This whole thing is CRAZY!!! Glad they were busted. At the same time I wonder how culpable the kids are in any of it. Certainly has to be embarrassing as hell at the very least. It’s not hard to figure out who the kids of these celebrities and others are. YIKES
I wonder if they will rescind some admits which were wrongfully ‘procured’ in this manner… Will be interesting to see if they hold the students accountable as well in this folly.
@bridgenail - I would believe anything. You know, I am visiting S right now on spring break, so we talk a lot and go watch him play and such, and I guess I am just thinking of only his segment of the scene, where those folks are just about results, and that is how they start mingling into broader or more advanced crowds of musicians. I think that these other sorting algorithms are clearly possible, and if it were just edge conditions and tie-breakers, maybe it is sort of logical to do.
Wow, that scandal is crazy. I’ll bet some of the students had no idea mommy and daddy were “taking care of things.” How awful. It certainly makes you wonder about the integrity of the SAT/ACT exams. In addition to those involved in this scam, how many rich people get away with such things? Who knew it was as simple as paying people to take the exam for your kid and paying off the proctor? Curious that the SAT company did an investigation of that one student (trying to get into Tampa) who went from an 800 to an 1100 (they said it was suspicious) but never seem to question some of these rich kids getting top scores. Is anyone shocked? Doesn’t this happen on a regular basis anyway? When rich people make generous donations to Ivy League schools, don’t they usually expect or get something in return? In addition to the justice system, this education scandal is just a reminder of how we have different systems for rich and poor in this country. Sad but true. It’s a bonus when some of it is exposed and even well-connected people have to face the law.
I like to think that each and every dollar is treated equally.
@GoForth , your comment made me think of a line from Hemingway: “Isn’t it pretty to think so?” 
Although I have to believe that the majority of educators and administrators really do care about the integrity of the process. It must be a difficult line to walk these days. In 1979, when I was applying to colleges, the tactics apparently being resorted to now never seemed to be a part of the equation at all (and I was at a private boarding school, trying to get into some pretty competitive colleges, as were my friends). Was I missing something then?
Well - it’s been a tough day at my daughter’s school. My daughter’s friend’s mother (Felicity Huffman) was indicted in the scandal. I’m sure that my daughter will learn more as time goes on (or maybe not, as I would imagine it will be difficult for her to return to school)…so a tough day all the way around. Felicity and Bill were big donors and supported my daughter’s Arts School in many ways.
I don’t know the specific details except what was reported - but I do know that their daughter is a talented filmmaker - so if I were to speculate, she likely wanted to go to USC for film. As you all know, USC is very difficult to get into (even for those in the business). Doesn’t excuse what happened - just an explanation and some back story. I feel a bit ill about it as they were very nice to my daughter - cooked her dinner, she stayed in their pool house. Makes me sad to say the least.
I’m so sorry to hear that @tripletmama. I apologize if my above post came off as cold, but my initial reaction was bitterness at another example of the well-off finding ways to use money and power to buy the privledged things most of us try to follow the normal rules to access. I applauded the crackdown thinking of the victims who deserved to get into certain schools but lost that chance due to fraudulent candidates buying their way in. As faces and connections begin to emerge, I do have great empathy for the students involved, whether they are currently at a prestigious college, got in recently, or were at the same stage we are, waiting for those letters. I’m guessing many had no idea of the scam or risky behavior their parents were engaged in. And I can almost empathize with the parents too, realizing the odds were against them for admission, wanting to give their child the best, having someone con them into an “investment” that he probably convinced them was easy to get away with and worth the risk. Parents do crazy things out of love for their children, no question. And clearly your daughter’s friend and her family were kind and generous people who are about to have their lives turned upside down which is incredibly sad on every level. I think it points to the competitive, unpredictable nature of this college process, which feels more like a “hunger games” set-up for some schools. It also highlights the flaws in the SAT/ACT focus and the desperation and anxiety many students and parents feels when they know a certain score must be achieved which might be unrealistic for certain kids and doesn’t even reflect their real potential, intelligence and ability IMO. So this scandal has multiple victims on all sides but will hopefully bring out important dialogue about controversial topics that deserve scrutiny and exposure which is not a bad thing.
@tripletmama Thanks for sharing. It’s so easy for us to not see the human side when the mighty fall. What they did is so wrong on so many levels and I certainly don’t agree with their actions, but as a parent I can sort of understand wanting the best for your kid. Sadly, breaking the law and cheating the system isn’t the best way to go about it. For what it’s worth, on the right to wrong scale in this scandal, your d’s friends parents were on the lower end of the wrong scale, from what I read they decided against doing the same for their other child. Maybe they realized how wrong they were.
