College Admissions Scandal....

[Gitfiddlemann]

It's fraud all right.
And it goes deep. All the coaches, proctors, middle people within the universities... It had to involve a lot of people, in order to succeed and survive so long.
It's likely that we will get the full story too because the main perpetrator and ring leader, Mr. "Singer", is also turning out to be the lead songbird in those that have been arrested, spilling out all the nasty bits and connecting all the juicy dots.
That will make it really difficult for the accused parents/fraudsters, no matter how rich they are, to plead "not guilty".
That's at least a silver lining in the whole sordid story imo.

Things sure have changed. When I took the SATs so many moons ago, there was a zero chance that anyone could have gotten away with cheating your way through. I can't imagine it, with the kind of scrutiny we had in that room.
And as someone else pointed out, getting into college didn't mean that you could stay in, at least academically. You had to maintain grades or just be weeded out.
The Times-They-Are-A-Changin', for sure.
Maybe that's why they call us old curmudgeons and no one wants to listen any more to the way it was.

[RP]

Originally Posted by KenL

These Hollywood types have the wherewithal to create their own reality to live in, and they only let us "little people" have a glimpse into that world on rare occasions, like the Oscars broadcast...

Lest we paint this scandal with too wide a brush, there are only two actresses listed. William Macy could conceivably be involved if his wife, Felicity Huffman, was. If so, that would be simply [Wait for it!] shameless. [Sorry, I couldn't resist.] As others have noted, the common denominator among the parents seemed to be wealth and privilege and among the main pertetrator and the athletic folks, just plain old greed....

Federal prosecutors accused dozens of parents of paying millions of dollars in bribes to help their children secure spots at prestigious American universities.

Gamal Abdelaziz, a senior executive of a resort and casino operator

Gregory and Marcia Abbott. Gregory is the founder and chairman of a packaging company for the food and beverage industry, and the former head of a private-label clothing manufacturer

Diane Blake, an executive at a retail merchandising firm, and Todd Blake, entrepreneur and investor

Jane Buckingham, chief executive of a boutique marketing company

Gordon Caplan, a lawyer and a co-chairman of the international law firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher

I-Hsin “Joey” Chen, a provider of warehousing and related services for the shipping industry

Amy and Gregory Colburn. Gregory is a physician.

Robert Flaxman, chief executive of a Los Angeles-based real estate development firm

Mossimo Giannulli, fashion designer, and Lori Loughlin, actress

Elizabeth and Manuel Henriquez. Manuel is the founder, chairman and chief executive of a specialty finance company.

Douglas Hodge, former chief executive of Pimco, one of the world’s biggest bond fund managers

Felicity Huffman, actress

Agustin Huneeus, owner of vineyards in Napa, Calif.

Bruce and Davina Isackson. Bruce is the president of a real estate development firm.

Michelle Janavs, a former executive of a food manufacturer

Elisabeth Kimmel, owner of a media company

Marjorie Klapper, co-owner of a jewelry business

Toby MacFarlane, a former senior executive at a title insurance company

William E. McGlashan Jr., a senior executive at TPG, one of the world’s biggest private equity firms

Marci Palatella, chief executive of a liquor distributor

Peter Jan “P.J.” Sartorio, a packaged-food entrepreneur

Stephen Semprevivo, an executive at an outsourcing company

David Sidoo, a businessman in Vancouver, British Columbia

Devin Sloane, founder and chief executive of a drinking water and wastewater systems business

John Wilson, founder and chief executive of a private-equity and real estate development firm

Homayoun Zadeh, an associate professor of dentistry at U.S.C.

Robert Zangrillo, founder and chief executive of a Miami-based venture capital and real estate firm

[Edgar Poe]

Originally Posted by Wadcutter View Post
The scandal of who gets into these elite institutions pales in comparison to who gets hired to “teach.” Higher education is rotten through and through.

What does that mean?

It means the deck is stacked, against those that disagree with those is charge.

Ed

[reeve21]

We got a phone call from one of my kids the other night: "Now I know how I got in."

I loved my wife's response: "I'm not that rich and you're not that stupid."

This may end up as an Al Capone type of story.

https://history.howstuffworks.com/hi...ax-evasion.htm

The parents claimed to be donating to a charity, and presumably took an income tax deduction. That is pretty low hanging fruit for the gov't, maybe not as sensational, but it can still get you room and board at your uncle's house.

[valleyguy]

From RP's list:

Homayoun Zadeh, an associate professor of dentistry at U.S.C.

I thought teachers' kids automatically get in.

[RedJoker]

Originally Posted by Edgar Poe

It means the deck is stacked, against those that disagree with those is charge.

Ed

Sooo..... It's just like my regular job?

[Cypress Knee]

I have a few problems with this, different from the majority.

First of all, while institutions of higher education are highly deserving of criticism for their pricing and admissions procedures, the fact is that the perpetrators of fraud are not the institutions, but rather mid-level administrators and outside con-men working the system. The money went to these people, not the universities.

