FBI busts Massive exam ring
This story is insane and apparently involves everyone from college coaches to Aunt Becky.
The plot involved students who attended or were seeking to attend Georgetown University, Stanford University, UCLA, the University of San Diego, USC, University of Texas, Wake Forest, and Yale, according to federal prosecutors.
Link: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/feds-uncover-massive-college-entrance-exam-cheating-plot-n982136
Press conference about the story scheduled for 11:30am EST.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:20 AM ^
So it turns out living in the Attic with the twins and Uncle Jesse wasn't the best idea.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:37 AM ^
And yet, here you are, on a board largely devoted to college athletics.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:02 PM ^
The amount of things that I’ve heard “in 5 years will cease to exist” yet largely still exist in the same capacities 5 years later is quite a lot
March 12th, 2019 at 12:19 PM ^
Yeah? Well I saw this one with my time machine so suck it.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:20 PM ^
Maybe try reading the linked article before giving a hot take.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:42 PM ^
I did read it, and at the end, it instructed me to tell you to go to hell
Dude's a big Stanford sailing fan. Guy's go have hobbies...
I am willing to go on record and bet you any amount of money up to and including $1,000 that the NCAA will still be around in 5 years (hell, I will even give year 6 for free) and that college revenue sports will be generating money at an equal or higher rate at that time. This will be true whether college athletes are paid or not.
i am happy to exchange contact details and put it in writing if you agree.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:22 AM ^
I thought Aunt Becky was a euphemism until I saw that it involved the actual Aunt Becky.
did jose sweetin do the new fuller house as a transgender?
March 13th, 2019 at 11:47 AM ^
If Aunt Becky tried to get her kids into Michigan, would that be considered going from Full House to the Big House? She could be going to another big house, wearing orange at the one in Danbury CT!
March 12th, 2019 at 11:26 AM ^
That's why I went to GVSU .
Thanks, mom & dad!!! >:|
March 12th, 2019 at 11:38 AM ^
didnt know you were a BILLIONAIRE, geez
March 12th, 2019 at 11:26 AM ^
It would be hilarious if the $6 million figure being quoted was intended for getting a kid into the University of San Diego.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:40 AM ^
I was hoping it was for USC, as that is apparently just a first year's tuition.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:47 AM ^
Well, USD is not too far behind USC in tuition as they increase to over 50k for the first time.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:35 AM ^
Sooooooo...can they just announce the FBI is now running NCAA compliance and be done with it?
It could only be better.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:38 AM ^
Man, DeVry and University of Phoenix are going to get sanctioned back into the Stone Age for this.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:40 AM ^
i'm watching the press conference. it's quite an elaborate scheme with a lot of parties needed to accomplish the fraud. it's another ocean's 11.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:43 AM ^
the fbi called this "operation varsity blues". haha.
most payments were between $250-$400k; peaking at several million.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:01 PM ^
Here's my thing, if you can afford to pay that much in bribes to get your kid into college, newsflash, your kid doesn't actually have to go to college. In fact, you probably have enough wealth to make sure the next several generations of your family never have to have meaningful employment.
The parents are dumber than the kids.
.....but you don't understand that Buffy and Skip want to go to their parents' alma mater and be in the same sorority and fraternity and drink themselves silly for 4 - 5 years and tell the whole world how smart they are.
Bingo...and their parents want to join them in their binge drinking
March 12th, 2019 at 11:59 AM ^
If you're willing to go to such elaborate lengths, bring in that many people, and undertake this much risk, you might as well become a drug trafficker or start a ponzi scheme or something.
A fair point. According to what I've read the lion's share of the bribe money went to the coaches, and the person setting all of it up just took a modest cut on top of the consulting fee.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:04 PM ^
the universities are not the targets, but several coaches were. felicity huffman has been arrested.
Schools were involved because in the case of fake athletes, they had to have coaches in on the scam. At the Univ. of Texas for example, the men's tennis coach was charged.
At USC an assistant AD is involved (Donna someone). I'm not even half way through one of the court documents. Looks like most of parents paid a few hundred thousand, all told, per student.
At USC, a fake football player was admitted, whose high school didn't even have a team! So they called him a kicker/punter. I love how his dad joked on the wiretapped call how the kid had weak legs.
I'm not getting anything done the rest of the day, but the time sure is flying by in the office.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:43 AM ^
Nothing will happen.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:44 AM ^
over 50 arrests already. the two ring leaders are pleading guilty any minute.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:48 AM ^
Pfft. Wake me up when the guillotine gets here. Now that's a REAL consequence!
March 12th, 2019 at 12:56 PM ^
Lavoisier agrees
March 12th, 2019 at 11:47 AM ^
This is one of those things that just seems so ridiculous because of how illogical it is. Millions of dollars for someone to take the ACT for your kid?? If they aren't doing well on a test that you get months to prepare for and can retake multiple times for no penalty, they're probably not gonna do great on exams when they get to, you know, actual college.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:51 AM ^
Rich kids who are stupid have rich parents who are stupid.
RIght - if you're dropping millions of dollars in bribes to get your kid into college, you and your kid are idiots. And you're probably too dumb to even have millions of dollars in the first place and yet you do (don't be fooled, America is not a meritocracy - not everyone who has money earned it/deserves it and not everyone who is poor deserves to be poor). That's why I have no problem taxing the shit out of these people.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:55 AM ^
Your point is valid. However, with elite places like Stanford and Harvard, once you're in, you're set. I'm told this by friends to went to Harvard Business School. They described doing almost no work, and just partying and traveling for 2 years before taking their cushy jobs at F500 companies, investment banks, VC firms and big tech.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:48 AM ^
What a bizarre story. Danny Tanner must be so disappointed.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:53 AM ^
the coaching angle has me wondering whether bribes were taken by coaches to give kids a preferred walk on admission.
March 12th, 2019 at 12:07 PM ^
The Yale soccer coach took $400K to grease the entry for some fake athlete kid.
March 12th, 2019 at 11:57 AM ^
Thank god Ohio State doesn't have to worry about this.
Yeah, they have enough to worry about with run-of-the-mill cheating, as well as covering for a wife beater and his lying enabler (who they put on the business school faculty and AD administration).
steve, relax
Open admissions solves a lot of problems.
Thanks for explaining my joke to me.
hat tip to BJR, that was funny.
The self-aware buckeye. Kudos
Dominated on the blog and the football field. ugh.