College entrance cheating scandal

[longboard55]

I would hope the FBI has bigger fish to fry. These were mostly private universities. They can let in anyone they wish.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

While some kids didn’t know that their parents cheated, some had to have known. For instance did Laughlin’s daughters not wonder why they needed rowing pics?

"Sweetie, there's an athletic wear company interested in new models. Why not pose as a rower so I can send in the photos for consideration?"

 

[a1tinkfans]

"Sweetie, there's an athletic wear company interested in new models. Why not pose as a rower so I can send in the photos for consideration?"

That’s a joke right? They weren’t both models. Did they Not know they did Not have the grades, never mind the Athletic
Skill?
And scholarships based strictly on a sport..with no academic balance,
Don’t get me started lol.
These people are going to jail and the IRS is gonna have a field day with all the fraud atop it. Not a pretty picture.
And what does that say about parents that have No confidence at all in their kids?
Should have used the money for tutors... better yet, not Everyone should be In college. Loughlins daughter certainly didn’t want to be there for academic reasons based on her video chat.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

Small brag here on my school. Vanderbilt was mentioned in the FBI as documents as being too difficult to cheat:

But a key witness and co-conspirator said Vanderbilt's requirements for incoming football players were too stringent to "hide" a student with low grades, according to an affidavit submitted by an FBI agent in the case.

Maybe that explains why our football team is so bad.

I've always wondered why Vanderbilt insists on competing in a major athletic conference. They should consider a lower level conference or Division 2 or even drop football altogether.

I'm sure the girls are fine with it. They never wanted to go to school (to do work) anyways.

I've read the girls wanted to go to Arizona State, which I understand is considered one of the top party schools in the US. But Daddy insisted on USC.

I haven't seen any mention of what school(s) Felicity Huffman's daughter was considering attending. Wherever it was, I'm sure she'll be rejected now.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

That’s a joke right? They weren’t both models. Did they Not know they did Not have the grades, never mind the Athletic
Skill?
And scholarships based strictly on a sport..with no academic balance,
Don’t get me started lol.
These people are going to jail and the IRS is gonna have a field day with all the fraud atop it. Not a pretty picture.
And what does that say about parents that have No confidence at all in their kids?
Should have used the money for tutors... better yet, not Everyone should be In college. Loughlins daughter certainly didn’t want to be there for academic reasons based on her video chat.

Yes, a joke. Something Lori Loughlin might tell her daughters to keep them in the dark about why the needed rowing photos.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I would hope the FBI has bigger fish to fry. These were mostly private universities. They can let in anyone they wish.

The FBI has a white collar crime division. Things like this are exactly what they're paid to do. Athletes being paid to play amateur sports is another. It's not like these people would be looking for murderers &/or terrorists, if they weren't investigating these crimes. There's another division for that. It's about time the private universities were investigated & not allowed to hide behind their private status.

 

[longboard55]

The FBI has a white collar crime division. Things like this are exactly what they're paid to do. Athletes being paid to play amateur sports is another. It's not like these people would be looking for murderers &/or terrorists, if they weren't investigating these crimes. There's another division for that. It's about time the private universities were investigated & not allowed to hide behind their private status.

Well they have arrested more people in this massive scandal than they did in the wall street mortgage scandal in 2008, where millions lost their homes

 

[Princessclab]

Definitely no to this. Being full pay won't get you into Harvard. Donating enough for a new building may get you into Harvard, but just being able to pay tuition isn't anything special in their eyes.

Sorry, but I have seen it happen. Person had C-B GPA, not what you would consider a star student, parents offered full tuition and he was admitted.

 

[Princessclab]

It may not get everyone in, but having no financial need is certainly "something special" in the eyes of many schools. Not all college admissions are need-blind (where they do not look at financial need when evaluating applicants). There are plenty of schools where the ability to pay in full greatly increases your chances of being accepted over someone who has a need for financial aid.

...

So, I just looked it up and apparently Harvard, Princeton, and Yale are now need-blind. But, there are still many other schools that operate under the "need-aware" admission policy.

It is great that schools have these policies in place but are they always followed, apparently not? Totally left up to the admission committee.

 

[Princessclab]

I would hope the FBI has bigger fish to fry. These were mostly private universities. They can let in anyone they wish.

Yes they can but then the school does not get accredited for accepted standards.
Accreditation has a big impact especially if you need to take any kind of boards or sit for licensure of any kind, for example.
Why would anyone want to go to a school that is not accredited?

 

[Disneylover99]

My daughter is a big Fuller House fan - wonder what will happen there, although they may have already filmed the last season, I'm not sure...

I saw that she’s been dropped from Fuller House as well.

 

[mousefan73]

This seems the worse of the two, yet seems Laughlin is being crucified more on social media and news sites. I guess because her dd is a youtube star.

and also because her daughter basically made money off of being at USC. I checked out her youtube channel and she did a whole episode showcasing her dorm room with items that Amazon sponsored.. Sooo this really for me hits a nerve. Here you have a pretty, seemingly spoiled girl ( have you seen her bathroom podcast? ) who has a seemingly perfect life most can only dream about.. you know... springbreak in the Bahamas on a private yacht.

Her parents PAY/Bribe her to get into USC.. I wonder if the whole thing was a plan anyways to make money... maybe they discovered there was a gap in the influencer market for a pretty girl influencing other college girls... Let's pick a cool school, USC, and make money off of it.

