US College Admission Scandal: Hollywood stars, 50 others arrested

US College Admission Scandal: 50 people including Hollywood stars, Wealthy CEOs and Sports Coaches have been arrested in still unfolding US College Admission Scam. The scam showcased the length to which some wealthy parents would go to get their children admitted to some of the most competitive US Universities. Federal authorities unearthed the college admission scandal, spread across six states, that enabled wealthy parents to buy seats in the freshmen classes at premier US Universities such as Yale and Stanford. According to initial estimate, the scam is worth millions of dollars that were illegally funnelled funds that were used to buy seats in selective schools.

According to the US attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling, a total of 50 people have been charged in the scam so far. The criminal investigation in the scam was led under the banner of ‘Operation Varsity Blues’. The people arrested so far include two SAT/ACT administrators, one exam proctor, nine coaches at elite schools, one college administrator and 33 parents.

Actresses, CEOs, Fashion Designers among Arrested

According to media reports the parents arrested were a group of wealthy and privileged parents which included actors, CEOs, a fashion designer and the co-chairman of a global law firm. The most prominent names among the parents charged under the US College Admissions Scandal include Desperate Housewives star Felicity Huffman and Full House Actress Lori Loughlin.

The unearthing of the scam has brought to fore the widening corruption of elite college admissions and how the system was being misused by the privileged lot. The US investigative team which is working on the scandal revealed that parents ended up paying between $200,000 to $6.5 million to secure admissions for their children.

How did the US College Admission Scam Work?

The College Admission Scam scheme was owned and operated by a company named Edge College and Career Network LLC also known as The Key. The Company’s CEO William Rick Singer has been arrested for facilitating college admissions for wealthy kids using illegal means. The scheme primarily worked in two ways:

Cheating in SATs / ACTs

One mode through which the US College Admission Scandal worked was through cheating in the standardized screening tests such as SATs and ACTs. The Keys CEO William Rick Singer – the prime accused in the case, use to wealthy students score better on the ACTs or SATs by helping them cheat on the exams.

Bribing Coaches for Admission in Athlete Quota

Another method that was adopted to facilitate admission of wealthy students in the premier colleges was to bribe college coaches and athletic officials to accept the student as a recruit in their sports team using a fake athletic profile.

This is still a developing story and we will keep you posted about the latest updates in the US College Admission Scam here.