What Students Are Saying About the College Admissions Cheating Scandal

A year later, I still find this upsetting because wealthy families took advantage and did a selfish act so that they can tell others that their kids go to a prestigious college. These kids didn't earn their way to these colleges and I think that they should re-apply to see if they actually earned their spot or not. Many claimed to be athletes and took someone else's spot, who probably spent many years in training and worked hard all so that someone wealthy who has no clue about the sport takes their spot. Besides sports, they also took away someone who worked really hard in school and extracurriculars.

I am genuinely not suprised by this becuase this is the kind of America that we live in nowadays . We were built on the hardworking foundation of American dreamers and the country has become about wealth and power. As a student I work extremely hard and I dedicate much of my life to school and to find out that I lost a spot to a school becuase some other kid cheated his way in is just apalling. If I don't get into a college of choice becuase someone worked harder than me, thats fair but because my family doesn't have deep enough pockets I can't get in. Is this the knd of America that you want to live in ? Are people like Felicity huffman and Lori Loughlin really the people you want to look up to ?

I think this is Ridiculous. a student should get accepted to a college Based on their academic achievements, not the amount of money they have. People think that money is the only thing that will make you a successful human in life. to have intelligence is a gift, and for some students to work so hard in order to have a good life someday and others get into a college due to the amount of money they spent to get there, is shameful and not okay whatsoever. this should get situated.

Honestly not surprised, but surprised at the same time. Surprised because they lot this happen right under their noses, and bribes happen all the time when it comes to Ivy league school. Their parents "Donate" money to the school and their child happens to get into the school right after. I'm not surprised because white people(Assuming that the majority of the people in this scandal are white) are historically used to getting away with these types of illegal activities. Corruption is very common among people with power, and these schools were set up for only white people to get accepted, not minorities, so my question is, if they're wealthy, and white, why would they need to cheat their way in? They were most likely getting in any way.

I think that this is just stupid because why. Just. Why. why would you do this. can't you just let them get in on their own?

We need to let people easily get an education so they don't go around at all times and all moments and actually kill by accident at any instant the educated.

It never ceases to amaze me how our "non-profit" higher education system manages to evade accountability or criticism. Consider the following -- - Total university endowments are over $500 Billion…untaxed. The so called "elite" universities with endowments over $500k per student recently sent an army of lobbyists to oppose a 1.4% tax on future endowment earnings..less than 2 cents on the dollar - Tuitions have skyrocketed 200%-400% faster than inflation over the past 20 years… - Total student debt over $1.5trillion… - These universities never increase enrollment -- they work very hard to minimize their acceptance rate (ie reject as many people as possible) - Huge chunk of our workforce has their jobs outsourced/automated/lost to cheap imported labor, while at the same time being priced out of education/credentials they need to find new jobs (real jobs that don't entail a massive pay cut)… I can go on and on and on.... This higher education system gets an "F" from me, and these universities need to be expelled from their role in society as soon as possible

The cheating scandal is upsetting to me because if I earned a spot in a college then a celebrity buys my spot for their child then my future could be ruined. Thank goodness that this issue has been brought into the public eye so then everyone can see how bad somethings have gotten.

The cheating scandal should be a surprise to no one, as it's well known that wealthy families buy their way into "selective schools" because they have the means and are worshipped like gods by an ignorant public. The polite euphemism is "alumni donation." We all know this, yet the American public delights in the fact that Lori Loughlin was stupid and arrogant enough to get caught. Unfortunately, the comments here are all about how the wealthy took their kid's place or some other kid's place because the colleges more or less arranged for "alternative testing services." Let's get real for a second; Americans, especially those on the West and East Coasts, have never been pro-meritocracy when it comes to college selection, hence the emphasis on ridiculous exams that do not correspond in any way to success in college nor reflect what has actually been learned in K-12. Just ask any college professor or decent high school teacher; just because a student has a good SAT score does not mean he/she can write a cogent essay or think critically. (At even so-called "selective institutions," we are regularly confronted with this reality.) Having said this, Americans need to accept the harsh truth that these "top schools" do not ensure a better education. Most Ivy League educated people are as educated as graduates from state schools. They're just better at protecting certain resources and many newcomers do not benefit. My advice: save your money and apply elsewhere.

