates median pay for tech workers in 2023 was $104K - https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology
    - alephnerd 2y ago
      His tone isn't great, but he isn't wrong. HN skews Bay Area. BLS didn't normalize the above data to show the Bay Area where it's fairly common to break $400-500k TC by your late 20s/early 30s. Furthermore, at least in the Bay Area Asian American community, both spouses are working these roles (or adjacent high paying roles like Medicine, Dentistry, High Finance, etc).
  - selimthegrim 2y ago

csa 2y ago

> It's not "that" expensive to donate to USC to get the donor boost assuming your kid isn't an idiot - it's just a couple million total over a consistent period (5-15 years depending on when your kid is starting). Do you think your kid will need a $2m+ boost to get into USC? Imho, the degree will largely be wasted on a student not smart enough or not motivated enough to get in without that help. The folks who already run around in moneyed/connected circles have plenty of less rigorous college options that still provide access to social capital, and it’s trivially easy to get into some masters programs at USC if the student is willing to pay and wants the badge (fwiw, this is largely true at HYPS schools as well).

alephnerd 2y ago
> Do you think your kid will need a $2m+ boost to get into USC Before AB1780 - yes. We're Asian American, and Asian American admissions at top privates has declined after the Supreme Court's AA ruling at the expense of legacies. > Imho, the degree will largely be wasted on a student not smart enough or not motivated enough to get in without that help Not necessarily. It's easier to make a case for a nepo hire/referral if your kid has a "Good" degree. If you dig closely in intern and new grad hiring across early career tech roles, I'd say a solid minority (20-25%) were landed due to parents leveraging their professional networks. With a "Good" degree it makes it easier. Unethical - yes. But such is life ------------ All of this is moot now with AB1780 and the eventual addition of teeth to it in the next 30 years. I think legacy admissions will eventually get banned in CA due to the political implications now that us Asians and Latinos are the plurality in California, but severely underrepresented in legacy admissions.

beart 2y ago

> It's not "that" expensive to donate to USC to get the donor boost assuming your kid isn't an idiot - it's just a couple million total over a consistent period (5-15 years depending on when your kid is starting). That is a staggering amount of money! > According to research published by the National Library of Medicine and the Social Security Administration, the lifetime earnings of the average U.S. citizen (over 50 years from age 20 to 69) vary substantially, depending on the various factors we will cover in this article, with an overall average median lifetime earnings of $1,850,000 for men and $1,100,200 for women. https://www.theknowlesgroup.org/blog/average-american-lifetime-earnings/ https://www.theknowlesgroup.org/blog/average-american-lifeti...

OkayPhysicist 2y ago
Are you lost? This is a forum basically exclusively for people working in tech, a disproportionate fraction of whom are tech founders. If you're in this line of work and making anything vaguely resembling median income, you've fucked up terribly.
- beart 2y ago
  It seems like you are trying to insult me and I'm not sure why. However, I will address the issue you raised regardless. The typical tech worker makes far less than you seem to believe. For example, The Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates median pay for tech workers in 2023 was $104K - https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology
  - alephnerd 2y ago
    His tone isn't great, but he isn't wrong. HN skews Bay Area. BLS didn't normalize the above data to show the Bay Area where it's fairly common to break $400-500k TC by your late 20s/early 30s. Furthermore, at least in the Bay Area Asian American community, both spouses are working these roles (or adjacent high paying roles like Medicine, Dentistry, High Finance, etc).
- selimthegrim 2y ago