And in today’s dose of irony. The US attorney general tries to explain why donating a building to get your child into an elite college is fine and dandy while making a smaller bribe to get your child in is now.

In the Tuesday press conference, the U.S. attorney perhaps unintentionally emphasized this irony when he said: “We’re not talking about donating a building … We’re talking about fraud.”

His comment highlighted the mundanity of admissions favors for upper-crust children—when executed legally. Sometimes these favors are given through a practice known as “legacy admissions,” in which elite colleges give preference to an applicant who, say, is the child of an alumnus. A common denominator tends to be wealth, particularly if the applicant is otherwise underqualified. A parent may offer a college a handsome donation (and, sometimes, a namesake building) to boost her child’s admissions prospects.

“Every year, alumni contribute to their alma maters with the expectation of special treatment for their children,” said Kahlenberg, who’s involved in a separate pending lawsuit over Harvard University’s consideration of race in admission. “This more genteel form of bribery is considered perfectly legal. Not only that, the donors get a tax break to boot, undercutting the fundamental legal principle that a charitable donation should not enrich the donor.”

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:I’d hate to be the offspring of a celebrity and currently in college right now.

Everyone is going to be side eyeing you and wondering how your parents pulled strings to get them in.

True, but pretty sure everyone already knew how they got in.

Rob Lowe’s son just tweeted out how hard he worked taking practice tests for the SATs and how terrible this bribery ring is. He may not have cheated but being the kid of Rob Lowe is a huge hook [b]for him to get into college.

Ya think?
I read the memoir written by Steve Jobs' older daughter a couple of months ago and it had a similar, pretty funny, episode. So the girl applies to Harvard and travels there for her interview; she has her mother's last name, Brennan, so the admissions lady, looking totally uninterested, asks her a couple of formal questions. Then the girl, somewhat 'offhandedly', mentions her father. "Oh, and what does your father do?" "He's the founder of this company named Apple". The admissions lady's expression immediately changes and she even leaves the room, then she comes back and continues the interview with way more interest.
Next thing the girl knows, there's the acceptance letter in the mail.

And, at that point, Steve Jobs didn't even donate anything to Harvard (I'm not sure if he ever did). But the 'development' prospects themselves!

Harvard was playing the long game. That 'girl' stood to inherit $100s of millions. Even if daddy didn't like them, she might give back in class fundraisers or when her own children attended as legacy admits or if she didn't have children - its not unheard of for people to will their estates to their former colleges or universities.

Colleges need to be taxed. No more tax free status.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d hate to be the offspring of a celebrity and currently in college right now.

Everyone is going to be side eyeing you and wondering how your parents pulled strings to get them in.

True, but pretty sure everyone already knew how they got in.

Rob Lowe’s son just tweeted out how hard he worked taking practice tests for the SATs and how terrible this bribery ring is. He may not have cheated but being the kid of Rob Lowe is a huge hook [b]for him to get into college.

Ya think?
I read the memoir written by Steve Jobs' older daughter a couple of months ago and it had a similar, pretty funny, episode. So the girl applies to Harvard and travels there for her interview; she has her mother's last name, Brennan, so the admissions lady, looking totally uninterested, asks her a couple of formal questions. Then the girl, somewhat 'offhandedly', mentions her father. "Oh, and what does your father do?" "He's the founder of this company named Apple". The admissions lady's expression immediately changes and she even leaves the room, then she comes back and continues the interview with way more interest.
Next thing the girl knows, there's the acceptance letter in the mail.

And, at that point, Steve Jobs didn't even donate anything to Harvard (I'm not sure if he ever did). But the 'development' prospects themselves!

Falls out laughing.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This kind of cheating isn’t just restricted to the wealthy.

I know a MC family who had their child fake a learning disorder to get more time on tests and the ability to take tests in a quiet room alone. The mom bragged about it when she had a little too much wine one evening at a dinner party. Four of us heard it and when confronted, she laughed in our faces and said no one would believe something like that. Her kid graduated last year and is at UChicago. Still getting those accommodations, I’m sure.

The cheating folks discussed didn't get accommodations just for extra time, they got them so they could use a fake proctor and alter scores. Extra time doesn't help that much if you don't have a learning disorder that requires extra time.

