There's a quick way to get into your favorite public university: just email a state representative. They forward your name to the school, and you end up on the magic preferred admission list.

The Chicago Tribune recently ran a story on this process at UIUC. In short,

• There's a separate "Category 1" for people with political support.
• Category 1 has higher admission rates than average.
• Category 1 has lower credentials than the average student.
• Obviously bad students are admitted without notifying the high school to avoid attention.
• Often, the politicians don't know much or anything about the students supported.

 And what does the UIUC chancelor have to say about this? He sent out an email to the whole campus with the following letter which ignores the issue entirely: