USC Admissions scam craziness

[Chris W]

Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin Indicted in College Admissions Scam

Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman have been indicted for allegedly bribing elite colleges to admit their children.

variety.com

Seriously WTF people? What is everyone's thought on this?

Does it take off that USC shimmer? @Septopus7 @GoAndLoveSomeMore @TayTay @Julie Lew @WriterGirl33 @AkilRashad @Deb F

It's completely messed up... Although it seems the film program wasn't involved hence me putting this in off topic discussions.

 

[Cody Young]

Definitley crazy. However, if there is one bright side to the whole thing, it’s that USC is clearly worth attending if parents are bribing their kid’s way into undergrad. The down side however has got to be the ever looming fear that your classmate may have not truly “earned” their way into school

 

[Chris W]

It sounds like the kids didn't know... Or at least some of them. Can you imagine finding out that your parents thought you were so dumb that they had to bribe your way into admission?

 

[Cody Young]

It sounds like the kids didn't know... Or at least some of them. Can you imagine finding out that your parents thought you were so dumb that they had to bribe your way into admission?

I feel like telling your child the truth of it must be fairly close to the parent equivalent of “coming out” to your child.

Honey, we have something to tell you...

 

[StarChild]

Yeah this is all crazy. I’d like to say I’m super surprised— but money talks. Sigh.

 

[green-scarf]

This definitely took away the USC glimmer for me. I’m upset that USC had an admissions system in place that allowed for things like this to happen. I mean I know they weren’t responsible for the fake SAT/ACT scores but the athletic stuff? They have to take responsibility for hiring those coaches/directors and giving them unilateral power to admit students without any checks or balances.

It also turned me off that one of the students caught in the scandal was notified that her mom was arrested on a yacht owned by the Chairman of USC’s Board of Trustees. She is apparently friends with his daughter who also attends USC and they were celebrating Spring Break in the Bahamas.

I want a good education like anyone else but all this has tainted USC for me & I’m trying to reconcile the fact that my dream school may have some staggering flaws.

 

[StarChild]

Not to be a downer- I’m a Trojan via undergrad, but USC has had a few scandals through the years. Most schools have. There was the Reggie Bush stuff back in the day and the gyno dr stuff recently (still being resolved).
Also, most schools have a system that allows coaches, not final say, but very high recommendation points for athletes. It’s hard but look at the good of what the program is you want and if the teachers and stuff are what you want, and finances and all that. 99.9% of the students got in on merit (though the athletes will still have lower gpa’s etc) and prob 98-99% of the staff didn’t know.
Look at it, cause yes- if it tears the school’s reputation down that’ll hurt you, it’s part of what you’re paying for, but if not consider it like your other options and see what’s best for you. You got in on merit.

 

[green-scarf]

Not to be a downer- I’m a Trojan via undergrad, but USC has had a few scandals through the years. Most schools have. There was the Reggie Bush stuff back in the day and the gyno dr stuff recently (still being resolved).
Also, most schools have a system that allows coaches, not final say, but very high recommendation points for athletes. It’s hard but look at the good of what the program is you want and if the teachers and stuff are what you want, and finances and all that. 99.9% of the students got in on merit (though the athletes will still have lower gpa’s etc) and prob 98-99% of the staff didn’t know.
Look at it, cause yes- if it tears the school’s reputation down that’ll hurt you, it’s part of what you’re paying for, but if not consider it like your other options and see what’s best for you. You got in on merit.

This was a great response - thanks for the much needed insight!

 

[Mdub_2013]

Not to be a downer- I’m a Trojan via undergrad, but USC has had a few scandals through the years. Most schools have. There was the Reggie Bush stuff back in the day and the gyno dr stuff recently (still being resolved).
Also, most schools have a system that allows coaches, not final say, but very high recommendation points for athletes. It’s hard but look at the good of what the program is you want and if the teachers and stuff are what you want, and finances and all that. 99.9% of the students got in on merit (though the athletes will still have lower gpa’s etc) and prob 98-99% of the staff didn’t know.
Look at it, cause yes- if it tears the school’s reputation down that’ll hurt you, it’s part of what you’re paying for, but if not consider it like your other options and see what’s best for you. You got in on merit.

Honestly the Reggie Bush thing shouldn’t be a scandal in my personal opinion. The NCAA is a huge machine that profits millions off of the backs of students and if they don’t make a pro-team are basically broke while the university, advertisers and NCAA all profit. I get the school was sanctioned and lost scholarships, but i don’t agree with the NCAA ethically not paying these students when they profit so much from college sports.

 

[StarChild]

Honestly the Reggie Bush thing shouldn’t be a scandal in my personal opinion. The NCAA is a huge machine that profits millions off of the backs of students and if they don’t make a pro-team are basically broke while the university, advertisers and NCAA all profit. I get the school was sanctioned and lost scholarships, but i don’t agree with the NCAA ethically not paying these students when they profit so much from college sports.

