Feds uncover large-scale college entrance exam cheating plot

[Anonymous]

Interesting fact. Georgetown allowed usage of their courts to hold a USTA tennis tournament a few years back to benefit a Wounded Warrior charity. I remember seeing one kid that was on G-town tennis team and participated in the tournament. He was definitely not a DI tennis material. I was kind of shocked by how bad he was and was told he was at the bottom of G-town roster. All G-town male tennis players didn’t show up for next round, so I wonder if this kid was one of the “bribe” kids. I am sure this been going on for years and more is yet to come.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The one family paid $250k to get their son into USC and then he withdrew after one year.

I know a family that paid $250K for private school K-12 and their son ended up going to WVU.

I know a family that paid $250K for private high school and their daughter ended up at Coastal Carolina.

I know a family that paid $25K for private high school and their child went to University of Maryland College Park.

[Anonymous]

$250K

[Anonymous]

So, one point of clarification on the crew/athletics front.

The kids never turned up for crew. So there was no oversight, and no coach or AD to notice the student was not "built like a rower" or whatever.

The "recruited athlete" piece was ONLY for admissions, to get the bar low enough that these kids could cross it.

Which, if you think about it, is amazing. These students had literally every educational and social privilege possible. Prestigious PK-12 private schools, essay coaches, admissions advisors, test tutors - and they still needed a lower bar to get into college.

That's shocking when you look at it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no comparison of this fraud to Development Admits or AA admits.

So, can you people arguing that go somewhere else or stay on topic please?

It's all being lumped together. The push is already on that any preference = bad.

https://www.vox.com/2019/3/12/18262037/college-admissions-scandal-felicity-huffman

I know it is being lumped together. By the ignorant.

And Frank Bruni

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting fact. Georgetown allowed usage of their courts to hold a USTA tennis tournament a few years back to benefit a Wounded Warrior charity. I remember seeing one kid that was on G-town tennis team and participated in the tournament. He was definitely not a DI tennis material. I was kind of shocked by how bad he was and was told he was at the bottom of G-town roster. All G-town male tennis players didn’t show up for next round, so I wonder if this kid was one of the “bribe” kids. I am sure this been going on for years and more is yet to come.

Interesting, though most of these kids never played. They would mysteriously get "injured" and get doctor's letters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting fact. Georgetown allowed usage of their courts to hold a USTA tennis tournament a few years back to benefit a Wounded Warrior charity. I remember seeing one kid that was on G-town tennis team and participated in the tournament. He was definitely not a DI tennis material. I was kind of shocked by how bad he was and was told he was at the bottom of G-town roster. All G-town male tennis players didn’t show up for next round, so I wonder if this kid was one of the “bribe” kids. I am sure this been going on for years and more is yet to come.

No. These kids are called GPA booster kids. They have really high GPAs, they bring up the team GPS, they travel with the team and they get all the cool internships.

another way to play the system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, one point of clarification on the crew/athletics front.

The kids never turned up for crew. So there was no oversight, and no coach or AD to notice the student was not "built like a rower" or whatever.

The "recruited athlete" piece was ONLY for admissions, to get the bar low enough that these kids could cross it.

Which, if you think about it, is amazing. These students had literally every educational and social privilege possible. Prestigious PK-12 private schools, essay coaches, admissions advisors, test tutors - and they still needed a lower bar to get into college.

That's shocking when you look at it.

Yes I was going to make the same point. They never had anything to do with the crew team so it’s irrelevant how tall or heavy they were. The crew coach gave their names to the admissions department as people he wanted to admit, and they were admitted. The admissions department doesn’t go down to practices in the fall and check if the students are there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, one point of clarification on the crew/athletics front.

The kids never turned up for crew. So there was no oversight, and no coach or AD to notice the student was not "built like a rower" or whatever.

The "recruited athlete" piece was ONLY for admissions, to get the bar low enough that these kids could cross it.

Which, if you think about it, is amazing. These students had literally every educational and social privilege possible. Prestigious PK-12 private schools, essay coaches, admissions advisors, test tutors - and they still needed a lower bar to get into college.

That's shocking when you look at it.

These are kids who should have started at community college and lived at home. Their parents' egos couldn't accept that reality.

This scandal is so much more about the parents than it is about the kids. It's all about "saving face" for the parents among their peer group.

You can bribe your kid's way into Yale or Georgetown. But if he's not smart, he's not going to be successful at a hedge fund or law firm. In fact, your mediocre sum will become a ripe target for the much smarter and morally devoid individuals who travel in those circles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting fact. Georgetown allowed usage of their courts to hold a USTA tennis tournament a few years back to benefit a Wounded Warrior charity. I remember seeing one kid that was on G-town tennis team and participated in the tournament. He was definitely not a DI tennis material. I was kind of shocked by how bad he was and was told he was at the bottom of G-town roster. All G-town male tennis players didn’t show up for next round, so I wonder if this kid was one of the “bribe” kids. I am sure this been going on for years and more is yet to come.

