Just as students thought it was getting harder to get into universities in this country, think again. Of course there are many factors that contribute to college admissions. From the number of applicants for that year, to SAT/ACT scores, to former family alumni. However, when news broke out about Olivia Jade being accepted into University of Southern California from the help of her parents money, there was an outrage in the country.
Olivia Jade’s parents are Mossimo Giannulli, owner of the clothing brand Mossimo, and Lori Loughlin, actress best known for her role as Aunt Becky from Full House. Jade’s parents are accused of bribing the university $500,000 in order for both her and her sister to be admitted into USC. With the given circumstance, it comes to show, when it comes to college admissions, money does get students the front row seats at these elite universities. Even before high school, students were taught that in order to get into college, they need to have the right grades, the perfect score on ACT/SAT, and be heavily involved in extracurricular activities. That being said, there was always an unspoken understanding that if a student came from a major donor or an alum, they would have a higher chance of getting in. However, the country did not think or want to believe that there is an inequality when it comes to college admissions.
Since this affects college students, I thought it would be best to find out what they actually think about the story. How do college students feel about the whole situation about upper class families buying their children’s college admissions. Are college students upset? Are these students disappointed in the education system? Or are they not shaken up by the news because they already knew about the fraud college admissions were committing? Down below are quotes from students at Florida International University. Some of these students used pseudonym for identity purposes.
Ana, 21
“The competitiveness and cost of entering college is hard enough for students who genuinely put in the hard work just to make the cut. Using your status and money to alter the chance for those students to have the opportunity for a better education and better opportunities is selfish and outrageous. If you genuinely wanted your children to make the cut for enrollment you would of paid the same amount of money or more, to show their uniqueness in activities or tutors you’re able to afford and help them stand out on their own.”
Miguel, 21
“The movement in America to erode affirmative action under the guise of equality is mislead. While college students of color and poor socioeconomic environments are continually stereotyped as only being there due to the action. Wealthy parents are paying for fake sports abilities, health disabilities, and millions in fraud to help their already privileged children into elite schools with no stigma.”
Evelyn, 21
“As elaborate as the scheme is portrayed I am not in shock, but rather just saddened. Very wealthy people like the ones who were accused of this fraud, already have an advantage when their child is applying to name schools. Their child is already more likely to get in than someone else with equal credentials because they likely have a name that is recognized. I feel more for the students who are hard working and got in to the schools fairly, and the ones who got denied. It also makes me wonder that if money can buy you admission, what’s stopping money from buying you a 4.0? This scandal makes it seem like you need money to succeed, no matter how hard working one may be.”
Mike, 19
“Because you have donated x amount of money to your alma doesn’t guarantee your child admission. If that’s the case, what about all the other students who work hard to get admitted with their grades and scores just to sit next to your paid for child. So in that case, is college a scam? “
Kerlisha, 20
“I just don’t think that it’s fair. A lot of students work so hard or stress so much about getting into good schools and it just shows that money can get you anything. Not in just this situation but with other things in life too. It’s also unethical for the schools to be bribed by money. They shouldn’t be accepting these bribes but they do anyway. Just by doing that, the schools show that they care about “prestige” and nothing else.”
EJ, 21
“I think that parents paying for their children’s college entrance is disgraceful. I think it is important for the new college student to enter a university that they belong in. These students that got their placement by using money are not going to feel that they accomplished their college career themselves. They are also taking away from students who naturally deserve the spot they took with their parents money.”
Aliyah, 20
“It is sad to hear that someone close to my age got accepted into some of the best schools in the country due to bribery. As I started my undergraduate years, I slowly learned that the education system is unfair. The education system rewards students by accepting them into top universities due to their parents donations or through connections. For the rest of students have to work extremely hard to be even considered by college admissions. There is nothing else to say except this is sad, We are taught that we all are equal. Everyone has a equal chance in this country, no matter your skin color, race, or socioeconomic. Obviously that’s not true. This also leads to a disadvantage in the future and will cause consequential affect in the future.”
Gabriel, 21
“Coming from a middle class family myself, I believe it’s unfair that other individuals are able to use their wealth to manipulate and cheat a system when I had to work hard to succeed. It’s one thing to use the resources you have to your advantage, but to blatantly bribe and cheat to get ahead is immoral and dishonest. Placing your child in a school where they did not earn their spot not only takes away from someone else’s rightfully earned opportunity, it also sets that child at the disadvantage of not being prepared to succeed because they are not equipped to handle their new environment. Given the opportunity, I would ask these parents if they knew what they were doing was unethical and If they thought doing they were doing their child a service or another child a disservice.”