https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/03/us/usc-admissions-scandal-students.html. Would love to hear feedback from current students and parents.
I read the article. While there is of course a ring of truth to it - in terms of the reality that yes - all of that can be said about certain individuals at USC… it was also clearly slanted and biased against USC as the prime example. To me, the most truthful statement within the article was, “And wealthy students are a fixture at elite colleges across the country — the challenges at U.S.C. are similar to issues faced by students at many top private universities.” But that of course was not the focus of this article which tried to paint USC as maybe even more so… or to single it out. The headline of “What’s Life Like as a Student at U.S.C.? Depends on the Size of the Bank Account” could have just as easily applied to scores of elite private colleges and universities.
Back in the 1980s, at Johns Hopkins, for example, a guy that I barely knew from my dorm paid me $100 to let him use my car for his driver’s license test. Then, he asked me to drive him to a car lot where he purchased a band new convertible sports car by simply supplying the dealership with his dad’s credit car. Another freshman’s father, after seeing the poor quality of dorms there, bought a luxury condo near campus for his son and his friends to live in instead. Those were just two examples from week one of my college experience. I could go on and on. And such stories could be replicated at the Ivies, Duke, Northwestern, Vanderbilt, UCLA, Stanford, etc. But this article of course wanted to primarily focus on USC.
Had they interviewed my daughter or her friends instead, they would have provided a different tone entirely. Are there examples of wealth at USC? Of course. There are many examples of it. It is not as pervasive as the article makes it sound however, and students can easily make new friends more closely aligned with their own backgrounds. Neither of my daughters hung out with super wealthy kids… as they seem to instead gravitate to their own. They were friendly with some, but not close friends. In fact… I was actually very surprised at my daughter’s SDA graduation last May, for example. I recognized some of the celebrity parents of the students my daughter had done short films with or knew from classes, and I was surprised that my daughter had not mentioned who their parents were. She simply replied that it never came up. Clearly she knew that some came from great wealth, but in reality, it very quickly becomes something not talked about or discussed.
Neither of my daughters have described their USC experience as being significantly affected by the presence of some children from uber-wealthy backgrounds. Statistically speaking, there are more students there who are FirstGen or actually qualify for Pell Grants, etc. And that does not come up either. Ultimately, most students simply find their own way and make friends with whomever they connect with over time. If an admitted student is going to have an adverse reaction to the fact that some of their classmates come from wealth, then they may want to reconsider attending USC… or reconsider attending any of America’s elite private colleges or universities. The reality is that there are disparities of wealth and income in American society. Colleges and universities are a reflection of that society at large, and students at each of them are going to be exposed to much more than what most kids were exposed to at their high schools. Such is life… and sooner or later, everyone just needs to get used to reality.
^I agree - this applies to lots of universities, and life in general. Students should concentrate hard on studying and doing well in college so they have a chance to succeed afterwards. Being envious of other kids doesn’t help at all.
^While I agree to some extent, I also think it probably more felt not because of USC but because it’s LA. I lived in LA before and you really get that vibe more so than other cities. I personally got rear ended by an uninsured BMW. That image thing is important in many places but definitely even more so in LA.
My very dear friend has a daughter who transferred to USC as well as children who went various other schools. To her, the article was spot on. Her daughter met more of the splashy rich and famous at USC than she did from her first school, and more than her other kids did at other schools. I think a lot of it is LA and California which allows for the type of life style that, say Baltimore or Pittsburgh would not render. It’s one thing to have the money to go buy a car, spend a lot going to the best restaurants, etc , but going to Hollywood and celebrity bashes are a whole other level.
NYC also lends itself to showing stark contrasts in lifestyles. The upper echelon in wealth and power get access to things that are mind boggling even to the mere well to do kids. Even Bloomberg does not seem so intimidating in Baltimore, but in NYC, it’s a whole other things. I’ve seen him in both settings, wielding a lot more financial giving at Hopkins than at the function in Manhattan, but things were just of a whole different tone in the two cities.
Wealth shaming, not surprised to see it written by an east coast paper. Could be written about most private schools, but big surprise, they pick USC. (Unhealthy fascination and jealousy of LA and Hollywood permeates online media, yet the Kardashians have millions of followers, go figure.)
btw, those splashy rich kids have parents that fund a lot of the programs and facilities at schools across the country and around the world. USC was built on donations, a lot of them from the uber wealthy. Dr. Dre didn’t have to give $70M but he did. How many middle or lower SES have donated $5 bucks or $25 bucks to anything in their life, let alone a school? Not many. They can afford the 5 bucks like the super-millionaire can afford donating millions, but many give nothing, and instead spend their time shaming others for being successful. Sadly, the shame and blame game is the trend these days.
Again, first hand knowledge and account is better than random shade thrown by the “I know somebody” gossipy lunch chitter chatter crowd or an interview of one or two. I’ll take legitimate data rather than yahoo type sensationalized news stories any day.
This issue isn’t specific to USC. It’s typical of top tier universities everywhere nowadays, be they public or private. Keep in mind that wealthy kids need an education too, and so long as they’re qualified, their wealth shouldn’t be held against them. Money and character are two completely independent variables - I’ve known lower income people who were jerks and wealthy people who’re down to earth, humble, and just as hardworking as anyone else. Unfortunately, some people can’t handle the fact that other people have more money than they do.
@uscalum05 Excellent point. Very true.