Massive cheating scheme for elite college admissions, via ACT testing and fake athletic recruiting

People seem to be focusing on the smart/not smart portion of this story, but the recruited athlete part bothers me more. If you're bright, but not smart enough to get into a prestigious school, you still might survive academically with a lot of effort, tutoring, etc. Yeah, you took someone's spot, but probably just another rich or brilliant kid's, who found other equally enticing pathways.

But if you've never played lacrosse in your life, you're not going to survive college LAX. You're going to do what they said: never show up for practice and then quit/be quietly dismissed from the team. And you've totally stolen the spot of some athlete out there, who may not be rich or brilliant, but had this one thing that might have given them a leg up. :(
 
But if you've never played lacrosse in your life, you're not going to survive college LAX. You're going to do what they said: never show up for practice and then quit/be quietly dismissed from the team. And you've totally stolen the spot of some athlete out there, who may not be rich or brilliant, but had this one thing that might have given them a leg up. :(

I don't think anyone would disagree with this. I honestly don't have a problem with talented athletes getting a spot. Someone masquerading as a recruitable athlete is the same thing as cheating on ACTs (and masquerading as a good student). In most sports, its their ticket to an education and forward in life. I do have a problem with talented athletes (in revenue sports) going to four years of college without any intent of getting a degree. I would rather see them paid a wage or invent a major that is their sport (so they make sure they have life skills).
 
@Devil Doc Aren't you close enough to go watch them train or something? Oh wait, that's FBI. NCIS trains somewhere in Georgia. I have agents living on each side of me. I've decided not to bother investing in a Ring door bell.
Yep the Academy is just through the woods. The new, not so new anymore, NCIS HQ is outside the gate of that side of Quantico. The TV show still has Gibbs and crew at the old Navy Yard building.

My son in law worked at NCIS for a couple years and gave me a hoodie with ‘NCIC’ stamped on it. One day a colleague said, “oh NCIS, I love that show.” I told her I did as well but the jacket was from the actual agency. She said, “wait, that’s a real thing?” Duh

On another unrelated, related topic, the aforementioned son in law and my daughter and two grandsons live in an enclave of active and retired secret service agents. The eldest daughter of the agent next door has re-buffed the advances of my four old. I felt so bad for him yesterday as he stared into her backyard with the trampoline and huge playground-worthy play set, that I bought him an expensive trampoline. Afterward I felt kind of dumb realizing people living in that neighborhood can afford to buy their own backyard toys. But, it’s my grandson and I can’t wait to jump on it with him. It’ll be delivered Tuesday.
 
If you want to take a SAT/ACT Test at a location o/t your high school (where they know you) it should be one of those independent testing locations where doctors, nurses, lawyers, etc. take their recertification tests. You sit in a cubicle after turning in your cellphone.
 
But if you've never played lacrosse in your life, you're not going to survive college LAX. You're going to do what they said: never show up for practice and then quit/be quietly dismissed from the team. And you've totally stolen the spot of some athlete out there, who may not be rich or brilliant, but had this one thing that might have given them a leg up. :(

I don't think anyone would disagree with this. I honestly don't have a problem with talented athletes getting a spot. Someone masquerading as a recruitable athlete is the same thing as cheating on ACTs (and masquerading as a good student). In most sports, its their ticket to an education and forward in life. I do have a problem with talented athletes (in revenue sports) going to four years of college without any intent of getting a degree. I would rather see them paid a wage or invent a major that is their sport (so they make sure they have life skills).
I know everybody knows this but I’m just making conversation. Here’s the way I see the team spots being used by this organization. Most of the sports are tennis, crew, water polo, etc. All college sports except for football and basketball have far fewer scholarships than player spots. Baseball for example has 13.5 scollies if fully funded. The coach can blend baseball and academic money to entice top players. Full grants in aid for the minor sports are rare. The coach has a number of spots available to get his/her recruits in. They come in and either make the team or not and many are self-cut after seeing the writing on the wall when they compare themselves to the other players. So unless the Georgetown tennis coach or Yale soccer coach is doing more than one of these deals every year or two, there probably is not a lot of kids being denied admission due to the scam. Still very illegal and not cool.

As far as athletes going to college with no intent of getting a degree. The major football programs bring in so much money that many minor sports are funded as well as tons of money is poured into the general scholarship fund. I know that Saban and Swinney have a rigorous tutoring and attendance monitoring program. The five star recruit goes to Bama and Clemson to make it to the NFL. Many of them graduate on time or early then stay on or transfer and start a masters. I would be stunned if a major D-1 football coach’s name shows up in this mess. I do remember though the son of an entertainer somehow made it to USC football but no scholarship was involved. I need to look that up.
 