Secondly, I have an issue with the mainstream media gleefully releasing the names of the clients, resulting in suspensions, firings, leaves of absence, and public humiliation - all before the accused have had their day in court. What if some of these people were duped? I don't know. But let a jury find them guilty before rushing to judgement on social media.

To me the headlines should be "Here is the charged ringleader and his associates", not "here are all the rich people who are guilty of using the services of various fraudsters to get their dumb kids into Ivy League schools".

Third, the prized universities are not prized just because of their academic reputations. They are prized because they grant post-collegiate access into social and business circles that are not available to the rank and file students.

What I think is really going on in this fraud case is that successful people are trying to buy their children's way into social circles that they themselves were not born into and will always be on the social periphery during their lifetime. So the way to get their family into the Brahmins, the Main Line, the Krews, all the "old money" groups, is to put your children in a position to socially network during their college years and hope that the connection pays off down the road.

After all, the hiring manager who "earned" his way to a Gentlemen's C at Harvard is far more likely to entertain the resume of of a Dartmouth Gentlemen's C instead of a 4.0 from the likes of Tuskegee or Montana State. That is just the way it is.

CK

[RP]

Originally Posted by reeve21

We got a phone call from one of my kids the other night: "Now I know how I got in."

I loved my wife's response: "I'm not that rich and you're not that stupid."....

Thanks for today's laugh....

[Wadcutter]

Originally Posted by Edgar Poe

Originally Posted by Wadcutter View Post
The scandal of who gets into these elite institutions pales in comparison to who gets hired to “teach.” Higher education is rotten through and through.

What does that mean?

It means the deck is stacked, against those that disagree with those is charge.

Ed

Thanks Ed, that’s exactly what I meant. 👍

[Otterhound]

Originally Posted by Wadcutter

Thanks Ed, that’s exactly what I meant. 👍

I'll second that .

[RP]

Originally Posted by valleyguy

From RP's list:

Homayoun Zadeh, an associate professor of dentistry at U.S.C.

I thought teachers' kids automatically get in.

Tuition Assistance - Yes

Automatic Admission - Not so much....

For your children or spouse to access Tuition Assistance, the following conditions apply:

You:

Must be full-time and eligible for this benefit (see the Tuition Assistance Benefit program document)
If staff, you must have completed at least 2 years of service (if the 2-year anniversary occurs no more than 30 days from the start of the semester, the benefit will apply, so in some cases the wait period may be slightly less than 2 years)
If you worked for USC before July 1, 2011, you may be grandfathered into Tuition Assistance for your children if you completed a full 15 years of service; in some cases, these children can still access Tuition Assistance even if the employee no longer works for USC; additional taxes may apply

Your child (or spouse):

Must apply for admission like any other applicant (USC doesn’t waive any undergraduate application fees for employee children/spouses, but the Office of Graduate Admission does offer graduate application fee waivers for both)
For children, must be your biological or legally-adopted child (children under your legal guardianship are not eligible)
For children, must be under age 35 (children of staff hired on or after January 1, 2019 must be under age 30)
Must not have already used Tuition Assistance (or Tuition Exchange) toward another degree; both programs only apply to one degree, and Tuition Assistance is capped at 144 undergraduate or 72 graduate units, unless enrolled in a progressive degree program that joins a bachelor’s and master’s degree in the same or different departments
Note that for employees hired on or after January 1, 2019 who make over $280,000 annually, the benefit for children in graduate programs is 50% tuition.

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by Wadcutter

The scandal of who gets into these elite institutions pales in comparison to who gets hired to “teach.” Higher education is rotten through and through.

Originally Posted by Nyghthawk

I am the son of a university professor. Most of my friends growing up were too. My experience with academia is different than yours.

I'm also the son of a university professor, and most of our family friends were professors and their families as well. The first statement is not only grossly inaccurate, but insulting to my father and his colleagues. Outstanding people to the last.

It is a noble profession borne of hard work, commitment, and deep thought.

[Otterhound]

Originally Posted by Imbler

What I find revealing about these frauds, is that the colleges appear to lack academic rigor.

In the stone age when I went to college, a lot of the entering students (engineering) washed out in the first year with insufficient grades.

But if these fraudulent students with fake test scores are not flunked out (and I don't believe they are, just like the alumni legacies, donor beneficiaries, affirmative actions), then it appears the college degree doesn't actually mean what people think it does.

So you were taught how to think instead of what to think . You lucky devil .

[hairpuller]

Originally Posted by Imbler

What I find revealing about these frauds, is that the colleges appear to lack academic rigor.



In the stone age when I went to college, a lot of the entering students (engineering) washed out in the first year with insufficient grades.



But if these fraudulent students with fake test scores are not flunked out (and I don't believe they are, just like the alumni legacies, donor beneficiaries, affirmative actions), then it appears the college degree doesn't actually mean what people think it does.

Could it be these payments aren’t only lining the pockets of administration?

[flaggerphil]

It reminds me of the wealthier people visiting Disney World who would hire disabled people to pretend to be family so they could skip the line and use the disabled entrance for rides.