SAT is given 4 times a year, so for a substitute to take tests for 700 paying clients would take about 175 years.
College Entrance Scam includes former Yale Women's Soccer Coach
- Thread starter Dos Equis
- Start date
SAT is given 4 times a year, so for a substitute to take tests for 700 paying clients would take about 175 years.
Lambchop
GOLD
I should have said he wasn't the only one. There were two members affiliated with SAT that would alter test scores, I think at one point their names were mentioned. Maybe they are working on a plea deal so all is quiet for now. Singer also cheated over many years. It is going to be interesting. I would imagine there are a lot of students who are involved and don't even know it.
It seems to me that the most wide-spread form of cheating was encouraging his clients to file for disability treatment so they could get more time to take the tests. Unless they are already going to do very well on the tests, that is an obvious advantage.
I wonder if Singer or one of his agents will write a how-we-did-it book.
This was buried in the High School soccer forum.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-bi...dmissions-scandal-were-from-china-11556301872
“Mr. Singer wrote that he would “revise” the art materials to soccer, according to a filing, which said that he falsely listed her as a member of a junior national development team in China and co-captain of a prominent club soccer team in southern California.”
This is about J Serra.
Oooh this is getting good now.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-bi...dmissions-scandal-were-from-china-11556301872
“Mr. Singer wrote that he would “revise” the art materials to soccer, according to a filing, which said that he falsely listed her as a member of a junior national development team in China and co-captain of a prominent club soccer team in southern California.”
This is about J Serra.
Oooh this is getting good now.
eastbaysoccer
GOLD
Honestly if you have to hire tutors and enroll in Kaplan courses to score well on the SAT you don’t deserve to be at the elite schools. My dd had friends who rolled out of bed and scored close to perfect.
Go to a school that’s a tight fit for you. Then take advantage of every opportunity.
Go to a school that’s a tight fit for you. Then take advantage of every opportunity.
too bad the article is behind a paywall
Here you go. I highlighted the part about club soccer at the end
:
Families from China were among those who allegedly paid the most in the college admissions scandal, a new sign of the reach of the cheating ring.
One Chinese family allegedly paid $6.5 million to William “Rick” Singer, the California-based college counselor who has admitted to masterminding the scheme, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Another was the family of a student—referred to in court filings as “Yale Applicant 1”—who paid $1.2 million to secure her admission to Yale University. The student is 21-year-old Sherry Guo, who moved to Southern California from China to attend high school, her lawyer confirmed.
The families have been of particular interest in the case because they allegedly paid far more than nearly all of the 33 parents currently facing criminal charges in the scheme. Many parents paid $250,000 to $400,000 for the illegal admissions services, including securing fraudulent test scores and bribing coaches to have their children designated as recruited athletes, prosecutors say.
Ms. Guo had her eye on Columbia University or Oxford University, said her lawyer, James Spertus of Spertus, Landes & Umhofer LLP in Los Angeles.
But Mr. Singer told her she would go to Yale University. It was a sure thing, he said, according to Mr. Spertus. An attorney for Mr. Singer, who has pleaded guilty to four felony charges, including racketeering conspiracy, declined to comment.
Ms. Guo learned English after arriving in California about five years ago, Mr. Spertus said. She attended JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., south of Los Angeles, starting high school as an older student.
Ms. Guo was “so unfamiliar with how people apply to schools in the U.S.,” Mr. Spertus said. “Rick Singer’s instructions to her didn’t seem as out of place as they would to a student who grew up in the United States and has more of an expectation of free choice.”
The young woman did get into Yale, after Mr. Singer allegedly got her tagged as a recruited athlete, and started school there last fall, according to Mr. Spertus and court filings. She’s no longer at the school, her attorney confirmed.
A growing number of Chinese families are bringing their children to the U.S. for high school, or even elementary school, in the hopes of helping smooth the path to college admission down the line. Colleges sometimes scrutinize foreign agents who help coordinate applications from overseas students, but less so the role of U.S.-based independent college counselors—particularly those whose main client base is domestic.
Mr. Spertus said he was authorized to answer questions on Ms. Guo’s behalf and declined to make her available.
The Wall Street Journal hasn’t learned the identity of the family that allegedly paid $6.5 million.
Ms. Guo’s family was introduced to Mr. Singer by a Los Angeles financial adviser, Mr. Spertus said.
