Feds uncover large-scale college entrance exam cheating plot

[Anonymous]

“Massaging a transcript” is light lying from what I’ve experienced. Saying a kid completed xxxx number of service hours when they really did under xx. Saying they are award winning violinist because they got a certificate of accomplishment when they were 12. Listing they speak 7 languages bc they can say hello in those languages. Etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't get myself to care that much about any of this. Are there criminals in the world? Yeah. Are there dumbasses? Yeah. Is there affirmative action for rich people? Yes, way more than for any other demographic category. Is any of this new? No.

Felicity Huffman is facing federal charges for faking a 1420 on the SAT's? A 1420.

I’m be embarrassed to claim the kid who needed to cheat just to get that score as my own.

I don't even know how to feel about the scores themselves. I hovered around the mid 1450s taking it pretty much cold and it was fine. Not HYP but Georgetown/Tufts/Davidson/ W&M. Not bad at all. But to cheat for that? With ALL of their resources?

At the same time, her baseline was 1020. If you're dealing with 1020 I bet 1420 sounds pretty miraculous for 15k and I am 100% sure it puts you in a totally different league of schools. Probably not Yale, but a far cry from 1020 league.

Yes, I was thinking that. I read sections of the FBI report, & Huffman/Macy's daughter had an SAT tutor for months and was only scoring in the 1200s.

PP here. Referring to their 2nd daughter (they didn't go through w/ scam for her, but they certainly had it all planned out -- I read the phone transcripts)!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frank Bruni's op ed.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/opinion/college-bribery-admissions.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

It may be legal to pledge $2.5 million to Harvard just as your son is applying — which is what Jared Kushner’s father did for him — and illegal to bribe a coach to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, but how much of a difference is there, really? Both elevate money over accomplishment. Both are ways of cutting in line.

It may be legal to give $50,000 to a private consultant who massages your child’s transcript and perfumes your child’s essays, and illegal to pay someone for a patently fictive test score, but aren’t both exercises in deception reserved for those who can afford them?

It's not legal to "massage" a transcript (what does this even mean)? Or "perfume" an essay.

I found it interesting that Singer posed this scam as a "side door" for parents, saying that there was the "front door" (earning admission) and the "back door" (donating to the institution & using connections), but that the back door cost 10x more and was not guaranteed.

Yes, it is legal to "massage" a transcript. A college counselor can make your volunteering sound really good vs. I did 100 hours at a soup kitchen. Most people have somebody "edit" their kids essay, even if it is a family memeber.

They can't change your grades -- that's what "massage" would mean to me when it comes to a transcript. Proofing is not "perfuming," that wiould be doing some rewriting for the kid which would not be legal.

So now you know...people massage transcripts... mostly ECs and rewrite essays... all the time. OUr school do essays in English class and the teacher helps with rewrites.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“Massaging a transcript” is light lying from what I’ve experienced. Saying a kid completed xxxx number of service hours when they really did under xx. Saying they are award winning violinist because they got a certificate of accomplishment when they were 12. Listing they speak 7 languages bc they can say hello in those languages. Etc.

OK, and NOT legal. Lying to admissions is NOT legal.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Heh if you have to cheat to get into UCSD that's really lame.

Awesome. Quote of the Year!

Actually it was USD - Univ of San Diego, the private Catholic college - which is even easier to get into than UCSD

AKA the "University of Spoiled Daughters"

Would be funny if the parents thought they were gaining entrance into usc and it was a typo. Or maybe they ere just that dumb to not realize no bribe was necessary.

The thing about USD (Univ. of San Diego)is that it is actually really big on a curriculum that teaches morals and Christian values.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:TMZ is reporting that USC will evaluate on a case-by-case basis but will expel any students who were aware of the fraud. Didn't the Loughlin girl pose on a rowing machine so her dad could send "action pics" for her doctored admissions file? Hope she's kicked out STAT.

Amazing how morally bankrupt these parents and kids are.

Why do the kids need to know about the fraud? They should be kicked out because they were admitted on fradulent credentials. It doesn't matter if they knew or not. That's life.

