In the American blood sport of college admissions, the rich have long had more levers to pull.
It starts as early as a private kindergarten ($20,000 to $50,000 a year depending on location), then to boarding school (another $50,000-plus) and continues with tutors, consultants, test prep and exotic trips that become fodder for college essays.
Big donations also help get children admitted, whether to encourage a legacy decision at one's alma mater or even at schools one didn't attend, as when Charles Kushner gave $2.5 million to Harvard before his son Jared matriculated.