I was struck by the hubris of CEOs and others being on board with overtly changing their kid’s score on the SAT but yet wanting more than anything to not let their kid know about it. Can’t help but be a cheater, but heaven forbid their kid find out what kind of morally bankrupt douche they are. Now, not only their kid knows, but the entire world knows.

Anonymous wrote:The documentary is now available on Netflix! Its a must watch for DCUM!! From the documentary its clear that prestigious universities accept students who are rich, well connected, celebrities or children of celebrities, politicians, businessmen etc. very few get in on pure merit. Most are average students like Jared Kushner. Also seems like just any applicant can lie about their race/ethnicity to get a leg up. Also, Rick Singer is just one person who was caught in the admissions scandal. There must be many more Rick Singers who have not been caught!!
But since most people are obsessed with prestige the parents and students are not going to stop trying to get into these prestigious colleges!

Very few in the admission scandal got in on pure merit, that's the whole point of the scandal. But if you are saying that very few children of rich businessmen get in on pure merit, that's a whole different discussion.

Anonymous wrote:The documentary is now available on Netflix! Its a must watch for DCUM!! From the documentary its clear that prestigious universities accept students who are rich, well connected, celebrities or children of celebrities, politicians, businessmen etc. very few get in on pure merit. Most are average students like Jared Kushner. Also seems like just any applicant can lie about their race/ethnicity to get a leg up. Also, Rick Singer is just one person who was caught in the admissions scandal. There must be many more Rick Singers who have not been caught!!
But since most people are obsessed with prestige the parents and students are not going to stop trying to get into these prestigious colleges!

OP, I watched, and while it was interesting, there's no evidence that "most are average students like Jared Kushner." What we know is that "some are average students like Jared Kushner, whose dad gave $2.5 million to Harvard before he got in." And the documentary is making the point not that connected people get in, but that they were convinced (perhaps rightly) that their kids wouldn't get in without the illegal side door, which Rick Singer shared with them. The difference between them and me is that they could pay what Singer was asking, and that they were corrupt enough to do it.

I was struck by how much the athletic recruiting aspect of these schools is open to corruption. (And how much athletics is its own center of power, even if it's not the main mission of higher ed. Since the school newspaper, the orchestra, and the film club aren't money makers, they don't have the pull to bring in superstars in those areas, outside of the normal admissions process.)

Agreed! The whole admission process is a scam for the Ivy League! They just accept kids from influential backgrounds, bogus athletes etc

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, the surprise was how many people inside the colleges themselves were selling spots.

the development office must be angry that other departments are encroaching on their turf

Exactly. Athletics competing with Dev (with so many pocketing the $$) and not much (if any) going to the schools...its why the schools cooperated.

Also, when the Justice Department calls, you must cooperate.

Op here- you all are right. But what was kind of shocking to me was how easy it was to make someone into a bogus athlete. If its so easy to fudge such credentials, and have someone take the SAT for you. You begin to wonder who else is involved and what other ways people use to get in

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, the surprise was how many people inside the colleges themselves were selling spots.

the development office must be angry that other departments are encroaching on their turf

Exactly. Athletics competing with Dev (with so many pocketing the $$) and not much (if any) going to the schools...its why the schools cooperated.

Anonymous wrote:Everyone knew wealthy people had huge advantages before this.

This is about exploiting the athletics spots. That's the surprise.

Agree - its the athletics part that was new and alarming....the rest is old old news. People STILL are buying their way in (the "legit" way).

Anonymous wrote:I was surprised by how little it took to buy a spot.

this was the big surprise to me, also some of the schools where people were buying spots

Anonymous wrote:Yes, the surprise was how many people inside the colleges themselves were selling spots.

the development office must be angry that other departments are encroaching on their turf

I was surprised by how little it took to buy a spot.

Yes, the surprise was how many people inside the colleges themselves were selling spots.

Everyone knew wealthy people had huge advantages before this.

This is about exploiting the athletics spots. That's the surprise.

The whole scandal was people who where rich, but not rich enough to buy their way in legally. A whole lot of nothing.

The documentary is now available on Netflix! Its a must watch for DCUM!! From the documentary its clear that prestigious universities accept students who are rich, well connected, celebrities or children of celebrities, politicians, businessmen etc. very few get in on pure merit. Most are average students like Jared Kushner. Also seems like just any applicant can lie about their race/ethnicity to get a leg up. Also, Rick Singer is just one person who was caught in the admissions scandal. There must be many more Rick Singers who have not been caught!!
But since most people are obsessed with prestige the parents and students are not going to stop trying to get into these prestigious colleges!