Now this is interesting

A former basketball coach from Newport Beach, CA, has been indicted and is now providing evidence that he helped at least 50 young people gain entrance into colleges for which they were not qualified by falsifying entrance exams and the like.   What would be very interesting, in my view, is a look at the graduation rates of these young people.  If they graduate at about the same rate as qualified students, we would have to wonder whether (a) they're getting a lot of help passing classes or (b) those prestigious schools aren't as tough as they're made out to be.


It's a disgrace that people are gaming the system, but if it shows the system to be a fraud, this could work out really well.


Update: Mr. D. notes that what is bought at prestigious schools is not the education, but access to the alumni.  It strikes me that this is part of why so many rich people support the estate tax--with kick-backs and favors from friends, those with access to powerful friends can always get back the money they may have paid there.  Those who earned their money in less prestigious circles, not so much.  It ensures, really, that the intellectual class will have an even more disproportionate say in national life, whether economic or political.


Update 2: if people can pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in return for big advantages getting into elite schools, don't they already have access to those alumni/elite networks?  Is this "crime" simply an example of "A fool and his money are soon parted."?