'Several' USC coaches involved, according to one report I read.
Yale, Stanford, Georgetown also among the schools involved.
Link: College Admissions Scam
The actress' daughter who was bribed into USC actually posed on an erg (row machine) so it would look like she was a rower. She was in on the scam. She was confused by how to fill out the application, so the fraudulent, for-profit admissions company filled out her application for her.
Regarding another spoiled brat, they were working to get him admitted to USC. A 'USC Sr AD' presented the kid to admissions as a long snapper. The mother was skeptical, since he wasn't very good, but the scammer replied that it had to be football since, "...it is the sport with the lowest grades. Notre Dame and Vandy lowest football players are 3.4 and have to be big time players. Cannot hide him there."
So, a good day for ND and an awful day for USC.
I presume the “rower” or “long snapper” are not taking up a boat seat on crew team or a spot on football team.
So, when the Admissions Office contacts the Athletic Department, what makes the coach(es) say, “Yes. We really want this kid.” ??
So if you want to play at that school, where do you think a lot of those kids do their summering?
That’s the kind of shit you just have to say fuck you to. A lot of parents won’t.
$$$$ talks especially with these minor sports. Administrators look the other way when it involves big famous donors.
Link: https://sports.yahoo.com/college-coaches-charged-in-largest-cheating-scam-ever-prosecuted-by-feds-170228865.html
Absolutely mind boggling behavior by the parents.
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Legacy, money and political power got him a diploma. Why now?
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Normally, the fam just stops a large donation or bequest on the school.
Maybe I haven't read or heard what are the full details of how this happens to be a major news story or even a crime.
I guess, bribing a coach or a teacher to lie is a crime (don't know) but why go that route when a parent could just pay the U for access directly. If you're willing to pay a mil or more, I think the smart call is to admissions to accept a large donation.
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If so, post them here.
W Bush and others entrance into an elite U?
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Putting aside illegal conduct, I have heard stories of parents spending thousands on SAT tutors and application experts, in an effort to get Blake and Paige into "the right school."
I get that parents want the best for their kids, but life is not always fair. Bloom where you are planted!
First World problems.
...later on.
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It’s fine to be savvy on the system and use things like athletics to get in if yer kid is good at a sport.
My oldest “thought” he really wanted to go to one of the high brow main line places and used a sport to help get in. Then he found out what it was going to cost him after we kicked in and decided going for free to a solid school without that kind of cache was just fine. Best choice he ever made.
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Think about it: If a kid is in the general area code of the qualifications for admission, they're pretty much a shoo-in when a parent is making hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations to the school.
In this case, the kids were so far from qualified to attend that the parents couldn't even make $400K donations to squeeze them through. They had to go through illegal back-door channels with fraudster employees.
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Generally, donations in the hundreds of thousands will be enough to have the Chancellor, President, etc. steer the admissions folks to rubber stamp the donor's kid(s). The only reason they wouldn't is if the kid was just significantly unqualified.
These kids must have been exactly that, because the parents felt the need to spend that kind of money illegally, instead. They clearly knew their kids couldn't possibly get in, even with $400K in legitimate donations.
but the parents paid the bribes anyway...just to be sure.
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The Age of Orange.
The Mass and NY elite have likely done the same. Not mentioning any names (like Kennedy, Trump etc.)
It's just not usually done this obviously. But kids of donors rarely get turned away.
Just remember that when people complain about "affirmative action" quotas. The rich get in. We once had a kid from the UAE royal family who needed assistance bathing himself - not because he was handicapped, but because he had never had to do it before.
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The sports angle is interesting. My oldest got into a couple of top tier small schools because he played soccer. Hard to believe that anyone cares about sports at D 3, but the standards for athletes are a bit lower there if the coach wants you. Of course he really did play the sport.
It’s more a case of there being 20 qualified applicants for every spot, but the qualified applicant who can play a sport will get the nod. It’s a way to take your admission probability from 6% to 90%
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