No. These kids are called GPA booster kids. They have really high GPAs, they bring up the team GPS, they travel with the team and they get all the cool internships.

another way to play the system.

There are legitimate walk-ons on college teams or "lesser athletes" who are brought into the team by the coach. They're not necessarily "fraud" kids.

Why are you mad at the kids? Who made the rules about GPAs on athletic teams? NCAA? The college? Not the athletes.

Hate the game, not the players.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, one point of clarification on the crew/athletics front.

The kids never turned up for crew. So there was no oversight, and no coach or AD to notice the student was not "built like a rower" or whatever.

The "recruited athlete" piece was ONLY for admissions, to get the bar low enough that these kids could cross it.

Which, if you think about it, is amazing. These students had literally every educational and social privilege possible. Prestigious PK-12 private schools, essay coaches, admissions advisors, test tutors - and they still needed a lower bar to get into college.

That's shocking when you look at it.

These are kids who should have started at community college and lived at home. Their parents' egos couldn't accept that reality.

This scandal is so much more about the parents than it is about the kids. It's all about "saving face" for the parents among their peer group.

You can bribe your kid's way into Yale or Georgetown. But if he's not smart, he's not going to be successful at a hedge fund or law firm. In fact, your mediocre sum will become a ripe target for the much smarter and morally devoid individuals who travel in those circles.

My husband has worked at a hedge fund. You do not need to smart to work at a hedge fund (Except for the quants). You need a network - which many wealthy people have.

Let's not confuse intelligence with connections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, one point of clarification on the crew/athletics front.

The kids never turned up for crew. So there was no oversight, and no coach or AD to notice the student was not "built like a rower" or whatever.

The "recruited athlete" piece was ONLY for admissions, to get the bar low enough that these kids could cross it.

Which, if you think about it, is amazing. These students had literally every educational and social privilege possible. Prestigious PK-12 private schools, essay coaches, admissions advisors, test tutors - and they still needed a lower bar to get into college.

That's shocking when you look at it.

These are kids who should have started at community college and lived at home. Their parents' egos couldn't accept that reality.

This scandal is so much more about the parents than it is about the kids. It's all about "saving face" for the parents among their peer group.

You can bribe your kid's way into Yale or Georgetown. But if he's not smart, he's not going to be successful at a hedge fund or law firm. In fact, your mediocre sum will become a ripe target for the much smarter and morally devoid individuals who travel in those circles.

PP is exactly right.

And as for the fake athletes not showing up, plenty of recruited athletes decide to not pursue their sport once school begins or feign injury. They are not receiving scholarships so there are no repercussions. The coach accepts a walk-on and everyone moves on to the next group of recruits.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no comparison of this fraud to Development Admits or AA admits.

So, can you people arguing that go somewhere else or stay on topic please?

It's all being lumped together. The push is already on that any preference = bad.

https://www.vox.com/2019/3/12/18262037/college-admissions-scandal-felicity-huffman

Affirmative action is NOT even remotely the same as outright cheating and/or bribery. It’s ludicrous that anyone thinks this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The one family paid $250k to get their son into USC and then he withdrew after one year.

Which family?

USC issued a formal acceptance letter to MACFARLANE’s son on or about March 23, 2017. On or about April 18, 2017, MACFARLANE paid CW-1 $200,000 via a check to the KWF charity. MACFARLANE wrote “Real Estate Consulting” in the memo line of the check.
479. MACFARLANE’s son attended USC briefly, but withdrew in or about May 2018. He did not play basketball at USC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting fact. Georgetown allowed usage of their courts to hold a USTA tennis tournament a few years back to benefit a Wounded Warrior charity. I remember seeing one kid that was on G-town tennis team and participated in the tournament. He was definitely not a DI tennis material. I was kind of shocked by how bad he was and was told he was at the bottom of G-town roster. All G-town male tennis players didn’t show up for next round, so I wonder if this kid was one of the “bribe” kids. I am sure this been going on for years and more is yet to come.

No. These kids are called GPA booster kids. They have really high GPAs, they bring up the team GPS, they travel with the team and they get all the cool internships.

another way to play the system.

There are legitimate walk-ons on college teams or "lesser athletes" who are brought into the team by the coach. They're not necessarily "fraud" kids.

Why are you mad at the kids? Who made the rules about GPAs on athletic teams? NCAA? The college? Not the athletes.

Hate the game, not the players.

I am not mad at them. Their parents did not pay for them to get into the school. they have high grades but suck at sports. I don't care but everybody thinks these kids paid their way onto the team and it is not true.

Another great way to travel with a team is be in a band, go to a Big 10 school.