How Much Would You Pay to Get into Harvard?

How about $200,000? According to an article from Forbes magazine, that's how much some nouveau riche parents in China are paying for multiyear programs designed to prepare their children for admission to Harvard.

The article states that these programs consist of weekend classes, summer school, and group trips, beginning three to four years before a student enters college. They also offer consulting services for the application process, providing extra help for interviews and essays. Teachers are usually recent graduates from the best universities in China. Classes defy the Confucian norm—small and personalized, with the opportunity for students to debate with their teachers.

For some Chinese scions, such special academies are only supplements to their extracurricular activities. One student, for instance, told Forbes that he has begun investing in stocks and is already learning to run a business.

Although these programs have started to emerge, they are still not representative of the majority of Chinese students studying in the U.S. Xin Xiang ’13, an international student from China, said “I personally haven’t been through the program because I went to a public high school”. Xiang said she was not even aware of these consulting/preparatory services. “I don’t know how they actually help prepare students for their courses,” she said. “I don’t think it’s worth it and I could do it on my own.” Now that’s the spirit.

Photo courtesy of Kane Hsieh/The Harvard Crimson.