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FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

washingtonpost.com

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Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#11

Post by alistairSH »

Alex3917 wrote: post #2

This is pretty wild. Seeing the FBI tackle something like this is so far outside of the legal and cultural norms of society that it's difficult to even really comment on.

I was more surprised at the scope - tackling entrance exam cheats* AND direct bribes to the universities. Neither surprises me much, but glad to see somebody attempting to address both.

* Entrance exams in the US are created by one of several private entities (College Board, International Baccalaureate, ACT) and administered by the local secondary schools.

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#12

Post by naveen99 »

NowThenGoodBad wrote: post #7

This might be more overt than the usual form, but how does this differ from donating a new building, department, or scholarship fund and subsequently getting your kid in? My mother did well in the Masters program at Stanford and I would have likely gotten in if she donated a couple million dollars but she didn’t and I didn’t (despite getting an invitation a year after accepting enrollment at another university). It’s…

It’s different in the scale of the donation. 2 Million dollar donation materially improves things for other students and is tax deductible. $15,000 bribe doesn’t do much for other students except rob them of a spot.

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#13

Post by strikelaserclaw »

NowThenGoodBad wrote: post #7

This might be more overt than the usual form, but how does this differ from donating a new building, department, or scholarship fund and subsequently getting your kid in? My mother did well in the Masters program at Stanford and I would have likely gotten in if she donated a couple million dollars but she didn’t and I didn’t (despite getting an invitation a year after accepting enrollment at another university). It’s…

I think it is a good thing, if done on a small scale (admitting rich people purely based on donations). It's like pairing smart and driven people with people with money and access to connections.

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#14

Post by lotsofpulp »

NowThenGoodBad wrote: post #7

This might be more overt than the usual form, but how does this differ from donating a new building, department, or scholarship fund and subsequently getting your kid in? My mother did well in the Masters program at Stanford and I would have likely gotten in if she donated a couple million dollars but she didn’t and I didn’t (despite getting an invitation a year after accepting enrollment at another university). It’s…

It's different because it's missing plausible deniability for the parties involved. If donations were actually altruistic, they would be anonymous, but sometimes, society needs a veneer of fairness to mask the real nature of the "pay to play" system we have.

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#15

Post by Alex3917 »

NowThenGoodBad wrote: post #7

This might be more overt than the usual form, but how does this differ from donating a new building, department, or scholarship fund and subsequently getting your kid in? My mother did well in the Masters program at Stanford and I would have likely gotten in if she donated a couple million dollars but she didn’t and I didn’t (despite getting an invitation a year after accepting enrollment at another university). It’s…

> I really don’t think it’s much harder to prove that an underperforming student who got in because their parents donated a couple million (or tens of millions of) dollars took the place of a more qualified candidate.

It's the opposite actually; if you're giving money to the development office then you're enabling more qualified students to attend the school.

That’s why college only costs 50k per year when it costs 150k to provide that service to you.

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#17

Post by cma »

NowThenGoodBad wrote: post #7

This might be more overt than the usual form, but how does this differ from donating a new building, department, or scholarship fund and subsequently getting your kid in? My mother did well in the Masters program at Stanford and I would have likely gotten in if she donated a couple million dollars but she didn’t and I didn’t (despite getting an invitation a year after accepting enrollment at another university). It’s…

"Legacy" admits with consideration of donations are allowed as far as I understand. It supposedly has a bigger effect than affirmative action, and at many schools we are just a few generations away from segregation now, which somewhat dictates the race makeup of the legacy pool to this day.

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#18

Post by alistairSH »

NowThenGoodBad wrote: post #7

This might be more overt than the usual form, but how does this differ from donating a new building, department, or scholarship fund and subsequently getting your kid in? My mother did well in the Masters program at Stanford and I would have likely gotten in if she donated a couple million dollars but she didn’t and I didn’t (despite getting an invitation a year after accepting enrollment at another university). It’s…

In the highlighted case, the "bribe" actually wasn't - the mother paid a 3rd party fix her daughter's exams (administered by the local school on behalf of CollegeBoard, IB, or ACT).

But, generally, your point is correct. In this case, there was an explicit pay-off/bribe/fraud committed. In the case of the super-wealthy, there's a large donation and a wink-wink/handshake.

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#19

Post by tfandango »

strikelaserclaw wrote: post #13
NowThenGoodBad wrote: post #7

This might be more overt than the usual form, but how does this differ from donating a new building, department, or scholarship fund and subsequently getting your kid in? My mother did well in the Masters program at Stanford and I would have likely gotten in if she donated a couple million dollars but she didn’t and I didn’t (despite getting an invitation a year after accepting enrollment at another university). It’s…

I think it is a good thing, if done on a small scale (admitting rich people purely based on donations). It's like pairing smart and driven people with people with money and access to connections.

Your comment really made me think about this a little different than my initial reaction, thanks!

Re: FBI accuses wealthy parents in college-entrance bribery scheme

#20

Post by lotsofpulp »

tfandango wrote: post #19
strikelaserclaw wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it is a good thing, if done on a small scale (admitting rich people purely based on donations). It's like pairing smart and driven people with people with money and access to connections.

Your comment really made me think about this a little different than my initial reaction, thanks!

That's always been the value proposition of top tier schools. The learning material doesn't change from school to school, the networks do.
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