US college admissions cheating scandal

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kingdragonfly

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#257087 14-Sep-2019 10:27

In case you haven't heard, more than 30 parents were charged in the investigation dubbed Operation Varsity Blues

Thirty-three parents of college applicants are accused of paying more than $25 million between 2011 and 2018 to William Rick Singer, organizer of the scheme, who used part of the money to fraudulently inflate entrance exam test scores and bribe college officials.

The scandal cast a spotlight on the advantages of wealth in college admissions and the lengths to which some rich Americans have gone to get their children into top universities at the expense of other applicants.

* actress Felicity Huffman former star of the popular television series "Desperate Housewives"

* actress Lori Loughlin, who starred in the TV series "Full House", and her designer husband Mossimo Giannulli,

* lots of corporate executives, financiers and lawyers.

Unlike Huffman, Loughlin and Giannulli pleaded not guilty.

Felicity Huffman was sentenced to 2 weeks in prison, NZ $47,000 fine and complete 250 hours of community service.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_college_admissions_bribery_scandal

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#2317615 14-Sep-2019 10:39

If you can fiddle for perceived personal gain to get child into a school or university then people will do it.

Are those special auckland schools whose catchment charges a premium that much better ar educating the average student.

eracode

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#2317620 14-Sep-2019 10:48

Reminiscent of Mike Ross in 'Suits' but IIRC he got someone to sit exams or write essays for him to get a Harvard degree.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

kingdragonfly

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#2317625 14-Sep-2019 10:57

Here's Olivia Jade, a student who got admitted. Her parents have pleaded not guilty.

She's a social media influencer, and would frequently complain about how much she disliked college, and that is was a pain.

Her video has been pulled from Youtube, but here you can watch it.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6s0tqn

Also this backgrounder from Elle magazine, which should be entitled "How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!"

The drama is not over for Olivia Jade Giannulli just yet. While Olivia has returned to her favorite pastime of partying, sources have told Us Weekly that she “fully knew what her parents did” to get her into college.

“Olivia fully knew what her parents did to get her into USC, but didn’t think there was anything wrong with it,” the source said. “She didn’t get into any other California schools.”
...
The source continued: “She feels she hasn’t been a part of any wrongdoing and feels tricked by her parents into going to a school that wasn't even her top choice. Right now she wants to prove she can do it on her own, and she thinks going back to school will help renew her image.”

https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/a27601668/report-olivia-jade-knew-about-college-admissions-scheme/

kingdragonfly

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#2317679 14-Sep-2019 11:47

I'm shocked, but I guess I shouldn't be

'The College Admissions Scandal' Lifetime Movie Trailer

Fred99

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#2317813 14-Sep-2019 16:00

afe66:

Are those special auckland schools whose catchment charges a premium that much better ar educating the average student.

I's not just in Auckland, and the answer is *probably* - but it really depends how you measure it - and how you allow for confounding variables.

PhantomNVD

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#2317820 14-Sep-2019 16:18

As a Primary School teacher who has taught at several ‘top Auckland Primary Schools’ now I can say that it’s likely a MUCH better outcome you’re getting if you can afford it, but it’s more to do with the peers they are ‘selling’ you than the teachers themselves. Private schools do get the pick of the teachers, but so many other excellent teachers are spread through the country that it’s more about the 95-98% ‘on task’ learning time than the actual teaching itself. How well your child does is mostly to do with how involved the parents are in their education, and secondly how able the child is themselves... but if the class has 3-5 P-kids in it, and 5-15 who were up all night playing xbox or cos their parents were drinking/partying, and weren’t even up to feed them breakfast (etc) what chance does even a bright kid with involved parents and an excellent teacher have??

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kingdragonfly

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#2318063 15-Sep-2019 12:31

Lori Loughlin Is 'Processing' Felicity Huffman’s Prison Sentence, Says Source

As Felicity Huffman was sentenced to 14 days in jail, Lori Loughlin wonders what her future holds

People Magazine, By Steve Helling

...“Lori [Loughlin, who starred in the TV series "Full House,] is aware of Felicity’s sentence, and is processing what that means for her,” the source tells PEOPLE. “Her only move now is to take this to court and to prove that she is not guilty of what she’s charged with.”