Ms. Guo’s family hasn’t been charged. Prosecutors have said the investigation is ongoing. The family that allegedly paid $6.5 million for Mr. Singer’s services also hasn’t been charged, according to a person familiar with the matter.
“I just don’t think the question of guilt is clear-cut in Sherry’s case, at all,” Mr. Spertus said.
According to court filings, a Los Angeles-based employee of a financial adviser allegedly told Mr. Singer in November 2017 that the father of Yale Applicant 1 wanted to make a “donation” to “one of those top schools” for his daughter’s “application.”
The next day, Mr. Singer sent Rudolph “Rudy” Meredith, then the Yale women’s soccer coach, the student’s résumé and personal statement, which included links to her art portfolio, according to filings by prosecutors.
Mr. Singer wrote that he would “revise” the art materials to soccer, according to a filing, which said that he falsely listed her as a member of a junior national development team in China and co-captain of a prominent club soccer team in southern California.
Mr. Singer paid $400,000 to Mr. Meredith in exchange for having him designate the girl as a recruited athlete, nearly guaranteeing her a spot at the school, according to court filings. Mr. Meredith pleaded guilty last month for his role in the scheme, which prosecutors say started in 2015 and included taking bribes for multiple students.
Yale said it rescinded the admission of a student last month after investigating allegations that its former women’s head soccer coach was involved in Mr. Singer’s scheme. The school said it did so “as a result of this matter,” referring to the admissions scandal, and didn’t identify the individual.
Ms. Guo was listed in the Yale directory as recently as April 10, but no longer appears there.
Ms. Guo won awards for her artwork, according to news stories posted on the JSerra Catholic High School website. She was also listed as an international student officer for the school’s National Honor Society chapter.
Eric Stroupe, the school’s principal, said she is an “unbelievable artist” and “super talented,” and had very strong grades. He said he didn’t know of Ms. Guo’s alleged connection to the admissions scandal until he was contacted by the Journal, and he was shocked.
Zerodenero
GOLD
Zerodenero
GOLD
Sheriff Joe
DA
Pretty harsh Z. LoL.Honestly....you are clueless
Are you ok?
My dd has friends who rolled out of bed and made the U18-WNT.
Zerodenero
GOLD
Yup....call me Mr. Grumpy-pants
Maybe I read it wrong.....but the net-net of ebays comment is to “stay in your lane” - He’ll Naw!!
That’s not what this country is about, and it sure isn’t what my player and the real “student-athletes” at Yale are about.
Is it happy hour yet
Sheriff Joe
DA
Little hard work never hurt anyone.Yup....call me Mr. Grumpy-pants
Maybe I read it wrong.....but the net-net of ebays comment is to “stay in your lane” - He’ll Naw!!
That’s not what this country is about, and it sure isn’t what my player and the real “student-athletes” at Yale are about.
Is it happy hour yet
He must be a Bernie supporter.
Supermodel56
SILVER ELITE
I have friends who grew up in underprivileged neighborhoods. The schools they attended were focused on just getting their students to graduate with very few who would ever go on to even attend community college. They were all very smart kids but the schools weren't teaching them the material and their parents worked multiple jobs - so they hired tutors to help their kids learn material and pass exams. They ended up attending Cornell, Columbia, Northwestern, etc... they even admitted to not feeling like they fit in when they got there - but they adapted, made new friends and did great. They have very successful careers today.
The idea that just because you need some tutoring or took a Kaplan test to prepare for an exam means you don't deserve to attend an elite school is absurd.
Gokicksomegrass
SILVER
Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds?
Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!
[a croupier hands Renault a pile of money] Croupier: Your winnings, sir.
Captain Renault: Oh, thank you very much.
Captain Renault: Everybody out at once!
oh canada
GOLD
One big reason why this bigger problem for UCLA than USC...public records requests...mark your calendars for June 30...
https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-admissions-scandal-ucla-emails-20190418-story.html
If link stopped by paywall....a few highlights...
As public employees, correspondence from the coaches’ university email accounts and phones can be requested under the California Public Records Act.
A week after the U.S. attorney’s office in Massachusetts charged 50 people in an alleged conspiracy to tamper with college entrance exams and bypass admissions offices with an athletic recruiting scam, The Times made a public records request for any emails and text messages exchanged between three UCLA coaches and five people implicated in the scheme, along with an employee of Cal State Fullerton.