If you want to take a SAT/ACT Test at a location o/t your high school (where they know you) it should be one of those independent testing locations where doctors, nurses, lawyers, etc. take their recertification tests. You sit in a cubicle after turning in your cellphone.
I have to proctor PSAT, WIDA, and our state’s standardized subject tests every year as part of my professional duties. After learning of this gig I might sign up to proctor the SAT. I had no idea this kind of money was possible.
 
In his early years of high school, our son began to exhibit some disturbing signs which indicated that he might be a moron. I'll pass over the worst incidents, including those involving law enforcement, and simply note this was irrefutably confirmed when he was caught sleeping in the bed of his pick-up truck during study hall. My wife and I resigned ourselves to this dismal fact and vowed to love him no less than our other children. One day his SAT results arrived, and we gathered round to provide support. When he opened the envelope, we were stunned at first but then filled with immense pride - our son had become the first moron in the history our state to get an 800 on the College Boards.

Damn, this was a fine bit of writing. I was on the edge of my seat following the story to its surprising conclusion. Well done @EDelahanty , well done.
 
I have whittled it down to this for me:

I. Cannot. Stand. Cheaters.

Anyone who thinks they are better or more deserving than anyone else.

You wants something? Work harder. You don’t cheat to get it.

That’s what bothers me. Cheating.
 
In his early years of high school, our son began to exhibit some disturbing signs which indicated that he might be a moron.

When did he quit showing those signs? Has he quit? Don't think your kid is anything special.

My DS#2 (23 years old, Mechanical Engineer, Medically DQed from NROTC scholarship to U Mich) took an extended trip to Nepal last fall. I told him I would pay for all Vaccinations recommended by the CDC, WHO, etc. One of those was for rabies. He told me he didn't need it. He "researched" the subject, on the internet of course, and told me, "I don't need it. I read to just stay away from the dogs and don't make eye contact with the monkeys." He was pickpocketed with 36 hours of his arrival. I'll bet you can't top that.

Glad to see you haven't quit SAF.
 
It must be me but I am not as upset or traumatized about this cheating scandal. The media has been covering this all morning and many people including many people here are very upset about it. I have always assumed that there has always been money being exchanged to allow some people in. As i posted before, there are plenty of rich people who have donated money to the colleges which paved the way for their kids to get in. There is a reason many Elite colleges have buildings named after famous rich people. If you think about it one way, this scandal is about those who are wealthy but not necessarily super wealthy (although there are some involved) being allowed to play the same game. In other words, they dont have the money to donate 10 million dollars to Harvard but they could afford 15,000 to 500,000. This amount of money wouldnt get them an interview with the Dean of Harvard but it does give them access to coaches and SAT proctors. Dont get me wrong, I dont condone it nor approve it, just not surprised by it. What does surprise me is that coaches who get paid to accept the students as student athletes and those parents who are photoshopping their kids faces on top of a real athlete. Honestly, as terrible as that is, i can sort of appreciate the effort they went through. People seem to get upset because these kids have taken the spot of some other more deserving student. That would be true if we could assume that all of the kids who get accepted to a college are the best of the applicants and yet we know that isnt true. Colleges accept students based on a criteria of their own design. Harvard is being sued for cutting the number of Asian students because their criteria is to accept more minority students who may not have the same scores as the higher achieving Asians. UCLA and Berkley which are financed by the citizens of California, looks to bring in more out of state and foreign students because they pay more. They too limit Asian students and are actively looking for a more diverse population. These schools map out what their school population will look like regardless if better scoring students arent admitted. I just figured one section of the student population is made up of kids who parents paid for them to get in. Again, i dont support what they did, i wouldnt never do it even if i had 500K to spend. I just not surprised by it.
@Humey, I think what makes this scandal so sensational is that most of us can relate directly, in that we and/or our kids have gone through this process. Contrasted with shockers like Madoff (rich people lost money) or Enron (Wall Street greed took down one company), this one hits home. In our affluent town many parents hire consultants to help kids prepare for SATs, complete applications, and in extreme cases, write their essays for them. We did not, and seeing this story makes me feel really good about that. This scandal was uncovered by accident - guaranteed there are more pockets of this. My bottom line is that mean people suck.
 
In his early years of high school, our son began to exhibit some disturbing signs which indicated that he might be a moron.

When did he quit showing those signs? Has he quit? Don't think your kid is anything special.

Not my problem anymore. He's married.