I find it funny how karma can bite back... sponsors, Deals are dropping them ....

IMO jail time I am against, as in principle I am only for incarceration for violent crimes and to protect others (nobody died or got physically hurt). Why should I pay for their room and board... Companies dropping them hurts them more. I would also like to see youtube ban them and some huge fine or embarrassing public service.

 

[mousefan73]

I had another thought too. I wonder if there are 100s of other celebrities, prominent people shaking right now at home, who were not caught. Maybe this turns into a Heidi Fleiss thing.. that this guy gives out more names negotiate with prosecutors. You know a black book on parents bribing schools.

 

[clutter]

The FBI has a white collar crime division. Things like this are exactly what they're paid to do. Athletes being paid to play amateur sports is another. It's not like these people would be looking for murderers &/or terrorists, if they weren't investigating these crimes. There's another division for that. It's about time the private universities were investigated & not allowed to hide behind their private status.

Even though they are private schools, they do receive federal dollars in various forms - research grants, other grants, student aid, etc.

 

[Disneylover99]

Not at all. The only thing I find shocking is that people are surprised this happens. I am not defending it, but I don't subscribe to the myth that people get ahead through hard work and brains. The good old boy network is alive and well in 2019. It is more about who you know that will open doors for you that allows you to get ahead.

I know that money talks and it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, but I find myself suprised by this.

I guess I wonder how people find out about these things and who to go to in order to facilitate this. Do the rich and powerful chit chat with one another at parties about how to get their children into the best schools?

 

[CarolAnn856]

I would hope the FBI has bigger fish to fry. These were mostly private universities. They can let in anyone they wish.

Because that's part of what they do. And actual crimes were committed. This has nothing to do with private colleges letting in whomever they want. The parents, some of the students, and the company committed fraud, and the coaches committed racketeering. And it likely resulted in many unqualified students taking slots from qualified students. That's worth going after, IMO.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/14/business/dealbook/college-admissions-bribes.html

 

[CarolAnn856]

I guess I wonder how people find out about these things and who to go to in order to facilitate this. Do the rich and powerful chit chat with one another at parties about how to get their children into the best schools?

Of course they do. How many people here on the Dis talk about ways to game the systems in place? And IRL, I remember years ago being at a meeting for parents of kids with ADHD and a bunch of them were talking about what one needed to say at Guest Services to get a GAC card to get front-of-the-line access (hint: it didn't involve just saying their kid had ADHD). That bothered me so I quit the group. I don't like scammers.

 

[mousefan73]

I know that money talks and it’s not what you know, it’s who you know, but I find myself suprised by this.

I guess I wonder how people find out about these things and who to go to in order to facilitate this. Do the rich and powerful chit chat with one another at parties about how to get their children into the best schools?

Not only how to get into schools, but how to get my kids the best internship or foot in the door.. I have a story to tell on how this sometime works or back-fires..

Years ago I was in charge of hiring interns for our regional office. We are a global company, HQd overseas. we would get international applicants from europe who wanted to do their required 6 months, paid internship for the undergraduate degree. We had offices in all major US cities.. We have a Senior VP for N/S America. One day I get a package from our regional head office from this VPs Assistant.. inside were copies of letters FYI, copied to me..

1.First letter was a board member from a foreign company who personally knew our VP and the letter went somewhat like this: " Dear xxx, It recently came to my atttention that a business colleagues son applied for an intership position and was accepted for a placement in Detroit. XXX, as you know Detroit is not one of the finest cities in the US, I am concerned about Safety, living accommodations, and basically this guy noted how Detroit sucks ( sorry Detroit folks) and asked that this friend's kid get replaced to either NYC, Chicago or D.C. as these are much nicer cities to spend 6 month in. No mentionn of the positions, but total focus on how this kids life would not be so nice in Detroit vs others.

2. Response from our VP: No letter was sent to me from our VP to this guy, but I got the letter that was sent to the Intern. and it went someting like this.. " Dear XXX, we regretfully need to inform you that our offer for our intern position in Detroit has been retracted, Our internship program, regardless of city, will give you best practical learning experience for our company, industry. Location plays no role, proud of all our local offices.. blah blah blah...

I was baffled. and I gained instant respect for this VP. he eventually made it to board level. But I reallly liked this guy.. We discussed in our office 1. we felt bad for this poor intern, maybe they just mentioned to their dad disappoint on their placement, understandble as NYC is a bigger draw then Detroit. and did not know their parents tried to do them a favor and they lost their spot. but would have accepted it for the experience?. or 2. did the intern ask their parents to pull favors???

We never knew.

Edit: Just also recalled later in my career when I was in WHQ... we got an intern forced upon our department, that was not qualified based on her studies.. She was the former nanny for one of our board members.. funny things is too, her start date kept getting pushed back as she injured herself skiing.. broke a leg or something... there was always talk in the office, so when is the nanny coming.. she ended up never coming.. but 6 months we kept a spot open for her.

 

[Chocolate Cake]

You wonder what happens to a person like Olivia Jade now? She seems addicted to attention. But now she can't film herself in bed, she can't sell her makeup, she isn't posting on her Instagram. She will most likely never return to college.

Will the public be forgiving? Will she be back bigger than ever? Or is this the end of the road?

 

[a1tinkfans]

I saw that she’s been dropped from Fuller House as well.

And the Disgrace continues...