+1 and the kids who got in based on sports know for a fact that they never rowed.

+2 they don’t deserve to be there and they should be removed

+3 I know people are being really mean about the kids on the internet. I think it’s trollish behavior meant to cause division. But these people broke the law. Done. The kids shouldn’t benefit from it. If you gain admission under false pretenses you get kicked out.

Every kid that breaks the law should be expelled?

First, I don’t think that’s what pp is saying.

Every kid who gained access through false pretenses should be expelled. Whether they knew or not. They broke the rules of the system.

Every child that was a pawn should be expelled. That's like arresting a prostitute who was trafficked. Let keep the eye on the ball girls.

I know you're all pissy that some kid who did not "earn it" is in a college... gasp. But your lack of morals are showing.

Colleges don't want kids who are going to fail. Unless they are bribing their way through all four years its doubtful these kids will pass the classes. If you have to pay 6 or 7 figures to get in some of these schools that are not even ivy, the kids are probably dumb as a box of rocks.

And some of the kids were absolutely aware. Give me a break

Breaking news: Rich kids with low scores do just fine in college.

Of cour$$$$$e they do! If they'll pay to get in why stop there? Grease the palms of professor's and administration along the way and you're golden!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Frank Bruni's op ed.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/opinion/college-bribery-admissions.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

It may be legal to pledge $2.5 million to Harvard just as your son is applying — which is what Jared Kushner’s father did for him — and illegal to bribe a coach to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, but how much of a difference is there, really? Both elevate money over accomplishment. Both are ways of cutting in line.

It may be legal to give $50,000 to a private consultant who massages your child’s transcript and perfumes your child’s essays, and illegal to pay someone for a patently fictive test score, but aren’t both exercises in deception reserved for those who can afford them?

It's not legal to "massage" a transcript (what does this even mean)? Or "perfume" an essay.

I found it interesting that Singer posed this scam as a "side door" for parents, saying that there was the "front door" (earning admission) and the "back door" (donating to the institution & using connections), but that the back door cost 10x more and was not guaranteed.

Yes, it is legal to "massage" a transcript. A college counselor can make your volunteering sound really good vs. I did 100 hours at a soup kitchen. Most people have somebody "edit" their kids essay, even if it is a family memeber.

They can't change your grades -- that's what "massage" would mean to me when it comes to a transcript. Proofing is not "perfuming," that wiould be doing some rewriting for the kid which would not be legal.

So now you know...people massage transcripts... mostly ECs and rewrite essays... all the time. OUr school do essays in English class and the teacher helps with rewrites.

Teacher advice is fine. The teachers aren't rewriting parts for the kids. That would not be fine. I think it's pretty clear that perfuming is not taking feedback, it's having someone else write. That's not happening in schools (or if it is is not legal).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't get myself to care that much about any of this. Are there criminals in the world? Yeah. Are there dumbasses? Yeah. Is there affirmative action for rich people? Yes, way more than for any other demographic category. Is any of this new? No.

Felicity Huffman is facing federal charges for faking a 1420 on the SAT's? A 1420.

I’m be embarrassed to claim the kid who needed to cheat just to get that score as my own.

I don't even know how to feel about the scores themselves. I hovered around the mid 1450s taking it pretty much cold and it was fine. Not HYP but Georgetown/Tufts/Davidson/ W&M. Not bad at all. But to cheat for that? With ALL of their resources?

At the same time, her baseline was 1020. If you're dealing with 1020 I bet 1420 sounds pretty miraculous for 15k and I am 100% sure it puts you in a totally different league of schools. Probably not Yale, but a far cry from 1020 league.

back in the 90s maybe. No longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do we know who tipped off the feds about the scheme in the first place?

Someone was under investigation for something else, I think, and gave info leading to this. I think the first person to fold was a bribed soccer coach, then Singer gave all the parents up hoping to cut a deal. The FBI press conference essentially said they were just given info while pursuing a different investigation.

