‘I Put My Work In’: Honest Applicants Await College Admissions Results

Where are the black kids?

Sorry you did not choose to consider an African -American student. Black lives matter.

I heard this from one of the commentators on the PBS News Hour soon after the story broke and the comment was something like this. ”It’s not necessarily where you go to school but how you go to school.”

I applaud the students featured here. However, how many students are being accepted on the basis of their own raw talent and grit vs. the results of advantages received? With affluent families making extensive use of testing and college prep services to help burnish their kids' applications, colleges - especially elite ones- should start asking applicants to list the services they've used and request a pledge of honesty.

This story is nothing new. I went to an Ivy school and there were a small number of very rich privileged people who we were sure were the progeny of big givers. However most could do the work and it enabled my suite mate to go on scholarship. He is now a corporate attorney in Delaware and on the donor list. I’d rather see that than even higher tuition for the upper middle class or more debt for the kids just behind that. As students picket for higher wages for service personnel at university the budget has to balance.

I was a kid with absentee parents. I didn't even know enough to take the SATs. I ended up attending several colleges as a non matriculating student, then dropped out for 14 years, getting married, starting a family, then divorcing. Left almost penniless with a small son. I set my sights on going back to school. Attending a community college for a year I worked like a dog and got straight A's. I then applied to transfer to UCLA, but with little math, no SATs, being 32 and with my mediocre HS record I was told there was no chance that I would get in. It didn't phase me. Applying for winter session to an obscure department where my chances of getting in were better, I hounded the admissions department, getting to know well virtually everyone there. When my application came up, apparently the entire office vouched for my dedication. I was admitted. It was a tough few years of hunting for grants and scholarships while working, going to school full time and raising my child, but I loved school, graduating Cum Laude. My then 6 year old son walked up with me to get my diploma. That son did horribly in HS, he hated it. His SAT scores were good, but not stellar. Slow to start, he attended lower ranked colleges, worked harder, did better, and earned 3 science degrees. I am a successful designer. My son? He is a brilliant nanophysicist working in a great position at one of the top physics labs in the country. It can be done. Without money, position or prestige. It can be done.

I graduated from one of the "Colleges that Change Lives" and change my life it did. I learned how to think critically, how to push myself academically, and how to deal with failure. I don't think I would be the person I am today if not for that small midwestern university that for many college snobs out there is considered a "lesser school." More than 95 percent of students at my alma mater receive some form of financial aid, a statistic that few elite schools can brag about. We need to change our thinking about what a good education means and get away from labels and name brands.

Makes a good story, eh? The facts are that these crooks are a very, very small minority. Most applications are treated decently, respectfully, and, yes, logically. And, of course, if you can't get into the Ivy League, there is almost certainly a Community College nearby and it is likely that by now your state has required the State University(ies) to accept their credits. The biggest problem with Higher Education, of course, is Ronald Reagan and the Republican's and their consistent attacks on it and failure to fund it in the way it was intended to be funded, especially the Land Grant System.

I like these students, am in the midst of hearing back from colleges and knowing that others have most definitely cheated their way in to schools I want to go to (like Stanford) has been really frustrating. However, the company the money was laundered through (the “foundation”) is based half a mile from my school and I’m afraid that the optics of the city my school is in will cause colleges to turn me down (for the record my school is has very wide range and mixture of income levels from very wealthy to very much not so)

The college admissions scandal has happened before, over and over, and will happen again. While terrible and worthy of the punishment outlined by law, those that benefited represent a low number of college students. Do your children a favor and teach them this: people with money and connection will profit from those things. All of your honest effort doesn't mean a whole lot, especially if no one can profit from it. So what? Find meaning and validation in your own accomplishments, and put less value on what a corrupt, greedy and superficial society says you should do/have/be. Don't "woe is me, I tried my best and didn't get in". Move on.

Many children living in underprivileged areas aren't lucky enough to have proactive parents like Ms. Ge. But there are guidance counselors in these schools who could be proactive for them. Rather than spending a majority of time dealing with disruptive students, guidance counselors could spend more time with students who need help understanding how to take advantage of opportunities starting in the early school years of their education. I would like to see pictures of the rich people, other than just the celebrities plastered over the media. They, too, deserve public recognition rather than being hidden away on a list.

I spent 6 years at a government agency that was stacked to the rafters with Ivy League-educated lawyers (the accountants, like myself, mostly came from state schools). The experience taught me that while getting into those schools may be hard, they don’t provide a superior education. My Grandfather went to Cornell, his brothers went to Princeton and Dartmouth. They all had good but perfectly average careers. Paying extra to get into one of these schools is crazy. I struggle to understand how students and their parents justify spending $300k on an education that will, if they’re lucky, land a job paying $50k. Seems like a bubble.

As a veteran high school teacher, I can honestly say that we should be focusing on two questions here only: Why can't colleges keep their costs down, and why are we focusing on every issue exception who DOESN'T get into a college because of the parents who feel they are "just going that extra mile for their kid?" Perhaps they could also pay for the hard working, intelligent kids I have known who worked themselves out of difficult circumstances yet had high enough scores to get into a great school but were not accepted. How do these elite parents justify pushing their kid in front of these great kids? Heartless.

@Joshua Schwartz Football and basketball have nothing to do with academia either. Yet, they are heavily recruited. With the cost of college, I applaud students who capitalize on their skills and talents to help fund their educations.

"Staying within the rules".... Employing the euphemisms of "diversity" and "affirmative action", the current rules are racist. Applicants with white skin are held to higher academic standards than blacks or hispanics.