It’s a hard one. I think what happened was definitely wrong, BUT I do agree they should be paid. They get free schooling and a stipend in most cases, so I’d be curious to know how much that is- but yes they definitely aren’t paid in relation to what they bring to the achool advertising-wise. Hard though cause they do know going in and it’s necessary to get onto a pro team. It’s a system idk enough about, but it certainly seemed like they should have taken a look at the larger issues when it happened rather than the one incident.

 

[Mdub_2013]

It’s a hard one. I think what happened was definitely wrong, BUT I do agree they should be paid. They get free schooling and a stipend in most cases, so I’d be curious to know how much that is- but yes they definitely aren’t paid in relation to what they bring to the achool advertising-wise. Hard though cause they do know going in and it’s necessary to get onto a pro team. It’s a system idk enough about, but it certainly seemed like they should have taken a look at the larger issues when it happened rather than the one incident.

I know this wasn't supposed to be about sports, but here we are lol. Actually, it's a huge misconception that these students receive stipends - it's not applied to every school esp in smaller divisions (i.e. D3/D2). Being paid full tuition is great, but it's certainly not enough when college sports is a multi-million dollar industry. & statistically, the majority of the people playing at even a D1 collegiate level aren't going to make it in the pros. They really fail these students because a lot of them aren't actually taking the classes, just getting high grades because they're an asset to the college overall profits. Once they're out of school and not in the pros, many of them don't have skills to lean on and it's unfortunate because they were sold this dream of going to the Pros, becoming rich and now they have nothing when the only person to really benefit is the college coaches (where in some states are the highest paid government officials), the advertisers and the NCAA. So many of them come from low-income environments and their families sacrifice everything to get them into these programs from an early age, to then get nothing in return. If you're interested, here's a great doc on it - Student Athlete - Watch the HBO Original Documentary | HBO

But anyway, lol yeah what scandal has any top school not had? Not saying it's an excuse, but the IVYs have all had their fair share of scandals and they still get hundreds of applicants and endowment checks each year. That's just our education system, I guess.

 

[StarChild]

I’ll check the doc out when I have time.

I agree schools make so much money off of sports, so it’s be good to have athletes more fairly compensated, but, by and large, they understand the risks and general statistics for going pro going in as well as what they’re getting in return. I do think it’s sad teachers just pass these students without making them try, and passing them is on the schools but not trying harder in class is on the athletes. It’s such a complicated topic. Anyway, I’ll check out the doc, clearly you know more info on this than I do, and I prob already look under-informed so I won’t make myself look worse

Thanks for the info and the discussion though.

And I agree all the top schools have plenty of scandals. Our education system and political system and really any system where someone is in power and can grant access is going to have some bad moments. Here’s hoping this helps fix any admission issues going forward.

Edit- just watched the trailer looks pretty compelling and yeah I forget things like the students not being able to use their likenesses in ads etc. seems they should then be allowed to not let the school use it- but that would hurt them too. I’ll definitely check this out. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

 

[BuddernScotch]

Netflix show Last Chance U is great too. But not as critical of the system, as perhaps necessary.

 

[StarChild]

Netflix show Last Chance U is great too. But not as critical of the system, as perhaps necessary.

THANKS! This one is in my queue. I’ve seen a few episodes, and, so far, it def doesn’t look as damning of the system as the other- I mean they don’t have many prospects etc, but their counselor and staff seem to care- but they also know they’re being recorded and I haven’t finished it yet. I’ll check out the rest of that one too.

 

[Mdub_2013]

THANKS! This one is in my queue. I’ve seen a few episodes, and, so far, it def doesn’t look as damning of the system as the other- I mean they don’t have many prospects etc, but their counselor and staff seem to care- but they also know they’re being recorded and I haven’t finished it yet. I’ll check out the rest of that one too.

I need to check out that one too I’ve never watched it

 

[WriterK90]

I just read that Carol Folt, who actually just quit UNC (where I am currently an undergrad) After a drawn out issue with conderdate monuments, was just hired as USC's new president. I'm not sure how to take this. She's jumping out of one big mess and into another. I don't know enough about PR to really see the benefit in this move for both her and USC but it's interesting.

 

[Operator]

It sounds like the kids didn't know... Or at least some of them. Can you imagine finding out that your parents thought you were so dumb that they had to bribe your way into admission?

Not to mention all students who's parents were involved are being denied admissions. That must also suck

 

[divmoh247]

Also another thought: imagine what this does for the kids who did get there on merit. I'd imagine that this scandal would taint the integrity of their degree especially when dealing with outsiders who would question whether you had gotten in legitimately. Ultimately, this hurt everyone.