By: Nora B.
Recently, the Department of Education uncovered a 25 million dollar scam in which wealthy parents were getting their children admitted to high-level colleges without qualifications. This is not the first time that many have cheated on standardized tests, but it is by far the largest charge in the U.S.
The Department found this out while working on a case focused on securities fraud, when one of the suspects gave information about false college admissions. They were led to a second prime leader in the scams, a Yale soccer coach named Rudolph Meredith, from him they were able to track the scams to William Singer.
The main person leading the scams was Singer, who orchestrated the payments and methods the parents used to get their children into colleges. Singer is the founder of The Edge College and Career Network, where wealthy parents pay between $15,000 and $75,000 to get their children into colleges. Singer would use the payments to bribe test overseers, get adults to take the children’s tests, or to give the children extra time on their exams.
Singer’s schemes allowed many children to get into colleges with a full-paid or high scholarship. These scholarships were generally for high athleticism, which none of the children actually had.
The news has angered parents and students alike- the issue becoming a notorious topic on school grounds, and has led to students suing their colleges for allowing such events to happen. Parents of qualifying students were angered by the findings, as the children whose parents paid to get in were taking the positions of people who had worked hard to qualify for the school.
The final outcome has led to 50 parents (so far) being charged with conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud-which means they deprived others of the intangible right of honest services (in this case going to college). Most children are not facing direct punishments, although select colleges are giving minor punishments to students who were involved. The coaches and teachers in the schemes have been put on leave or fired.
So why did they do it?
Some parents may have felt the need to do this because of pressure to get their students into the highest rated college, thus proving that they have “smart” children.
The pressure to perform is not uncommon, but it can be easy to forget that everyone experiences it in different ways. The wealthy parents wanted their children to appear successful in society’s eyes, and went against the law to make sure it happened. This was not the right action to take and they were later charged for their actions, but there are better ways to help with pressure.
Start by asking, “Why?” Why are you feeling pressure, and why should you act or not? The pressure placed on you can be negative and cause you to think something matters when it truly doesn’t. If the pressure is more positive, it can drive you to focus on improvement and be the reminder that you can and will improve. The pressures are different, but your reaction to them is what matters in the end.
Here’s a good list for what to do when you’re feeling pressured.
Sources on the topic include:
https://www.nytimes.com/news-event/college-admissions-scandal
https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/13/us/what-we-know-college-admissions-cheating-scandal/index.html
https://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a26801201/college-admissions-bribery-scandal-felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin/
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