What's interesting in all this is there is rarely a word about what the kids want to do when all the dust settles and they have their degrees. It seems the target is attending this school or that school. College is just a layover, albeit an important one, on their life's path. We as parents, educators and counselors spend far too little time on helping our kids figure out what it is they want to do, an answer, as imperfect as it may be for an 18-year old, that can help guide the student and ease the stress of the process for everyone. After all, if you find your real passion in life is teaching high school math, why endure all the stress of applying to, attending and graduating from MIT, when a degree from your local, state, commuter university will let you pursue your passion just as well. For the athletes out there, the same applies. If you find your real passion is for that sport, and you're not one of the rare few who can make it to the pros or your sport, like most, doesn't have pros who can make a living, coaching doesn't require a degree from Harvard, Berkeley or Stanford. Figure out where you're going first then chart the best course to get there.

No black or latino students featured in this story. What about the students who have put in the work from those communities, and often are targeted as affirmative action acceptees. This is how you unknowingly feed into racist tropes about black and brown students.....Representation is important.

The NY Times said it years ago and I believe it, "A smart & motivated kid will do well no matter where they go to college." Too many are sucked in by marketing people touting expensive universities (and accompanying student loans) as the only path to the future. They would be wrong. Time to reread "The Road Not Taken."

These young people aren't even close to having "put their work in". That the system demands a person reach their peak at 18 years old, accomplishing what appears to be a lifetime of work in a short period of time makes me shudder to think what the world is coming to....

William Singer was running a cheating and bribery ring. However that's a far cry from hiring tutors for test prep and I don't think it's OK to shame people for getting a tutor to help them become better test takers. You wouldn't shame someone for getting s tutor to learn physics would you? So why shame them for trying to learn how to take this test and putting in the hours to do as well on it as one can. That some may have resources to pay for test prep while others don't may be a concern, so expand free prep. Or, maybe the test is or not meaningful for other reasons, so then let's do away with it. Let's not shame kids for striving...legally and within the bounds of morality... For doing the best they can, nor shame their parents for helping them (again within the bounds of the law and morality).

The special consideration given to athletes for college admission has always befuddled me. When my kids were in high school they all played on sports teams. None were the best, above average at most, and I couldn't understand the parents who were sitting in the bleachers keeping careful track of each kid's statistics (including my own daughter's soccer scoring!!!). I went to all their meets and matches, cheered them on, and that was about it. Other kids spent evenings and weekends engaged in club sports, and I never understood why. Now I get it. I just had no idea how important sports are the college admissions process. Those kids do invest a lot of time and commitment to their sports. I'm sure it gives good self discipline skills, teamwork skills, and possibly management skills. For the purpose of success in college though, I'm not sure why it is more heavily weighted than president of an active math, debate, or other school club that cultivate similar skills and dedication.

Test scores and grades are not relevant for many college applicants. Taking into account the college slots taken by legacies, jocks, affirmative action admittees, and cheaters like those whose parents were arrested in the college admissions bribery scam, there aren't many slots left for qualified but middle-class, non-minority kids at the top schools. There is no easy solution to the problem because legacies, jocks and affirmative action seem to be here to stay. And, yes, some cheaters.

This is madness! To go to collage at a "power" school, not because you have worked well, have a rounded personality and interests, but, because parents pay thousands, or more to insure you will be placed in the "Ivy League" doesn't make you a better person, or a better student. I know I am ancient, but back in the day, New York State issued Regents Scholarships based on your rating in the Regents exam. I won one. I lived in the City where that school exists, and worked like crazy as a science major. My parents never went to school beyond 8th grade. I graduated with Latin honors, and entered Medical School back in the day when not many women were chosen for Med School. How did college become such an expensive commodity in which you aren't always chosen because of your work and interviews, but, because you parents "buy" your admission. What's the message and the ethics you "teach" your children?

Looking forward to the NYTimes updates after the admissions letters arrive.

When they’re old, looking back on things, will it matter? I think that is a question worth looking into.

The most important question implied but not answered in this column is: how did we get here? What's driving this madness? What we're doing to our children is officially sick. I understand students are desperate to get into "a good college" because hiring managers conflate the school's prestige with the quality of those who attended. But the psychological stress we are subjecting our children to is monstrous. What kind of message are we sending? The main driver of this insanity is the cynical admission policies of our top colleges. You'll frequently hear admissions folks talk about how their process is "holistic," but what does this mean for an applicant? Turns out it's pretty arbitrary. Good grades & a perfect SAT score are no longer a guarantee. Under a holistic admissions policy, a student with a 3.9 GPA gets turned down while an award-winning tuba player with a 3.2 GPA gets accepted. The student who was the Chess Club President might get preference over the student who had higher ACT scores. No wonder our kids are stressed out. Holistic admissions add irrational subjectivity to admissions decisions. The practice makes it impossible to explain who gets in, who doesn't, & why. Holistic admissions become a guise for allowing cultural & even racial biases to dictate the admissions process. This has to stop. Admission to top schools should be based on grades & test scores. At least a majority of the best & brightest would be going to our best colleges. Isn't that what we want?

I'll take all 4 of these students in a seminar, reading Plato, together, anytime.

That a brilliant student like Karen Ge would think that she has to apologize for her love of math highlights the travesty of the system. Glad to see that MIT knows a future mathematician or scientist when it sees the application of one. She should stay there. MIT will serve her better than Harvard or Stanford. She can change for graduate school when personality issues are less important, if at all. As for Mr. Gosman, I cannot for the life of me think why rowing is important as a criterion to be admitted to university. This type of thing should be dropped. Ms. Sharma is in the "special category" group which might help to gain entry. She will have a difficult time getting through though because of responsibility and having to work etc., but she has a good chance for success. Alas, I don't have a lot of patience when one chooses a school based on where rock-climbing is available nearby. Good look to all these applicants and success in their future university endeavors.