Does America value potential or privilege when it comes down to education

By Anastasia Zhelezova | Published by April 15, 2019

Chances are you’ve probably heard about the recent college admissions bribery scandal. People, particularly wealthy people, went to extreme lengths to get their children into Ivy League and prominent American universities.

Girls and boys who’ve never spent a single day playing a particular sport suddenly receive a scholarship for it. But up until now, no one had ever questioned it. The recent scandal currently is the Justice Department’s biggest college admissions prosecution yet.

Caroline Gadalla, who graduated in December with a MA in Criminal Justice, said the scandal didn’t surprise her.

“When I heard about the scandal, for some reason I wasn’t actually surprised but I was disgusted with the truth behind how the rich can get away with that for so long,” said Gadalla.

Gadalla said she applied to NJCU where she was offered a full ride but she liked Kean more. John Jay College was Gadalla’s top choice, but the out of state tuition was too expensive for her.

“Kean, on the other hand, was financially feasible and its diversity made the decision easier,” Gadalla continued. “Plus not a far commute from home.”

When asked whether she thinks a big name school makes a difference when applying for jobs, Gadalla said it probably does.

“Yes I think a top college gives you a leg up but it’s only because of the name,” she said. “It’s basically the labeling theory, but here, we’re labeling something with a positive connotation.”

In the admissions scandal, parents paid a network of people in order to get their children into name schools such as University of Southern California (USC) and Yale.  One reason people want to get into those schools is to gain access to a wide network of influential people.

“Is it worth it? Yes. But is it right? Absolutely not,” Gadalla said.

Melissa Gomez applied to Montclair, Rider and Rowan, but Kean University was her top choice.

“This is my fourth year at Kean and I couldn’t be happier,” Gomez said. “It’s always alarming to think this happens more often in prestigious schools.”

Students said they appreciate the diversity that Kean has to offer and its affordability.

Pia Toloso, another student currently enrolled at Kean, raised an interesting point regarding a big name school such as Yale or Harvard versus a school such as Montclair or Kean on whether or not it makes a difference when you put the school on your resume.

“I think there is no difference whether you graduated from Kean or from Rutgers because neither are considered prestigious schools,” she said.

Top schools can get you a “leg up” in terms of applying for jobs, she said. However, when you attend what is considered a “non-top school” she said it no longer matters. She said the only competition is between you and the other person that has applied for the same position, not between the schools

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