Overcharging for prestigious degree is also a scam

What do Colorado House Majority Leader Alec Garnett, House Minority Leader Patrick Neville, Senate President Pro Tempore Lois Court, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock, Chairwoman of the Colorado Democratic Party Morgan Carroll, Colorado State Treasurer Dave Young, Singer Isaac Slade of The Fray, tuba/ bass virtuoso Jeanie Schroder of Devotchka and I all have in common? We are University of Colorado Denver alumni.

The list of CU Denver graduates who achieved their dreams in business, education, law, politics, science and engineering, and the arts is much longer. If you include graduates of the state’s other public colleges and universities, the list grows to include several members of the Colorado congressional delegation, celebrities, notable members of the media, astronauts, and other successful people of all walks of life. With an affordable diploma from a Colorado public institution of higher education and hard work, you can achieve anything.

With this in mind, it’s not surprising that my first thought about the Operation Varsity Blues scandal that broke this week was that the parents overpaid; their children would have the same shot at success if they’d enrolled in a decent public university, worked hard and persevered. The U.S. Department of Justice indicted 50 people, including 33 parents; a college administrator; college coaches; test proctors; the scam’s mastermind, William Rick Singer; and others in an elaborate $25 million scheme to get students into elite colleges. Parents paid $200,000 to $6.5 million to Singer, who bribed accomplices to doctor ACT and SAT tests and to fabricate applicants’ athletic ability. In pursuit of admission to an elite university, the parents broke the law, deprived eligible students admission, and taught their own children that if you can’t compete, cheat. No need to work hard when you can buy your way in.

It’s not unusual for wealthy families to go to great lengths to help their children attend selective schools. Millions are spent on test prep, and independent education consultants are hired as early as middle school to ensure their children gain entrance into the Ivy League. Parents also make large donations and bank on their personal connections to elite universities to gain legacy admission for their progeny. The assumption is that a diploma from a highly selective school is the key to future success.

But is it? Research published in 2002 in the Quarterly Journal of Economics found that expected salary gains from attending a very selective school were “generally indistinguishable from zero” after taking into account other student characteristics. Another study found lower-income students who graduated from highly prestigious schools were more likely to reach the top 1 percent of the income distribution than students who attended a high-quality public university. For lowerincome students for whom great wealth is an objective, admission into an elite school is advantageous. For everyone else, a prestigious college diploma confers little or no advantage.

While the public is focused on the illegal and unethical means employed in this recent scandal, we would do well to question the ends of their scheming. These parents broke the law to attain an illusionary benefit for their children.

They aren’t the only ones who think they must spend a lot on higher education to attain the American dream. More than 44 million Americans owe $1.5 trillion in student loan debt. The average college student borrower owes $37,000 in loans when he or she graduates. Some grads owe six figures. While studies show that federal student aid programs are a prime driver for the high and ever-escalating cost of tuition, the myth that an expensive, exclusive college guarantees success is certainly a factor. The college scam is bigger than Operation Varsity Blues. More affordable options work just as well.

Go CU Denver!