College Admissions Scandal

     Today's NY Times: US Charges Rich Parents in College Entry Fraud. We don't know the back story but these prospective students supposedly had no idea of what their parents were doing.

     More:

... "50 people charged with participating in a nationwide scheme to bribe athletic coaches, cheat on standardized tests, and falsify information to get their kids accepted into top universities."

     From my experience, suburban parents in the 1960s and 70s would do what they could to assist their children in gaining admission to elite colleges and universities. Whether it was having their children take a PSAT exam to practice for the SATs, or attending a College Night at the high school where prominent alumni were present. They would likely read their application essays before posting them and would accompany them on campus visits and meetings with the admissions officials.

     Can't say I would know much about bribing coaches in minor sports like rowing to place a teenager on the team without their ever having competed in a rowing event. When I visited my alma mater and told the track coach my times and my wait list status, it didn't also include the offer or request for a bribe. Seems to me the parents could have told the admissions office they planned to pay for the full tuition. It's a time honored custom of the rich and doesn't make require people to degrade themselves by submitting phony applications.

     College is very important for many students, it's where you can make life long friends, acquire the skills of a life long learner, and possible make future business connections.  Though some kids would do just as well to avoid the experience and the expense.  Maybe the lesson here is that parents need to engage in a conversation with their children about college and outline all the options and career paths. This would better educate children about the pros and cons of academic life. It would keep them from ever wondering, or worse discovering, about their false credentials. After one of these conversations their parents could also rest assured their offspring would never encounter the feeling of being an imposter, for gaining admission to an institution of higher learning they were neither qualified or ready to attend.