I can’t help but relate this to an article I read about many parents needing to give their kids a good dose of Vitamin N. Vitamin NO. Todays kids don’t know what it’s like (well maybe not musician kids) to hear no. We want our kids to be happy and give them everything. A little vitamin N is good for them to make it in the real world because they can’t have everything they want. These parents had the resources to do whatever it took to give their kids exactly what they wanted without them having to work for it. Those kids and especially those parents needed a huge dose of Vitamin N.
I’m sorry but what these people did was disgusting on so many levels. They ripped opportunities from others more deserving all because they thought they were more deserving because of their status and power. They already had so many advantages over most people to then do what they did is just down right disgusting.
Steps up on soap-box
People wonder why those in “fly-over” states are less than enthusiastic about being lectured to by those on the coasts and in particular Hollywood elites here is a shining example of why. They want to lecture the masses on how to act and behave while they do the exact opposite in their daily lives. I can only put myself in the place of the parents of those that had their kids denied spots at these schools. The monetary hard-ships they put their families through to pay for lessons, test prep, equipment all to do what is right for their kids. Then these people simply buy their way in. It is infuriating and I hope they are penalized to the fullest extent possible.
Off my soap box
@TxSker Amen!
These parents and their entitled lack of real parenting have severely affected the future of their children. These kids have had every advantage in life, and yet their parents cheated more deserving students of their future in order to secure a future for their own. It’s horribly wrong.
Nice people do bad things all the time…rarely criminal but…obviously money helps you find the slippery slope from bad to criminal. Events certainly can be sad while still being very, very wrong.
My D has had a few really good auditions/callbacks lately and sent me a happy text yesterday. I wrote back something like…aren’t you glad that your parents are poor and unknown and you stand solidly on your own two feet? There is peace and security in that.
My hope is that all your kids will find a place to grow as individual musicians away from the pressures of status. I will be proud of each and every one regardless the name and scholarship amts…simply bc they did their best…and that is enough.
I’m pretty sure entitlement and cheating is not limited to one profession or geographical location. Sadly, there are many people who feel the rules don’t apply to them and have the resources to tilt the playing field in their favor. I’m glad they were caught and so sorry for the deserving kids who were shafted. And, agree with the poster who said that this moral bankruptcy is horribly damaging to the perpetrators’ kids, as well.
On another subject: I am climbing the walls!!! How are others handling the stress right now?!!
Don’t want to start dual soapboxes but “rich people being corrupt” doesn’t really have coast/middle America divide. Not in general, not in this specific scam (there are SAT centers in Houston and colleges in North Carolina involved)
@TxSker So true! I do agree wholeheartedly. I was just trying to see the human side of it and the effect it had on those impacted by it, but you’re so right. Lori Loughlin plays these wholesome chararcters on the Hallmark channel and what she and her bratty daughter did (sounds like she knew exactly what was going on) was far from wholesome.
The pressure of being perfect in a fake perfect world doesn’t excuse the behavior just makes me understand why they did it. Like I said, those parents and their children needed a good dose of Vitamin N to learn the lesson that they can’t have everything they want no matter how rich, pretty, famous they are. It’s another case of people who’ve been given a lot, not appreciating what they have and thinking they’re invincible. Now their friends and family have to deal with the horrific reality of what they did.
And yes, I feel for the kids who didn’t get the spots these kids got. There’s a great article that I read in the WSJ when we were going about the college process with middle daughter. This kid did everything she could to get into an Ivy League School but was rejected for multiple reasons. I guess she can now add her parents couldn’t pay someone to help her cheat her way into college.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324000704578390340064578654
@akapiratequeen I’m doing what I should have done a year ago knowing D was probably going to realize that her life is music school and not Pharmacy school. Researching! Crazy mom, here. I’m making a spreadsheet with the musicians of almost every orchestra in the US and what schools they went to. I can’t say it’s helping, making me realize we should have applied to more schools but it’s keeping me busy. D has so much make up work from all the school she missed and preparing new music for All State Solo Festival that she doesn’t have time to worry.
Haha @sunnysar! I made a lovely spreadsheet of the COA for every school S applied to, as well as his offer (he’s only got one so far so left blank for others) and net cost afterward. I figured it would help us compare apples to apples.
Of course, we need the offers first…
@akapiratequeen …climbing the walls as well 
@dsinha I agree and maybe should not have included to coastal regions but the Hollywood elites is something that does stick and for many is synonymous with the coastal areas and in particular CA/LA and NY. To me this is like being lectured about the sanctity of marriage by someone that turns out to be an adulterous cretin. As with anything we shouldn’t paint everyone with the same broad brush.