...In many ways, Loughlin’s cases is very different.

Loughlin, 54, allegedly gave $500,000 to have her daughters, Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose, designated as crew team recruits for USC, even though they had never rowed, the indictment alleged.

Prosecutors alleged in the original criminal complaint against the couple that Loughlin paid $500,000 to admissions consultant William “Rick” Singer and his nonprofit organization, Key Worldwide Foundation (“KWF”), which prosecutors said was actually a front for accepting bribes. Singer has since admitted his role as the ringleader of the scam and has pleaded guilty to multiple charges.

...Because the dollar amounts are different, Huffman, 56, faced less jail time than Loughlin — and she received a more lenient sentence after she pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit mail fraud. In addition to the 14 days of incarceration, the judge fined her $30,000 and said she would be on supervised release for one year. She will also have to do 250 hours of community service.

Meanwhile, Loughlin rejected a plea deal after her arrest. She and Giannulli have pleaded not guilty.

“If she’s found guilty, she will go to jail; that is clear,” the source says. “And if another deal is offered to her, which I don’t think it will be, she will go to jail. Her only chance of avoiding jail is to beat these charges. ”...

https://people.com/tv/lori-loughlin-is-processing-felicity-huffman-prison-sentence/

eracode

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#2318068 15-Sep-2019 12:51

I does make you wonder whether this has been going on for years or maybe decades. There could be hundreds or thousands of past cases like this where they have got away with it undetected.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Rikkitic

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#2318105 15-Sep-2019 14:39

It makes me wonder how honest the grading system is after these kids get in. If they can't gain admission on their own, how do they pass the courses and get decent marks? How do they make it to graduation? Are their degrees also purchased?

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#2318136 15-Sep-2019 15:39

afe66: If you can fiddle for perceived personal gain to get child into a school or university then people will do it.

Are those special auckland schools whose catchment charges a premium that much better ar educating the average student.

I thought it wasn't how much you know at the end but who you know.

epr

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#2318138 15-Sep-2019 15:44

eracode:
Reminiscent of Mike Ross in 'Suits' but IIRC he got someone to sit exams or write essays for him to get a Harvard degree.

You do not recall correctly, he sat people's exams for them, so he was on the other side of the equation.

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Batman

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#2318150 15-Sep-2019 16:40

won't be the first, won't be the last, and definitely not the only place in the world doing it

bfginger

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#2318188 15-Sep-2019 18:55

PhantomNVD: As a Primary School teacher who has taught at several ‘top Auckland Primary Schools’ now I can say that it’s likely a MUCH better outcome you’re getting if you can afford it, but it’s more to do with the peers they are ‘selling’ you than the teachers themselves. Private schools do get the pick of the teachers, but so many other excellent teachers are spread through the country that it’s more about the 95-98% ‘on task’ learning time than the actual teaching itself. How well your child does is mostly to do with how involved the parents are in their education, and secondly how able the child is themselves... but if the class has 3-5 P-kids in it, and 5-15 who were up all night playing xbox or cos their parents were drinking/partying, and weren’t even up to feed them breakfast (etc) what chance does even a bright kid with involved parents and an excellent teacher have??

Knowing of someone who worked at a top Auckland primary, children routinely arrived at school with the parents providing a psychologist's report and having already taught them how to read and write. The teacher went straight to teaching them grammar.

Meanwhile, other children are being toilet trained.

Varkk

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#2318363 16-Sep-2019 08:57

eracode:

I does make you wonder whether this has been going on for years or maybe decades. There could be hundreds or thousands of past cases like this where they have got away with it undetected.

It has been going on ever since institutions had requirements for entry. Of course they are in trouble for not paying enough and not to the right person. If they had straight up offered to build a new library or football stadium named after the kids grandfather then it would have all been legitimate.

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#2318364 16-Sep-2019 08:58

Varkk:
eracode:

I does make you wonder whether this has been going on for years or maybe decades. There could be hundreds or thousands of past cases like this where they have got away with it undetected.

It has been going on ever since institutions had requirements for entry. Of course they are in trouble for not paying enough and not to the right person. If they had straight up offered to build a new library or football stadium named after the kids grandfather then it would have all been legitimate.

And will have guaranteed admission for generations to come

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