Not just colleges that the wealthy cheat their kids into, it starts when the kids are much younger. When kids are five or six years old, the wealthy buy their way onto sports clubs; my experience was limited to soccer, baseball and basketball. It's no secret that money influences opinion; especially if the parents are paying a club coach $125 an hour the day of the game and sometime during the week to prep their son. My older son tried out for a local soccer club and he was one of the best at the tryout; I am certified soccer coach up through high school so I do evaluations myself. I politiely asked the soccer coach during the evaluations if the team had many spots. He told me NO; the parents on the team are well established and honestly, well paying, parents so that some kids may not be that strong at the tryout, but they will stay on the team. My son made a flight one team and very much enjoyed his similar experience that he would have had on the club team. I appreciated the club coach's honesty that the club's integrity was compromised by those who pay. How many wealthy senators pay off Ivy league schools in New Jersey by making a wealthy donation to the school...so why will youth sports teams be any different...here's another quote. "the parents are of quality!"

this is unfair because they took someone else's chance of being a famous soccer player or a famous tennis player this makes me mad because other people had to work hard and study all night to get to those university's or colleges rather in this case the just got it handed to them because there parents bribed teachers to cheat on sat's and other people had to study all night and work hard to do good in those test .

Universities are for-profit businesses. Where there is profit, corruption is possible. Although this is deplorable, it's hardly shocking. We see versions of this situation in govt. and corporate jobs as well. Also, when did innate intelligence become unimportant? I am intelligent. I am also self-taught and had a wonderful career. Yes, times have changed. But rushing HS graduates into University (and student debt) when they likely have no idea the career they want to pursue, and so no idea the major they should declare, is not helpful. It's abusive. More and more jobs are requiring University with applications for jobs that have no need, whatever, for university. At the same time, there are many university graduates who ended up pursuing careers totally unrelated to their major as well as many who are pursuing careers where university simply isn't needed. Honesty needs to be injected into this process on all sides.

I Believe that this problem is unfair because people who have money could cheat and people who don't have no money won't cheat. I think there should be no cheating in order to enter college. So this is wrong because they allowed people to cheat the way in to college.

I believe that it wont be fair if many people are being paid to take the exams so others can just have fun in a college or university meanwhile other students that don't have much money , so they work hard to try to get accepted at a college of choice, for a better life, but when rich people have money, they spend their money on their children and have them accepted to a university or college, by either using someone else to do the test or to have a picture photo shopped with their child's face in it so they can join a sport this makes me mad because most people who work hard don't get chosen by these people.

I think it's unfair that kids get to pay there way into college just because they are rich.I don't think it's fair for kids who actually tried there best to get into a college they worked hard for. I think that the college admissions favor the wealthy more than the less unfortunate because if they can pay it's more better for their own tuition college.It also surprised me that those people who took the in place of others did this because there smarter than that?

I believe that the cheating scandal is unfair because the people that got accepted cheated there way in or bribed a coach. A reason why it's unfair is because their families are rich. High ranking colleges really don't accept that a lot of kids because the way they set up there their acceptance. I think that the parents of the students should be held responsible for the crime. I don't feel like it's fair for the students that actually are trying there best. Some people don't have the advantage to go to school.

I believe the college scandal is unfair for people who worked hard to get into college to earn a better opportunity because a lot of kids lost an opportunity to get into college.I am upset that the people who paid their way into college with no interest in learning is terrible because people who worked really hard to get into a good college want to be someone in life.I think that the college admissions process is rigged to favor the wealthy because many wealthy parents paid for their children to go to college to play in sports with no experience.It also teaches high school students that the system could be rigged into getting into college.I think the college scandal is unfair because there was opportunities to go to college given to wealthy kids and taken away from poor kids.

Its unfair that people can pay their way into anything but college to be exact. So many kids study for for exams and work hard to get high test scores. Just to get scholarships for college. Athletes who work hard training and practicing to go to college. But then have their seats taken by a student who has never played the sport and get accepted by the sport is unfair. This scandal is wrong and they should get in trouble for what they did.

I was surprised that this scandal was just coming forward now because I have honestly seen so many similar actions taken on a smaller scale in my own community. It is not uncommon for people to use connections to get into elite schools or have letters written by donors. The system is corrupt for so many reasons. Even when students get into schools honestly, the business-aspect of schools has created another conflict around scholarships recently. I think at the end of the day, if someone is using money or cheating as a way to get into an elite school, it may not be the best fit and that student may end up struggling. The corruption is upsetting for me as someone who just went through the process, but I have also learned that, in the end, that person who was admitted to a school they couldn't have gotten into honestly is the one who will ultimately face the consequences whether that be struggling academically or facing guilt and questioning if they are where they are meant to be.

As many of the others said, I was appalled but not surprised. It really describes the college process because there are so many unfair ways that students get into college that are not even considered "illegal." People who donate buildings or a lot of money to schools are known to get in more easily than a student who is applying without donating previously. The college process has always been messed up, so I was not surprised that people were bribing schools to let their kids in. Even though students in more wealthy areas have a better chance of getting in due to the opportunities and money, they usually still have to work hard in order to get into college, which is why this situation made me so mad. Often times, students will tutor for the ACT for hours a week, are swamped by homework, and work really hard to use the resources given to them. Although it is unfair that not everyone has these resources, at least they work hard to get into college whereas these students do not work hard and still attend high-end schools.

