From college admissions to Hollywood scandals

By: Nicole Diefenbacher | Published by March 22, 2019

Federal prosecutors say that 50 people took part in a massive scandal that involved bribing coaches and school officials as well as cheating on standardized test in the first week of March, according to CNN. Dozens of parents have been charged, including Hollywood stars like Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman.

According to CNN, the entire scandal was arranged by William Rick Singer, the CEO of a college admissions prep company called The Key. Parents allegedly paid between $15,000 and $75,000 in order for their children to score higher scores. The New York Times reported that proctors of these standardized tests were sometimes bribed, as a third party would take the test for these students.

For regular students who work hard to get into college, this can be considered almost a slap in the face.

“I think that it’s completely unfair that people with money can just pay their way into college while student struggle to make payments semester to semester just to get an education,” says Kayla Breslin, a sophomore at Kean University.

According to The New York Times, parents will face different times whether they plead guilty or not and also depending on how much money they paid as a part of their bribe.

“It’s disgusting,” says Alyssa Manzo, a junior at Kean University. “I had to work so hard to get into college because of my learning disability and these people are just accepted to Ivy Leagues without a second glance because their parents cheat the system.”

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