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[quote=Anonymous]A few comments:

No one is guaranteed Harvard admission just because they had high scores, excellent grades and went to a rigorous school.  Mr. Zhao surely knows this (and was likely the motivation for his actions).  The only guarantee is getting a "likely letter."  The younger Zhao was in no way a lock, and previous posters who believe that he would have gotten in anyway have not been through the process to know that this is simply not true.

The boys supposedly did not know their dad had bought their coach's house.  Doesn't that make it fishier?  He clearly did not want them to know, or be part of his schemes.

Only 2 boys from STA 2017 were accepted to Harvard, while numerous students with equivalent grades and scores -- including several who contributed much more to the life of the school did not get in.  While it seems STA had nothing to do with these actions, just like the other college scandal, it reeks of unfairness when one can just buy a coach's house (instead of a straight up bribe), contribute to the coach's charity and get your kid in above others.  At least when development candidates get in, the $$ goes to the benefit of all who go there.

The BS that 40 people from the Admissions Committee make the decision is laughable.  Every coach from every Ivy sport gets a certain number of pre determined slots.  If the coach recruits you, and Admissions give the coach the green light after a pre-read from transcripts and test scores, the recruit gets in through ED.

Needham isn't exactly so far from Harvard that it is a hardship.

And yes, different from the Varsity Blues scandal, these boys actually were on the fencing team.  The older one was even captain his last two years, perhaps due to the largesse of his dad buying the team plane tickets and other goodies.  Neither are the stars of the team; just read the web site and see neither are mentioned in most of the recaps.  And the younger son's profile and name on the roster has been removed.

There is some irony that this wealthy individual will get a tax loss on this "investment."

The deal was structured in a savvy way so as to not be illegal on the face of the transactions.  But if anyone thinks this is acceptable behavior -- by the coach, by the father and by Harvard -- you need to reassess your value system.

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