UCLA record-keepers said that compiling those emails and texts is a “lengthy, time-consuming process,” and the records won’t be turned over until June 30.
The three UCLA coaches whose correspondence The Times requested are Jorge Salcedo, the former men’s soccer coach; Amanda Cromwell, the women’s soccer coach; and Joshua Walters, the former associate head coach for women’s soccer.
The Times also requested declarations of outside financial interests for Salcedo and Cromwell. Salcedo accepted the $200,000 bribe through a sports marketing company he controlled, prosecutors allege.
https://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-admissions-scandal-ucla-emails-20190418-story.html
If link stopped by paywall....a few highlights...
As public employees, correspondence from the coaches’ university email accounts and phones can be requested under the California Public Records Act.
A week after the U.S. attorney’s office in Massachusetts charged 50 people in an alleged conspiracy to tamper with college entrance exams and bypass admissions offices with an athletic recruiting scam, The Times made a public records request for any emails and text messages exchanged between three UCLA coaches and five people implicated in the scheme, along with an employee of Cal State Fullerton.
UCLA record-keepers said that compiling those emails and texts is a “lengthy, time-consuming process,” and the records won’t be turned over until June 30.
The three UCLA coaches whose correspondence The Times requested are Jorge Salcedo, the former men’s soccer coach; Amanda Cromwell, the women’s soccer coach; and Joshua Walters, the former associate head coach for women’s soccer.
The Times also requested declarations of outside financial interests for Salcedo and Cromwell. Salcedo accepted the $200,000 bribe through a sports marketing company he controlled, prosecutors allege.
Supermodel56
SILVER ELITE
More importantly... apparently, it's not just Singer, but looks like in one way or another this is fairly common practice for the wealthy - to make donations for preference in admission... not just at UCLA but at other schools as well. What makes it interesting is that from the wealthy parent perspective, it doesn't make a difference if the donation is to a charity, athletic program, prep course, or coach - in other words, if it wasn't illegal in the making a donation to the school in exchange for preference, then they could make an argument that this is no different and wasn't aware of what Singer was doing to help her get into school behind the scenes. It would certainly put into question the charges of racketeering and mail fraud - they weren't trying to defraud anyone, to them it was simply a financial transaction.
"But a 2014 internal report, obtained by The Times, showed UCLA was aware of under-qualified athletes being admitted in exchange for donations.
William Cormier, who headed UCLA’s compliance office at the time, said an investigation into a young woman who, despite subpar times, was admitted as a recruited runner once her parents pledged $100,000 to the athletic department “removes any reasonable doubt that the contribution from the parents was obtained quid pro quo for the daughter’s admission.”
In a statement, the university said it quickly investigated the matter and, after deciding four coaches had violated school policy, adopted new safeguards to vet walk-ons and restricted donations from families of athletic prospects. It pointed out that, unlike Salcedo’s alleged criminal activity, the coaches found to have broken policy were not personally enriched by the donations.
“UCLA took this matter seriously and strengthened its policies in the wake of it,” the statement said.
eastbaysoccer
GOLD
So Cromwell did wrong but no money received so she's ok. fair enough. hopefully all coaches can learn from this and realize they aren't gods and goddesses.
SpeedK1llz
GOLD
huh? How did you reach that conclusion?
exactly - there was nothing in the news article that said that.
Dos Equis
GOLD
The article reads like genuine news, not an opinion piece -- how refreshing. While there is no reference to Cromwell, it does make it clear UCLA was aware as early as 2014 of coaches helping non-athletes gain admissions through the athletic process by committing to large donations to the school/program. The coaches were willingly and knowingly gaming the system ("violating policy") and, in some cases, engaging in deceptive acts (false rosters) to hide their activity.
UCLA's recommendation, when this was discovered, was to "educate" the coaches about policy, since no law was broken. No money was returned by UCLA, no parents or students held accountable, no coaches removed/disciplined. As a comparison, Stanford fired their sailing coach for violating their "values" for essentially similar acts, even before he pled guilty to racketeering (the payments were directly linked to the fraudulent business of Singer). There is no evidence he personally gained from any payments, news reports it all went to the sailing program.
We can all have an opinion on what UCLA's response to these violations says about UCLA as an institution. They are using our tax dollars, therefore we also should expect more from them. While the acquiescence of the women's soccer staff in the admissions process and roster fraud may not break any law, borrowing the words of their athletic director, it is "disturbing and unacceptable."