Yes it does for the timed tests for math, chemistry, physics

Anonymous wrote:Holy crap William H. Macy knew! So why wasn't he charged? Guessing all the money ties only to his wife Felicity.

Though Macy was not named in the indictment, court papers say he was caught on tape with Huffman speaking on the phone to Singer, the alleged mastermind of the $25 million scam.

Money and email accounts and phone lines likely all only trace to her. I can imagine for a high profile high earning celebrity couple, it makes sense to have completely separate accounts for a number of reasons.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d hate to be the offspring of a celebrity and currently in college right now.

Everyone is going to be side eyeing you and wondering how your parents pulled strings to get them in.

True, but pretty sure everyone already knew how they got in.

Rob Lowe’s son just tweeted out how hard he worked taking practice tests for the SATs and how terrible this bribery ring is. He may not have cheated but being the kid of Rob Lowe is a huge hook for him to get into college.

This story is just getting better and better.

In 2017, Singer instructed Laura Janke, the former assistant women's soccer coach at USC, to create an athletic profile for Kimmel's son, presenting him as a track and field athlete.
The profile featured a photograph of someone pole vaulting that was not him.
Kimmel allegedly paid KWF $200,000 to have her son admitted to USC.
Their plan was almost foiled when, during a college visit, an advisor told him he was a 'track athlete' and he replied: 'No I'm not,' indicating that he was unaware of his mother's actions to get him into USC.
He ultimately enrolled in USC in the fall of 2018 but never attended track practice.
In January 2019, at the instruction of investigators, Singer called Kimmel and informed her that the USC admissions department was asking about athletes not showing up at practice and that her son's name had come up.
Singer told Kimmel that should she receive a phone call asking about her son, she should tell officials that he had gotten injured over the summer and could no longer compete, according to the affidavit.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6800933/The-non-Hollywood-parents-busted-college-bribery-scheme.html

Really? Pole vaulting?
You just can't make this shit up.

Anonymous wrote:I am shocked Aunt Becky would do this! I know I shouldn't be but I am shocked, shocked, shocked!

Anonymous wrote:I think we are on the verge of hundreds of kids getting kicked out of elite colleges in the next few months and through the summer.

Everyone on a sports team - or who was on a sport team their freshman year and no longer plays - are going to be scrutinized very closely.

Good.

If they want to come back they can re-take the SATs/ACTs and apply like a normal applicant.

Some of them might even put in for a transfer elsewhere - that could work.

I think we are on the verge of hundreds of kids getting kicked out of elite colleges in the next few months and through the summer.

Everyone on a sports team - or who was on a sport team their freshman year and no longer plays - are going to be scrutinized very closely.

Anonymous wrote:As for the Apple analogy it would be commercial bribery in 36 states

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_bribery

How is it commercial bribery if the phone is for personal use with no possibility of commercial gain?

The accommodations scam needs to end. Kids who never needed before all of the sudden in 8th grade needed for the high school entry standardized tests. Total scam. Like therapy dogs.

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Anonymous wrote:Wake Forest is a sought after school?

I think you underestimate how dumb some rich kids even of professionals are.

Wilkie Farr's co-chair was getting 22's on practice ACTs. So even with fake scores and bribes, the wake tier is the best that type will do.

He mentions she has a disability in the complaint.

no - they're using a fake diagnosis to get extended time from act.

Some of the cases are, yes. Not disputing that. But in Caplan’s case Singer mentions her disability.

CW-1: What-- so you tell me if you want-- would [you] prefer to have her get a 28? 27? 28? 29? Probably based on what you’re just telling me right now, right, that -- maybe that’s a better approach, because that’s still a very good score with her abilities and disability but--

CAPLAN: Well, I-- I’m thinking 30, 31 is all we need to do here.

No read the whole transcript. CW-1 told him they'd have to get her diagnosed with disability that would entitle her to extra time on the exam (because that's how they can do the exam in a location where they can use the fake tester). He mentioned that "all the wealthy families are doing this, so it isn't an even playing field anyway." Sound familiar?

This is such a travesty for kids who actually have learning differences.

Yes. How prevalent is getting LDs diagnosed to have more time on SAT?

Very, very common. Super common. My father worked in a wealthy NYC suburb as a psychiatrist and probably could have retired on the number of parents desperate for these diagnosis. Would turn them away when he could tell what they were gunning for (they were evidently quite transparent), but it's a whole cottage industry.