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College Admissions Scandal: Felicity Huffman Arrested!


Howl

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1 hour ago, Howl said:

And if these kids are too lazy to get good grades and prep for the SAT, what's going to happen when they are admitted to an academically demanding college?  Faculty will basically tell helicopter  parents to fuck off and aren't amenable to altering grades. 

Based on teaching at a Canadian university, and just off the top of my head:

- Sign up for big classes.  This is especially easy at the intro level.  Many have a lot of the work submitted online.  No one knows who actually did the quiz as long as they signed in with Richie McKidderson's ID and password.

- Check the grade breakdown of classes when signing up.  Fewer and fewer courses are heaping the whole grade on the midterm and final.  If 30% of your grade comes from quizzes (especially online ones) and another 30% from assignments (that you can pay someone to do), you can afford to fail the midterm and final (if you can't manage to get a substitute into the exam room).  

- Look for classes known to have take-home midterms and finals.

I imagine that if these parents have no problem paying to get their kids in, they don't mind paying a bit more to another (admittedly hypothetical) agency that keeps track of which classes are most easily cheatable, and maybe even hooks them up with people to do the coursework.

Finally, if all else fails, game the accessibility/support system.  Any large and most small schools have some sort of system in place where kids who have some sort of learning or perceptual disability, or who are going through some kind of illness, can arrange for accommodations in their classes.  At my uni, they set students up with a counsellor who will assess their needs and contact the professors to let them know that XYZ accommodations are needed.  It's a necessary and useful system that helps lots of students who can genuinely do the work, but just can't concentrate in a big exam hall, or are going through a rough time.  I had to use it myself to get a few extensions on grad school deadlines when depression-brain and anxiety-brain made academia-brain go offline for awhile.  But it can also be taken advantage of.

 

1 hour ago, luv2laugh said:

The kids will need high grades to get into the best graduate schools

Yeah, I'm thinking most of these kids aren't planning on grad school.  Get that bachelor's (Cs get degrees!), and Mom and Dad's connections will get you a job.

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5 minutes ago, FullOfGravy said:

Yeah, I'm thinking most of these kids aren't planning on grad school.  Get that bachelor's (Cs get degrees!), and Mom and Dad's connections will get you a job.

Sometimes you get your MRS degree instead. 

There used to be a joke about law school, regarding second year women. So annoying but out of the law students I know (I was pre-law) with vaginas, only a handful made it through, and half of those graduated with a law degree and a husband. 

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8 minutes ago, FullOfGravy said:

- Sign up for big classes.  This is especially easy at the intro level.  Many have a lot of the work submitted online.  No one knows who actually did the quiz as long as they signed in with Richie McKidderson's ID and password.

Yeah, I know someone who does this now for her husband. I'm tempted to report them, I find it so annoying. 

8 minutes ago, FullOfGravy said:

I imagine that if these parents have no problem paying to get their kids in, they don't mind paying a bit more to another (admittedly hypothetical) agency that keeps track of which classes are most easily cheatable, and maybe even hooks them up with people to do the coursework.

It's really easy for the student to do this part themselves, there are a million places on the internet to see which classes are easy, which ones are hard, and it just takes asking around to find someone to "help" you by writing papers, taking tests, and figuring out which teachers are easily manipulated. 

16 minutes ago, apandaaries said:

She had a very wealthy roommate her first year.  She remains traumatized from the time she came home from class on a Friday afternoon to see that her roommate had left for the weekend, leaving a used pair of dirty panties in the middle of their room. Absolutely no regard for others. 

The absolute disregard for other people transcends income. I do not understand it at all. 

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2 minutes ago, Maggie Mae said:

Yeah, I know someone who does this now for her husband. I'm tempted to report them, I find it so annoying. 

On the one hand, if there's proof of what they're doing, please do report it. 

On the other, it may end up pissing you off even more.  The academic dishonesty process can be such a pain in the ass for profs that some don't even pursue it; as a TA, I once had two kids submit identical (like, down to the handwriting) assignments, and I reported it to the prof.  She gave them both 0 for that assignment, but didn't take it to the dean, because, as she said, it would be a huge hassle for her, and they'd get at most a slap on the wrist for a first offence on what was really a pretty small assignment in a 1000-level class.  For what it's worth, though, in another TA job, I had someone copy-paste an entire 15-page paper for a 3000-level class from assorted Wikipedia pages.  That prof brought the hammer down with a vengeance.  I don't know for sure that the student was expelled, but at the very least they were kicked out of that class with a big ol' black mark on their transcript.  It was extremely satisfying, even as a TA who was in the dark about most of the process.

