Operation Varsity Puns

For those of you who don’t know, r/applyingtocollege or A2C is a sub about college applications and the general issues and news of the admission season. The sub has been a bit more tense that usual this year due to the drastic decline in admission rates at T20-T50 colleges (T20 are top 20 colleges in the US like the Ivy League, Stanford, Duke, etc. and T50 are ones like Tulane, Case Western Reserve University and Boston College). Not going to discuss that anymore, but what is relevant is that yesterday, the Netflix movie Operation Varsity Blues was released, which detailed the admissions scandal that occurred in 2019. One could see the stewing of anger as posts flowed in and it was not helped by a YouTuber named Arpi Park releasing a statement that he plagiarized a few lines of one of his application essays.

Confirmation from him here, he seemingly deleted the original post, but claims that it was removed by the mods (No confirmation to my knowledge yet): https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/m7wfqy/to_a2c/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

At this point, I am unsure as to the exact post that ignited it, but soon after a conflict over URM (Under-represented minorities) and oppression broke out. Rather than allowing for discussion, the mod team suppressed some posts on the topic. This was not taken well and led to a slew of posts and comments that have fought on the status of Asian Americans in the college admission process and affirmative action in general. I can’t really pull any particular comments, but this one from a private consulting group that is on the mod team has caused considerable outrage.

Links:

This one with an overview of the affairs of the day mentions a “1200 SAT” post against affirmative action that I vaguely remember. This may have been the catalyst. https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/m80p62/i_saw_someone_say_they_cant_keep_up_with_the_shit/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/m7sdfs/a2c_is_so_toxic_to_be_on_as_a_urm_fgli/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

Mod Suppression https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/m7um5q/mods_stop_suppressing_the_voice_of_asian/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/m804sf/the_antiasian_sentiments_on_this_sub_reflect/?utm_sou

Hi! My name's Mattie Culkin. I'm a private college consultant located in the Bay Area. I post here on Reddit and my website (CollegeWithMattie.com) about college admissions. I'm hopeful I'll find some new readers interested in Rick Singer and "Operation Varsity Blues" after viewing the Netflix special that debuts today.

I haven't viewed the Netflix doc yet, but I believe it covers a lot of the same information available in several different news journals going back to 2019. I'd like to offer today an inside take on the scandal that relies more on my personal experiences and understanding as a fellow college consultant. I'll also be down in the comments, so feel free to ask me anything you'd like.

Isn't the fact that my industry exists at all symptomatic of an unfair, corrupt system?

Kind of?

I'm not going to try and deflect criticisms about what I do in this piece. I'm extremely proud to call myself a college admissions consultant and know that I have been directly a part of helping amazing young people achieve their dreams in life.

The problem is that those amazing young people tend to come from a place of privilege, to begin with.

I suppose then the knock against consultants like me is that I help teenagers claim the spots over other, more deserving students who couldn't afford my help.

And while that's undoubtedly true, I think it's more accurate that I help teenagers claim the spots over other students who hired consultants who weren't as good as me.

26% of college applicants reported hiring an Independent Educational Consultant of some kind. That's reported, which leads me to suspect that number may be even higher. This is also a survey of students with an 1150+ SAT. I primarily work with students applying to top-50 and specifically top-20 schools where an 1150 isn't close to good enough. I would guess that the percentage of students receiving professional help who apply to top schools is much higher.

And then there's the fact that consultants work. We're not being paid to do nothing. Every one of us has our own magic formula, and some work more than others, but this is a very comp

Sometimes when I’m salty about college admissions and life I remember that people paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to get an application that looked like mine...... you may be rich and going to my dream school i could never afford but I got a 35 on the ACT after barely sleeping the night before and having my 17 year old car break down on the way to the test so who’s really winning?????

How dare you say that you only want the “best of the best” and pressure us into taking a bajillion IB/AP courses and achieve once-in-a-blue-moon feats like solving Brexit or finding the cure to all known and unknown cancers when you’re colluding with all these organizations and billionaires just because you want more money and prestige? T10 colleges seem to care more about the acceptance percentage that shows up on google search rather than the actual principles they preach.

