Oh, you were surprised by the recent celebrity college admissions scandal? That’s cute.
The latest scandal, dubbed “Operation Varsity Blues,” is just the most recent (and the stupidest).
Seriously, anyone dumb enough to name their operation, especially something so conspicuous, is clearly terrible at being a criminal.
But back to the issue at hand. In case you missed it, “Operation Varsity Blues” consisted of 50 celebrities and other rich people who paid test administrators to cheat and take SATs for their kids, paid college athletic coaches to recruit their kids, and more.
The media is currently having a field day with the scam, especially since celebs like Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman have already been charged.
But perhaps the most ironic reaction to the scandal is the “shock and awe” that every single person has expressed on Twitter.
I mean I cannot believe parents not only being vile, pig, braggy #blessed assholes but to also falsely make their kids think they tested exponentially higher than their actual potential? What next? The kids feel depressed bc they can’t handle the workload of those schools?
— Bethenny Frankel (@Bethenny) March 12, 2019
There are thousands of parents who are doing the exact same thing, or at least comparable things, across the country every single year. And they’re all cheating their way into getting their kids into the top name brand schools.
Giving exorbitant so-called “donations,” using connections who work at the school or on the board, using their legacy as leverage. There are so money options for you to buy your way into school.
And then, of course, there are the kids themselves. Paying other students to take their SATs for them is not just something that happens on television.
And even when there isn’t official “cheating” involved, wealthy students are afforded every advantage. Because guess what? The system is already rigged in their favor.
College admissions are supposedly based on 3 main things: grades, SAT/ACT scores, and extracurriculars.
So let’s start with grades. Wealthy students typically either live in districts with better public schools or just attend private school. They have access to more attention, college admissions counselors, the latest technology, new textbooks — aka the works.
[Related: A Fifth Grade Class Held A Mock Slave Auction And ‘Sold Off’ The Black Students]
As for test scores, that’s an easy one. Parents can pay for the best-of-the-best SAT classes by Princeton Review and Kaplan. And when that doesn’t work, one-on-one tutors are brought in.
And don’t even get me started on the SATs themselves. Studies have proven that the questions themselves are actually geared towards white, upper/middle-class kids. How can you get a good score when you don’t even understand the references in the questions?
And extracurriculars — well, that’s easy when you don’t have to work random jobs just to help your family make ends meet; when you don’t have to worry about having enough money to pay for your team jersey and equipment (new cleats are *not* cheap). And volunteer work isn’t even on the table when you’re spending your nights trying to catch up on all the school work you couldn’t do when you were working at your after-school job.
Every aspect of the college admissions process is geared towards students with money, even if you don’t have a celebrity parent.
This latest college scam is merely shedding a spotlight on the many issues with our higher education system. And if you think this will be the last scandal, you’re in for a rude awakening.
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