15 minutes ago, Maggie Mae said:

It's really easy for the student to do this part themselves, there are a million places on the internet to see which classes are easy, which ones are hard, and it just takes asking around to find someone to "help" you by writing papers, taking tests, and figuring out which teachers are easily manipulated. 

Oh, absolutely.  But if the student can't be bothered to do it and the parents are willing to pay, I'd be surprised if there weren't an agency to take care of all that pesky work involved in cheating.  If there's demand, someone, somewhere will supply.

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I am appalled that allegedly, the scam involved having an exam proctor take the test for a kid and photoshopped kids’ faces onto athletes in the applications for sports recruiting for college admission...

It sounds like a Lifetime movie.

Edited by luv2laugh
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This makes me appreciate the Obamas and the Clintons more as they got into Yale, Princeton, Georgetown, and Wellesley on their own merits and not because of their parents bank accounts.  Also Jimmy Carter on getting into Georgia Tech and the Naval Academy.

Edited by SPHASH
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12 minutes ago, luv2laugh said:

I am appalled that allegedly, the scam involved having an exam proctor take the test for a kid and photoshopped kids’ faces onto athletes in the applications for sports recruiting for college admission...

It sounds like a Lifetime movie.

Lori Loughlin can star in it then. 

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By the way, if you look up Lori’s daughter Isabella, the only movies she’s ever been in were.... you guessed it! Two TV movies starring mom! These kids get whatever they want from mommy and daddy. 

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29 minutes ago, luv2laugh said:

I am appalled that allegedly, the scam involved having an exam proctor take the test for a kid and photoshopped kids’ faces onto athletes in the applications for sports recruiting for college admission...

It sounds like a Lifetime movie.

It will likely be one soon. 

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1 hour ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

Lori Loughlin can star in it then. 

You win the Internetz today! :laughing-rolling:

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Do you think any of the parents are going to jail? The charges are serious.  However, the parents all have the best lawyers available to them.

Do you think the kids will end up expelled? I read a report that Lori's daughter is no longer featured on USC's crew roster...

The kids will be alright. Their parents will feel guilty and fund their lifestyles. If a kid gets really mad and has evidence that they did not know their parents did this to them, they can sue them.

Edited by luv2laugh
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So I might have totally missed it but I think I'm still stuck on the SAT part? Because we have to show ID but I guess they could be faked.

@luv2laugh It's TMZ but they shared how Felicity Huffman at least knew that she would get arrested when FBI showed up to her house in the wee hours of the morning with guns a blazing!

As a WOC I have this hope that maybe people will think about that it's not POC taking these spots but more of privileged people who can pay for these spots. But that is obviously wishful thinking!

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How ironic.

I had a little reunion with a college friend today after work. We were not necessarily best friends and same after college ended; but we got along well and even went on a trip together after we graduated. I super nice gal whom I share good memories with. We both did a Master's in different fields and different colleges too. So we kind of lost contact during that time of our lives. My degree included a thesis and hers was a professional Master's. We were just saying during our little reunion, how we are so proud of our accomplishments, the Master's even more so than the B.A (not that the B.A is a piece of cake). But grad school was really a step up. It was difficult and we both put in a lot time, efforts and even left a bit of our mental wellness in the process. ;)

And then I get home and I hear this scandal. Ugh....

I would say that these spoiled kids probably will never know the self-pride you feel when you have pushed yourself and it has paid off. But I fear that they are so blinded by their own privilege, they don't even know what it means to work hard and be rewarded for it. Feeling of entitlement?

Edited by Vivi_music
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20 minutes ago, candygirl200413 said:

As a WOC I have this hope that maybe people will think about that it's not POC taking these spots but more of privileged people who can pay for these spots. But that is obviously wishful thinking!

That was the first thing that crossed my mind. What also gets me is that people are acting as if this is big breaking news.  No. It is only news because people were caught. This double standard of white privilege has been going on for a long while. 

Edited by onekidanddone
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Am I seeing things or is the list of the names getting longer?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6800933/The-non-Hollywood-parents-busted-college-bribery-scheme.html

Having someone else take the test for a kid? Photoshopping a kid's face on random athletes? This is ridiculous...

