College Entrance Scam includes former Yale Women's Soccer Coach

Calisoccer11 said:
Oh, the kids knew...they had to know. I don't buy that they were that clueless to think that they can achieve a 400 point difference betw
een their PSAT and SATs on their first try. Also, I'm sure they knew where they stood academically. I don't feel sorry for any of the parents or kids involve. This story is so sad and depressing to me. I'm even further disappointed in the soccer coaches that were part of this bribery. Knowing how hard most kids work on their academics and playing....the sacrifices involved for the kid and parent...I'm just speechless. I wish I could articulate my feelings better but I'm just disgusted right now. Aaaargh.
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Of course the kids knew. Imagine if you did't play soccer and all the sudden you got a soccer scholarship? Expel the kids and charge them criminally. If you think that's too harsh, think about that kid out there who studied hard and practiced hard for 10 years and otherwise would've been given the last scholarship spot on the Yale's soccer team...............
 
Messi>CR7 said:
Of course the kids knew. Imagine if you did't play soccer and all the sudden you got a soccer scholarship? Expel the kids and charge them criminally. If you think that's too harsh, think about that kid out there who studied hard and practiced hard for 10 years and otherwise would've been given the last scholarship spot on the Yale's soccer team...............
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Nowhere did they say scholarships were given (at least what I’ve seen). This was purely an admissions pop. And Ivy’s don’t give athletic scholarships
 
I am not sure why so many people are surprised about this. Cheating happens all the time at every level. In high school kids cheat on tests, parents write papers for them, call kids out sick when they are not prepared for a test etc. Unfortunately there are little to no penalties for cheating other than getting a zero on the test. At our school there no record of the cheating on the kid’s file.

If you cheat on the SAT or ACT all that happens is that you lose your money for that particular test. You can retake the test and there is no record of cheating. So there is no disincentive to cheating. I know a kid that was pressured into letting the school bully cheat off of him on the ACT (somehow they had the same test despite sitting next to each other). The cheater is now at UCLA because none of the kids that saw the cheating reported it.

My DS is involved in robotics. His team always built good robots but was edged out by another team. Now that those kids are in college they freely admit that they did not build their robot but a parent hired someone to do it.

My DS team finally won the World Championship and I know that it played a big part in his Berkeley Regents nomination. So when he had his interview last week I was glad to see his interviewer drill him on how he developed and built the robot. Thankfully since my DS put in the work he answered all questions with flying colors. Hopefully the kids that claimed expertise’s in a field will be weeded out by this process. This is a good check and balance but unfortunately most colleges don’t have any checks and balances in place.

At Cal Poly you can pad your extracurricular activities and hours to increase your raw score since admissions is all based on numbers. Several kids have admitted to me that “everyone does this.”

Until there are checks and balances, real penalties and criminal penalties cheating will continue to be the norm. Sad but true.

BTW I bet the reason this group got caught is that they were so greedy that they actually deducted the cost of the bribes on their tax returns!
 
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Calisoccer11 said:
Oh, the kids knew...they had to know. I don't buy that they were that clueless to think that they can achieve a 400 point difference betw
een their PSAT and SATs on their first try. Also, I'm sure they knew where they stood academically. I don't feel sorry for any of the parents or kids involve. This story is so sad and depressing to me. I'm even further disappointed in the soccer coaches that were part of this bribery. Knowing how hard most kids work on their academics and playing....the sacrifices involved for the kid and parent...I'm just speechless. I wish I could articulate my feelings better but I'm just disgusted right now. Aaaargh.
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@CaliSoccer...I was thinking like you until I read the wiretaps in the complaint...have you read the complaint? It's pretty sad that some of the kids had no clue. In that way their parents robbed their kids even more...in the wiretaps there was one kid who was baffled as to why his college counselor thought he was a track athlete...also in the wiretaps the ringleader always implored the parents not to let the kids know bc kids talk... it's clear that some kids knew, some did not know and some were fed a version of the truth such as "Daddy made donations to the athletic program" etc...
 