My DS#2 (23 years old, Mechanical Engineer, Medically DQed from NROTC scholarship to U Mich) took an extended trip to Nepal last fall. I told him I would pay for all Vaccinations recommended by the CDC, WHO, etc. One of those was for rabies. He told me he didn't need it. He "researched" the subject, on the internet of course, and told me, "I don't need it. I read to just stay away from the dogs and don't make eye contact with the monkeys." He was pickpocketed with 36 hours of his arrival. I'll bet you can't top that.

I probably can, but not here. In fact, he is a co-holder of a world record.
 
Don't fool yourselves. Money talks; It always has.

My kids (and likely yours) are competing for grades against kids whose parents sign them up for Honors and AP classes, and then spend thousands of dollars on tutors and other paid assistants to get their kids through the curriculum successfully. Parents are paying for adults to write their kid's college admissions essays, and proof-read and correct every English paper that is handed in. We hear about it every day. For example, my son's buddy already has a Chemistry tutor in 9th Grade, just so he can get an "A" in Honors Chem...but not my son; he has to earn his "A" through studying and busting his butt. If my kids are going to succeed, it's going to be without my or my wife's help (no homework assistance), and DEFINITELY without us paying for them to gain an unfair advantage (we're not in the financial situation to even consider tutoring, or extra help). We did pay for an SAT prep course last summer and made our older son chip in so that he understood the financial cost that was involved. I actually felt a little dirty even paying for that, when there are plenty of free or low cost ways to prepare for the SAT.

It's a lot like steroids in baseball. Once a couple of individuals start gaining an unfair advantage, others start to break the rules "just to keep up with the cheaters". And just like sports...bad parents ruin EVERYTHING. We could have the same discussion about all the money that is spent on kids gaining an advantage in most other activities such as sports, music, theater, etc. None of this should come as a complete surprise to any of us...the game has changed and bad parents (with money) will pay to "outsource" improvements to their kids academic, athletic and musical achievements.

Cheaters never win and winners never cheat. It's a pretty good motto to teach your kids. Good thing is that kids who do it on their own are 100% better prepared to succeed in the real world.
 
Don't fool yourselves. Money talks; It always has.

My kids (and likely yours) are competing for grades against kids whose parents sign them up for Honors and AP classes, and then spend thousands of dollars on tutors and other paid assistants to get their kids through the curriculum successfully. Parents are paying for adults to write their kid's college admissions essays, and proof-read and correct every English paper that is handed in. We hear about it every day. For example, my son's buddy already has a Chemistry tutor in 9th Grade, just so he can get an "A" in Honors Chem...but not my son; he has to earn his "A" through studying and busting his butt. If my kids are going to succeed, it's going to be without my or my wife's help (no homework assistance), and DEFINITELY without us paying for them to gain an unfair advantage (we're not in the financial situation to even consider tutoring, or extra help). We did pay for an SAT prep course last summer and made our older son chip in so that he understood the financial cost that was involved. I actually felt a little dirty even paying for that, when there are plenty of free or low cost ways to prepare for the SAT.

It's a lot like steroids in baseball. Once a couple of individuals start gaining an unfair advantage, others start to break the rules "just to keep up with the cheaters". And just like sports...bad parents ruin EVERYTHING. We could have the same discussion about all the money that is spent on kids gaining an advantage in most other activities such as sports, music, theater, etc. None of this should come as a complete surprise to any of us...the game has changed and bad parents (with money) will pay to "outsource" improvements to their kids academic, athletic and musical achievements.

Cheaters never win and winners never cheat. It's a pretty good motto to teach your kids. Good thing is that kids who do it on their own are 100% better prepared to succeed in the real world.

So true. I enjoyed my blissful ignorance until the can of worms this indictment opened up for me! Makes me even prouder of my own guy doing well at USNA. Personally I would feel like I was actually doing my own children a disservice by providing all those supplemental aids, whether in sports or academics.

At least at a SA, kids who got in via mom and dads help will eventually show their tru colors (hopefully?). Although DS and I were discussing this last night. He said he heard of a classmate who said their parent did their whole application for them. Wrote the essay. This student didn’t want to attend but the parent bribed them to sign (a military family). Obviously don’t know if that’s true or not, but it could happen. I also personally know of a SA parent who over edits (downloads the rubric, reads the original course material, spend 6 hours ‘editing it ‘ etc) their SA child’s essays. Which to me is cheating. So.....ugh. BUT, like anything, all you can do is your best. And I am a believer in Karma. Eventually one gets what they deserve.

Perhaps all this discussion here (to SA lurkers), and media attention to Varsity Blues, will bring a second thought to unethical activities and behavior.
 
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