Scandal leaves students in limbo
Colleges mulling what to do with those admitted
BOSTON — In the wake of a massive college bribery scheme, the schools caught in the middle have been left facing a thorny question: what to do about the students who may have been admitted through fraud?
The University of Southern California announced late Monday that it had placed holds on an undisclosed number of students, meaning they can’t register for classes or obtain transcripts until their cases are reviewed. After a review, USC officials said they will take appropriate action, “up to revoking admission or expulsion.”
At Yale, the president declined to comment on specific cases but said “long-standing policy is to rescind the admission of students who falsified their Yale College applications.” Stanford similarly noted that students could be “disenrolled” or have offers of admission rescinded.
More than 30 parents have been charged in the scheme, in which prosecutors say a disgraced college admissions consultant, William “Rick” Singer, took millions of dollars in bribes to assure their children’s entry into top colleges by getting them recruited for sports they didn’t play and by arranging for standardized tests to be rigged.
Federal prosecutors say some students never knew about the bribes and fraudulent entrance exams that got them into some of the nation’s top universities, but investigators say some students did and were even involved in submitting false information about athletic feats in their applications.
Several schools said they are still considering what to do about students whose admission may now be tainted.
At Georgetown University, the indictment cast a shadow over the applications of about a dozen students. The school said it was examining its records and “will be taking appropriate action.” An alumnus started a petition Tuesday urging the school to pull admissions from anyone involved, saying their presence on campus would diminish the school’s prestige and encourage cheating.
Wake Forest University said a student mentioned in the indictment remains enrolled, and school officials have no reason to believe the student was aware of the alleged crimes.
Only USC has said definitively that it revoked offers of admission from applicants tied to the scheme. More than half the parents charged were trying to bribe their children’s way into the school in downtown Los Angeles.