It surprised me because i dont think a rich family would pay to get their kids into college. Also its unfair how innocent parents are getting charged from USC and they and they didn't do anything wrong. They were going to college to have fun not to learn unlike other college kids who want to learn something. That spot could've went to another person who was going to study something. Its also unfair for students like me in middle school trying to get to college , working hard in school. It also wouldn't be fair that a hard working student like me doesn't get a spot in college, because someone else who doesn't care about college and their own education takes my spot, just cause they paid millions of money.

Its unfair because some studnts work really hard to have good grades .I dont think that it is fair that rich kids can cheat their way into getting accepted to college Also that they can cheat their way into getting good scores on important test. The parents made this happen because of there status and because of their careers. The parents should be areested and get sued because not only did they pay but took someone spot who really deserved it . For example, some rich kids were not even intrestied in getting a college degree. They were more entrestied in going to parties, foot ball games, and making youtude videos. This effects me because it can ruin my chance of getting accepted to my dream college in the future.

I believe that the college scandal is unfair because being rich does not mean they can buy there way in to a college education. This is unfair because people don't have that kind of money. We aren't as wealthy we cant buy our way in , so basically colleges are treating us differently. However we actually study really hard to get in a college and these rich people just buy there way in without even trying. We also go to college for an education not just to have fun.

Our country is built on individuality. Even when things weren't deserved, the people who constructed the U.S. felt it necessary to take what they liked. This mindset is still around today and with the exposure of this college scandal, it's made so much more apparent. If you don't have the sheer money to bypass and use shortcuts, unfortunately you'll have to take the normal route, made for 99% of us.

I believe peoples' reactions, most notably their outrage and complete lack of surprise, says a lot about college culture. The fact that this is a thing that happens has always been unspoken and in line with the idea that college is a privilege game. Historically speaking, college has always been a privilege game. The very first colleges were more like a communal living space for America's wealthiest. So the outcry about how this is "unfair" is incredibly ironic to me because the US college system has always been intrinsically unfair since its' conception. To underprivileged rural kids and poor city kids, the suburbanites have practiced the privilege of fancy tutoring and repeat attempts on our so-called standardized tests, and this practice of bribery is just on the extreme end of ways that people have hacked the college admissions process. And this time the bribery just happened to be blatant instead of the "generous alumni donations" we're used to. The myth of white meritocracy in Ivy League schools just got shattered and exposed for, as commenter Jason Melnick put it, "rich, mostly white mediocrity" and it's shaking our nation because we have steadfastly resisted conversations about systemic oppression and privilege. The cool thing about this collection of reactions is that is shows that the majority of students in agreement-and agreement is rare nowadays. I doubt it, but I hope this outrage is sustained so we that our generation can take action like we did for Parkland.

As someone who just went through the process, the process changes how you see yourself because of how uncomfortable and hard of a time it is. You are one of thousands of students trying to get into their dream school. It takes an astronomical amount of work and money to be successful, and many come close to barely making ends meet just to be successful. It's upsetting that students got cheated out of opportunities for the elite, although not surprising at all that a white person would believe that they re entitled to this privilege.

I read an interesting article this week about how there will soon be a test that can be given to young children to determine how smart they will be, what school they can get in etc. While reading the comments I saw one that said "You can already do that, its called your zipcode". In the context of this college scandal, people who are wealthy or grow up in a richer community seem to always have the upper hand, getting into better schools (either through academics or through paying a lot of money), actually paying less because they had a better education and can get better scholarships. The fact that we need programs such as Affirmative Action to make the admissions program less biased toward rich white people and more fair for all. I know some who said that in reality, it didn't hurt anyone because they just replaced other rich white people who would've gotten into these schools since the schools take the same amount of minority students each year. But it did hurt people, people who wanted to go to a good school, only to realize that they were equal or lesser to rich people. What I find most troubling about this story is how people are all mad about how these people got admission, but not about how rich people donate millions of dollars in charity each year to schools, some not even their alma mater, just in the hopes that their kids, often not smart enough to get into their school on their own merit get admitted.

I believe the college scandal is unfair because they have money, they can buy their way in, but those who don't have money can't take the same actions. Also they took advantage of spots the university had for them to enter. Mean while others got their spot taken away by a wealthy family. I feel like wealthy people take their money for granted. I don't think it's fair that the kids who are wealthy get an admission, while I'm a hard working student that earned a spot in school, I didn't buy my way in. I'm going to school to have a better future not for fun.