I read that it started because something was off in an audit of his charity (tax audit? 990 audit?) and then they started looking into big donors to his charity and finding out they all had kids who were applying to college and getting in at the same places.

That's what he was telling the clients after they started tapping his phones. I'm not sure if that's how it started, though.

[Anonymous]

In the super neurotic areas of LA and DC, this story is clearly causing a lot of parents to squirm about related things like test prep and all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't get myself to care that much about any of this. Are there criminals in the world? Yeah. Are there dumbasses? Yeah. Is there affirmative action for rich people? Yes, way more than for any other demographic category. Is any of this new? No.

Felicity Huffman is facing federal charges for faking a 1420 on the SAT's? A 1420.

I’m be embarrassed to claim the kid who needed to cheat just to get that score as my own.

I don't even know how to feel about the scores themselves. I hovered around the mid 1450s taking it pretty much cold and it was fine. Not HYP but Georgetown/Tufts/Davidson/ W&M. Not bad at all. But to cheat for that? With ALL of their resources?

At the same time, her baseline was 1020. If you're dealing with 1020 I bet 1420 sounds pretty miraculous for 15k and I am 100% sure it puts you in a totally different league of schools. Probably not Yale, but a far cry from 1020 league.

back in the 90s maybe. No longer.

W&M's 25/75 are 1300 and 1480. Tufts is 1410 and 1560. Davidson is 1320/1500. Assuming you have strong grades and ECs, a 1450 is still competitive for all those today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:TMZ is reporting that USC will evaluate on a case-by-case basis but will expel any students who were aware of the fraud. Didn't the Loughlin girl pose on a rowing machine so her dad could send "action pics" for her doctored admissions file? Hope she's kicked out STAT.

Amazing how morally bankrupt these parents and kids are.

Why do the kids need to know about the fraud? They should be kicked out because they were admitted on fradulent credentials. It doesn't matter if they knew or not. That's life.

+1 and the kids who got in based on sports know for a fact that they never rowed.

+2 they don’t deserve to be there and they should be removed

+3 I know people are being really mean about the kids on the internet. I think it’s trollish behavior meant to cause division. But these people broke the law. Done. The kids shouldn’t benefit from it. If you gain admission under false pretenses you get kicked out.

Every kid that breaks the law should be expelled?

First, I don’t think that’s what pp is saying.

Every kid who gained access through false pretenses should be expelled. Whether they knew or not. They broke the rules of the system.

Every child that was a pawn should be expelled. That's like arresting a prostitute who was trafficked. Let keep the eye on the ball girls.

I know you're all pissy that some kid who did not "earn it" is in a college... gasp. But your lack of morals are showing.

Colleges don't want kids who are going to fail. Unless they are bribing their way through all four years its doubtful these kids will pass the classes. If you have to pay 6 or 7 figures to get in some of these schools that are not even ivy, the kids are probably dumb as a box of rocks.

And some of the kids were absolutely aware. Give me a break

Breaking news: Rich kids with low scores do just fine in college.

Of cour$$$$$e they do! If they'll pay to get in why stop there? Grease the palms of professor's and administration along the way and you're golden!

I know you would love to believe that you need a 1400+ SAT to handle the course work but it's simply not true. You have a huge chip on your shoulder.

[Anonymous]

I'm pretty sure some people in our neighborhood are going down if the full list comes out.

I went to a private LA-area high school known as "Celebrity High."

[Anonymous]

Transcript means academics work, not service projects and clubs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do we know who tipped off the feds about the scheme in the first place?

Someone was under investigation for something else, I think, and gave info leading to this. I think the first person to fold was a bribed soccer coach, then Singer gave all the parents up hoping to cut a deal. The FBI press conference essentially said they were just given info while pursuing a different investigation.

It was an IRS audit of the charity and all the admissions to USC that raised the red flags. So just sit back and wait for the tax fraud charges against parents who took the charitable contribution. This may be leverage the DOJ is using to get pleas. Because tax fraud definitely will get you jail time and IRS and DOJ don’t mess around with that.