soccerobserver said:
@CaliSoccer...I was thinking like you until I read the wiretaps in the complaint...have you read the complaint? It's pretty sad that some of the kids had no clue. In that way their parents robbed their kids even more...in the wiretaps there was one kid who was baffled as to why his college counselor thought he was a track athlete...also in the wiretaps the ringleader always implored the parents not to let the kids know bc kids talk... it's clear that some kids knew, some did not know and some were fed a version of the truth such as "Daddy made donations to the athletic program" etc...
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I will have to go back and read them more carefully. I was thinking that maybe they were just pretending to be confused, all the while knowing that their parents must have influenced in some way. This is probably not the first time their parents money has gotten them something they did not earn.
I'm just seeing red because both my kids spent hours on SAT tutoring and took the tests multiple times to get a decent score. They have also worked their butts off academically. I'm so proud of their hard work and we are now awaiting to hear from UCLA and USC for my DD. It's just left such a bad taste in my mouth. Does anyone have any integrity anymore??!! :(:(:(
 
Nefutous said:
I am not sure why so many people are surprised about this. Cheating happens all the time at every level. In high school kids cheat on tests, parents write papers for them, call kids out sick when they are not prepared for a test etc. Unfortunately there are little to no penalties for cheating other than getting a zero on the test. At our school there no record of the cheating on the kid’s file.

If you cheat on the SAT or ACT all that happens is that you lose your money for that particular test. You can retake the test and there is no record of cheating. So there is no disincentive to cheating. I know a kid that was pressured into letting the school bully cheat off of him on the ACT (somehow they had the same test despite sitting next to each other). The cheater is now at UCLA because none of the kids that saw the cheating reported it.

My DS is involved in robotics. His team always built good robots but was edged out by another team. Now that those kids are in college they freely admit that they did not build their robot but a parent hired someone to do it.

My DS team finally won the World Championship and I know that it played a big part in his Berkeley Regents nomination. So when he had his interview last week I was glad to see his interviewer drill him on how he developed and built the robot. Thankfully since my DS put in the work he answered all questions with flying colors. Hopefully the kids that claimed expertise’s in a field will be weeded out by this process. This is a good check and balance but unfortunately most colleges don’t have any checks and balances in place.

At Cal Poly you can pad your extracurricular activities and hours to increase your raw score since admissions is all based on numbers. Several kids have admitted to me that “everyone does this.”

Until there are checks and balances, real penalties and criminal penalties cheating will continue to be the norm. Sad but true.

BTW I bet the reason this group got caught is that they were so geeedy that they actually deducted the cost of the bribes on their tax returns!
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Oh yeah....the deducting the bribes from taxes is really just the cherry on top. SMH
 
Calisoccer11 said:
I will have to go back and read them more carefully. I was thinking that maybe they were just pretending to be confused, all the while knowing that their parents must have influenced in some way. This is probably not the first time their parents money has gotten them something they did not earn.
I'm just seeing red because both my kids spent hours on SAT tutoring and took the tests multiple times to get a decent score. They have also worked their butts off academically. I'm so proud of their hard work and we are now awaiting to hear from UCLA and USC for my DD. It's just left such a bad taste in my mouth. Does anyone have any integrity anymore??!! :(:(:(
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Best wishes to you and your hard working DD...
 
You cannot tell me that a kid took a picture in a uniform of a team they did not belong on and did not question it.

@Calisoccer11 I agree with you. It sucks to see your kid work their butt off and then someone buys their way in. My DS was up til 1 am regularly juggling school, soccer and robotics. Because he did not achieve the score he was shooting for on the ACT most of our summer plans were quashed so he could study. But unfortunately life is not fair and until there are real penalties the risk is worth the reward to many people.

Good luck to your DD!
 
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Would not suggest jail for the kids who did not have knowledge of the activity/transactions. Their admission should fall under the category of ill-gotten gains. If someone gives you a gift, but they stole it prior to you receiving it (even without your knowledge), you still have to give it back. Like insider trading when you did not know the information you received was not public, you give back the gains and avoid jail (unless you are Martha Stewart).

Best case for kids -- they are allowed to finish their current semester and transfer to another college (if one accepts them).
More likely -- vacate their grades from prior semesters, they can go to their local community college, start over, get some good grades, and try to transfer somewhere better.

