The Corruption in College

The heartbreak of being rejected from a top school is a devastating experience. It feels as though all the hard work you put forth throughout elementary, middle, and high school were a waste of time. You may think that being rejected from a school means that you might have not been qualified to go. Although there are other deserving candidates who -through merit- received a seat at these incredible schools, there are exceptions too. How would it feel when you found out that money and cheating bought hundreds of students into the seat you worked your entire life for?

When it comes to documentaries, Netflix is second to none. The famous content platform recently published a documentary called Operation: Varsity Blues; an FBI investigation that opens up about the harsh reality that young students have to face today when applying to college. This documentary was eye-opening, and it is definitely rated "R" for "Reality".

College was once a place for education. Recently, it has also become a social status. CEOs and celebrities want their kids to attend these incredible schools as a way to exhibit their parenting successes to people around them. This has caused unnecessary pressure for their young children. It's embedded in American society that you have to go to a good school to be successful, and that must change before anything else. The demand and pressure students feel to go to the "top" universities is ridiculous. A lot of hardworking students go to conventional universities and they end up doing just as well, but millions of kids around the country long to attend one of the top universities in the nation. The immense amount of effort needed in order to go to even a mediocre school is deranged. There are standardized tests, essays, getting a good GPA, managing sports, and doing a handful of extracurriculars. This method of applying to schools is considered the “front door method”. However, many people have found a way into their top schools by the “side door”.

They say money can’t buy happiness, but if you pull your strings right, it certainly could buy a top education. The college mastermind; Rick Singer, is behind all this madness. As a former basketball coach, he knew the recruitment process for athletes to get into high-achieving schools. Later on, however, he and many other employees at the school he worked at were laid off. Singer needed a way to rake in some cash, so he decided to use his college knowledge as a way to help students get into their dream schools.

In the early-to-late 2000s, college counseling was not very common, and therefore in high demand, As a result, SInger became quite renown for being the only college counselor in Sacramento, California; where he resided. His main goal was to help the wealthiest children in America get into top schools. Georgia Tech, USC, UCLA, Columbia, Harvard, and Stanford were just a number of schools mentioned in the documentary. Although he eventually went down the wrong path, he didn’t start there. Rick Singer initially helped students get admitted to schools the impartial way. This all changed when he received a phone call from an admissions expert.

Rick Singer had no limits when it came to the shenanigans he pulled throughout the past 20 years. He would photoshop pictures of his clients on rowing and water polo teams. In addition, he would give colleges thousands of dollars as a “donation” in order to confirm a spot for his customers. To elevate his business even higher, he got full-grown adults to take the SATs for students. The cruelest part of this entire process was the fact that Rick Singer made his clients pretend to have learning disabilities.

Colleges are always look for students who can contribute to their community. If that means the student’s parents have to donate a building, so be it. In order to secure a spot at a top school through money, colleges usually expect around 500 million dollars. Even though the “side door” is now closed, you can still get in through the backdoor. This is absolutely horrific for students who work so hard in life. They will never have the opportunity to be guaranteed a school, even through all of their hard work. The status quo is embroiled. The ones who come from poor backgrounds are focused on academics without any extracurricular activities because that's the only way for a better life. As a result, they may not be well-rounded enough for college. On the contrary, the ones who come from wealthy backgrounds are too focused on extracurricular activities. They don’t have to worry as much about academics because their families made it easy for them to. The poor try to get rich, while the rich stay rich.

The parents involved may have just been trying to look out for their childrens’ futures. However, in the background, they took an opportunity from someone else; a student who may have experienced a turning point in their career. Rick “helped” 700 kids get into college. However, he also took away the futures of 700 more. School used to be the one place where you could change your economic status, but even that has turned out to be a sham.

Andre Gide once preached, “It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for something you are not”. These young teenagers, such as Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose (daughters of actor Lori Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli), went through permanently deflations in their career. As stated in the documentary, the children of the parents who paid for Rick SInger’s “counseling” were not aware of the scandal they were a part of. Although Olivia Jade’s hatred towards school may not be the greatest influence on her fans, she should not be held responsible for her parents’ actions.

There’s always some good situations that come out of the bad. For example, Stanford has now confirmed that they have cancelled the side-door process completely. Money is now not a factor in their admissions. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Stanford has adopted new policies to strengthen its admission oversight and will conduct another review within 18 months to assure the new policies are being followed”. In addition, the $770,000 dollars that Rick Singer “donated” to their sailing program is now going towards charitable causes. A valuable lesson to take away from this entire scandal is that the Federals are always watching, If you know your actions will harm anyone, then refrain from doing so.

The college admissions process is an insane experience, but that shouldn’t determine your self worth. This article goes out to those, who with integrity, were able to make it through school. No matter what background you come from -whether that’s determined by socioeconomic status or race- this milestone in your life is an important one.