This is the weirdest scandal in a long time. Hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to get offspring into what I must admit are pretty good schools. If you have Hollywood money, why not send them to State U if they can’t get into USC or Stanford? What is gained?
This is just people looking for ways to be dishonest. Meanwhile, one of these kids has 2M subs on Youtube. She can make more money showing teenage girls how to put on their makeup than in any other plausible career. We live in Clown World. Middle class, just kill yourselves with prescription drugs and illegal opioids; elites, make a $500k bribe to get your kid into a slightly better school. I don’t see that setup as sustainable. The French Revolution makes a lot more sense than it used to. I’m not saying they should’ve done it, but I understand.
Bragging rights. If you look at the social media accounts of some of the people involved, they present themselves as having perfect, "curated" lives. Everything from decor to food to clothing to personal appearances to their marriages has to be perfect. And if they have to say that their child is going to some state college rather than a more prestigious one they lose face with their friends, and they feel they failed as parents, and their lives aren't perfect.
I think something to be considered (when you call them good schools) is that once these kids are admitted, they have to pass their courses. Since it required bribery to get them admitted, it is logical to assume that some chicanery must be at work to help them succeed at getting satisfactory grades. Some of these kids we are talking about are dumb as rocks. Thus a lot more than the admissions personnel have to be involved.
So, I have to assume that these schools are not as good as their reputations would have us believe.