Any college that allows these kids to stay and register for another semester, regardless of their knowledge, is sending the wrong message.
 
Nefutous said:
BTW I bet the reason this group got caught is that they were so greedy that they actually deducted the cost of the bribes on their tax returns!
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Apparently the ringleader set up his business as a not-for-profit so you may be on to something there. Some not-for-profits can apparently still be quite lucrative for people, especially if kids are involved....who knew? :rolleyes:
 
Amanda is in it too at UCLA. She knowingly put a kid on her roster who salcedo got admitted. The kid has never played soccer. Even if she never got paid for it and thought she was doing Jorge a favor that stinks. It’s her job to know who is on her roster. How many girls who live and die soccer would die to make that roster and just be on the team but were never given the time of day by the staff?

This just stinks all over the place. We constantly tell our kids to weather the storm of daddy ball of club soccer because eventually merit wins out. Just such a bummer to hear that the coaches and admins at schools WHOSE CAREERS ARE BASED ON MERIT are the ones doing this.
 
Nefutous said:
You cannot tell me that a kid took a picture in a uniform of a team they did not belong on and did not question it.

@Calisoccer11 I agree with you. It sucks to see your kid work their butt off and then someone buys their way in. My DS was up til 1 am regularly juggling school, soccer and robotics. Because he did not achieve the score he was shooting for on the ACT most of our summer plans were quashed so he could study. But unfortunately life is not fair and until there are real penalties the risk is worth the reward to many people.

Good luck to your DD!
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@Nefutous THEY PHOTOSHOPPED THE KIDS ATHLETIC PHOTOS !!!! Can't make this stuff up !

That's not a typo they would ask for a headshot and then photoshop the kids face on a water polo player...in one case they photoshopped the kids sibling who resembled the applicant !
 
soccerobserver said:
@Nefutous THEY PHOTOSHOPPED THE KIDS ATHLETIC PHOTOS !!!! Can't make this stuff up !

That's not a typo they would ask for a headshot and then photoshop the kids face on a water polo player...in one case they photoshopped the kids sibling who resembled the applicant !
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You can find the roster with this player on it online with a picture....that is a photo shop?
 
gefelchnik said:
You can find the roster with this player on it online with a picture....that is a photo shop?
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Gfchnik I am not sure I understand your post. To make the player profiles the Ringleader hired a person to craft fake player profiles. This person would create a fictitious player profile and would add a fictitious action photo of the applicant. The parent would send a headshot of their kid and this person would photoshop the applicant's face onto the action photo of a real athlete.
 
And Wall St is the "bad guy"...touche

Here's the list of parents...anyone here make the list?

Gregory Abbott
Marcia Abbott
Gamal Abdelaziz
Diane Blake
Todd Blake
Jane Buckingham
Gordon Caplan
Michael Center
I-Hsin Chen
Amy Colburn
Gregory Colburn
Robert Flaxman
Mossimo Giannulli
Elizabeth Henríquez
Manuel Henríquez
Douglas, Hodge
Felicity Huffman
Augustin Huneeus Jr
Bruce Isackson
Davina Isackson
Michelle Janavs
Elisabeth Kimmel
Marjorie Klapper
Lori Loughlin
Toby MacFarlane
William McGlashan
Marci Palatella Peter
Jan Santorio
Stephen Semprevivo
Devin Sloane
John Wilson
Homayoun Zadeh
Robert Zangrillo

The public shaming of these kids--on campus and on social media--will be relentless. Parents better be prepared to pony up just as much cash for psychological counseling.
 
full90 said:
Amanda is in it too at UCLA. She knowingly put a kid on her roster who salcedo got admitted. The kid has never played soccer. Even if she never got paid for it and thought she was doing Jorge a favor that stinks. It’s her job to know who is on her roster. How many girls who live and die soccer would die to make that roster and just be on the team but were never given the time of day by the staff?

This just stinks all over the place. We constantly tell our kids to weather the storm of daddy ball of club soccer because eventually merit wins out. Just such a bummer to hear that the coaches and admins at schools WHOSE CAREERS ARE BASED ON MERIT are the ones doing this.
Click to expand...

That is a pretty serious allegation. Perhaps MAP can chime in on it.
 
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