On March 12, 50 different people, made up of 33 parents and other school officials, were charged in a massive college bribery scandal. There were eight colleges wrapped up in the case, which were all elite and prestigious colleges.

The scam was lead by Rick Singer. Wealthy parents would get in touch with him and tell them what schools they were looking at and their students information. Singer would then go through two routes. He would either fake SAT or ACT scores or bribe Division 1 coaches to recommend the students.

After the news broke, thousands of people around the country have been hurt over the fact that the position of these students were taken from other students who had worked hard and were denied a college entry.

“I thought it was pretty unfair that they just bought their way in. Now that I know that the system is like that I think it isn’t fair that they were able to just buy their way in and skip all the hard parts that most people have to do,” said Nathan Shortt (‘19).

Other people are less surprised that the wealthy were able to circumvent the system. “I think if they have the money they should be able to do it. If they want to waste their money they can, but I don’t think they should,” said Justin Zerr (‘19).

Another discussion has been whether or not the students should be charged. In one instance, a student had no idea what was going on behind the scenes. A college advisor met with one of the students and asked him about his track history. The student was confused because he’d never played track.

In another, rather than go through sports, a father paid Mark Riddell to take the ACT for his daughter. Riddell was involved in a majority of the cases involving fake SAT or ACT scores. In this particular instance, Riddell assured the father that his daughter “will think she took it.” Riddell posed as the test proctor and then after she left, Riddell doctored her answers to score at least a 32.

As of right now, no students have been charged and the public is waiting to see what happens next.

Source

Stanley-Becker, Isaac. “Who Was Acing Tests for Rich Kids in the Admissions Scam? A pro Tennis Player and ‘Really Smart Guy,’ Feds Say.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 13 Mar. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/03/13/who-was-acing-tests-rich-kids-admissions-scam-pro-tennis-player-really-smart-guy-feds-say/?utm_term=.e10455a18baf.