How much can a prominent alum help your MBA application at a public school?

My wife has a close family member that is a prominent alum and on the business school board for one of the top public schools (think Haas/Ross/Darden). Besides obviously being a great resource to learn about the school, is there any advantage in the MBA admissions process with this type of relationship at a public school? I honestly probably would never ask this person for anything beyond a conversation about their experience at that school, but part of me realizes it’s a competitive process and everyone is doing whatever they can to get an edge.

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