Honestly, if a kid did not know their parents did this to them, they should sue them. However, they might be too afraid to get "cut off" financially if they don't have solid evidence that proves they didn't know anything.
Also, the kids that have been admitted based on fraud should be expelled or have their degree revoked. Professors do not "play games" if students in a class are caught cheating. The majority of colleges have a policy of giving an F grade and leaving it in the student's record that they cheated.

Edited by luv2laugh
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I didn't realize that these people could write these fake charity bribes off in their taxes. 

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55 minutes ago, AmazonGrace said:

I didn't realize that these people could write these fake charity bribes off in their taxes. 

That was the bit where I just went seriously here?!? How freaking entitled do you have to feel to do that on top of everything else? I mean ffs why didn't they just endow something? (Also has the photoshopping started? Because I would totally be out there releasing pictures into the wild if I still had photoshop on my computer...)

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9 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

 

- Another relative says they should be expelled and that they’ll be fine because they’re rich. He thinks it’d be a good learning experience for them. An uncle thinks they should be forced to watch every episode of “Full House” as punishment*.

*Which isn’t really a punishment until you get to those weird episodes at the end where Michelle gets amnesia.

You know I love you but this is not just not right.

37 minutes ago, Ozlsn said:

That was the bit where I just went seriously here?!? How freaking entitled do you have to feel to do that on top of everything else? I mean ffs why didn't they just endow something? (Also has the photoshopping started? Because I would totally be out there releasing pictures into the wild if I still had photoshop on my computer...)

I don’t think most of these people are that level of rich. Endowments are millions and millions.

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This whole thing is a disgrace, these parents are doing it for themselves more than their children. One look at Olivia Jade's profile shows that this girl had no desire to go to college and probably would have been better suited doing something like hair or beauty. I am in my second year at University and even at age 31 and wanting to be there I had a few issues last semester and I have a few resits. Even with money and some lecturers willing to cut them some slack eventually they will get found out. I feel for the people who worked hard and lost out on places thanks to these parents.

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19 hours ago, Howl said:

Felicity Huffman is part of it. She and I think William Macy have been arrested

He’s not listed in the indictment. I wonder how this will affect their marriage.

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32 minutes ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

He’s not listed in the indictment. I wonder how this will affect their marriage.

conjugal visits.

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This scandal has struck a nerve across America, or at least those who are not uber-wealthy entitled cheaters, for many reasons.  One is that it strikes at the heart of how we see ourselves as a meritocracy where hard work is rewarded. 

Of course, the children of wealthy elites have a major leg up, with access to better education and who understand the rules of how to swim with other elites.*  They also have a leg up in not graduating with crippling school-loan debt. 

These days the economic aspiration is to stay in the middle class and not lose ground.  

*This twanged something I read awhile back about a scholarship student at an elite school who talked about being the only kid who didn't have a 2nd country home/estate/rustic pile to go to on the weekends.  

 

 

Edited by Howl
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9 hours ago, candygirl200413 said:

So I might have totally missed it but I think I'm still stuck on the SAT part? Because we have to show ID but I guess they could be faked.

Apparently, some of the people bribed included test procters to look the other way on that, or the bribes were to change the answers after the kids took it.

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25 minutes ago, Howl said:

This scandal has struck a nerve across America, or at least those who are not uber-wealthy entitled cheaters, for many reasons.  One is that it strikes at the heart of how we see ourselves as a meritocracy where hard work is rewarded. 

Of course, the children of wealthy elites have a major leg up, with access to better education and who understand the rules of how to swim with other elites.*  They also have a leg up in not graduating with crippling school-loan debt. 

These days the economic aspiration is to stay in the middle class and not lose ground.  

*This twanged something I read awhile back about a scholarship student at an elite school who talked about being the only kid who didn't have a 2nd country home/estate/rustic pile to go to on the weekends.  

 

 

Like I said earlier in this thread, people tell themselves that “wealthy people have problems just like everyone else” because the truth is so frustrating you want to rip your hair out. It sucks to realize that there are people out there living lives completely foreign to 97% of the population. These people will get a slap on the wrist and their lives will go back to normal in a year. 

11 minutes ago, Terrie said:

Apparently, some of the people bribed included test procters to look the other way on that, or the bribes were to change the answers after the kids took it.

I bet that test proctor gets more severe consequences than these wealthy people. They will lose their job and likely won’t be hired within the same type of work. But the rich people will pay their hefty fines out of their huge bank accounts and move on with their privileged lives. 

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