Of course, there are countless students who get into these colleges without resorting to these “side doors” and “ back doors” and COMPLETELY deserve their places, but the hypocrisy of these institutions is infuriating. You have NO RIGHT to judge the merits of others when you can’t even meet those same expectations yourself.

Okay, rant over. If I came off as insensitive or offensive in anyway, I would like to pre-emptively apologize. As a very stressed high school senior, realizing that there’re potentially millions of Olivia Jades (who don’t even want to attend college) in these extremely-selective universities makes me feel like all the hard work I did over the last four years was ultimately futile. My blood boils for the people who should’ve gotten into their dream schools but couldn’t because of these fucking “side doors”.

Edit: I mean “potentially millions” as an exaggeration. I bet that if actual millions of Olivia Jades swarmed T10s we’d have a much bigger scandal.

Firstly, I qualify for accommodations for the SAT and ACT. Specifically, I am granted permission for 50% extra time (standard time plus half), testing over multiple days, and some other things that are irrelevant here.

My accommodations are almost identical to the kids in Operation Varsity Blues (OVB) who essentially cheated their way into them. Unlike those kids, I actually had to spend a lot of time fighting for my accommodations. For those who aren’t familiar, here’s the standard process.

If applying for accommodations for a learning disability, you generally need to have a neurological evaluation which is often not covered by insurance and extremely expensive. Like 4,000 USD a pop and are technically supposed to be redone every three years. Getting that done is a process that takes months to get fully set up. Then you sometimes need additional doctors letters and/or things from your IEP/504 plan if you have one through your school. You submit those documents to the College Board or ACT and wait 6 weeks for them to be confirmed. Then, if there is an issue and you need to get more documentation and re-appeal, it’s another 6 weeks. All this has to be done before your test.

All of this to access equitable testing. A lot of kids who would probably qualify for accommodations and therefore get an equitable test environment aren’t able to get them because of class barriers that make getting a diagnosis (DX) and accommodations so hard.

Yet to me, it’s morally reprehensible to see the parents in OVB so flippantly use these support systems to give their child an advantage by taking advantage of a marginalized group.

Accommodations are not designed as “special privileges”, they are designed to level the playing field. It was hard to get accommodations for those who actually legitimately need them to begin with and I can’t imagine OVB has made it any better. Disabled people who don’t appear to be profoundly disabled are already frequently questioned about the legitimacy of their disability. Having people exploit a system designed to help disabled people for their own gain has only made people more suspicious of who “really” qualifies for accommodations and who doesn’t.

Beyond the SAT/ACT, getting a DX is a privilege. A lot of people cannot afford the cost of pursing one, and that’s only the identification of an issue, not the treatment. That disadvantage impacts so many elements of their life. So to have rich families facetiously pursue accommodations le

But I'm negative buoyant so 🤷

I’m super excited for this doc on netflix. It’s basically about the college admissions scandal. Obviously they’re a lot of people involved but the USC one was one i could personally relate to.

Basically Lori got her daughter into USC by disguising her as a recruit for rowing (crew)

When i first heard of the scandal i, like everyone, was mad. Like the trailer says “They had every advantage, yet they still cheated.”

I rowed for 2 years and it’s fucking hard. Even if Olivia was recruited as a coxswain (person screaming in front of the boat) they still have to maintain a certain weight and for my team, there was a problem with them developing ed’s because of that. To think that someone like olivia cheated her way in just for the college experience is just....yeah i’m speechless

I have a 32+ ACT and some pretty decent photoshop skills. Why won't USC accept me 😭

I get that they’re rich or whatever but still...

And you know how they put a few clips of some college decision reactions from youtube. I thought it was cute that I knew the videos some were from like Arpi Park (Stanford) and Ris Igrec (Yale) and also this random girl that got deferred from Northwestern cause I watched her vid a few months ago. I'm pretty sure she ended up getting in anyway so that's cool. I wonder if they hit them up and were like "oh can we take these clips and use them in our really cool college scandal recreation-documentary type thing" cause that's so exciting. Omfg and the transition from the girl saying "And I know the people that got in are super deserving," and then it cuts to Olivia Jade putting on fake eyelashes💀💀💀Anyway, 10/10 recommend watching it on Netflix

idk just kinda thought about it

Title. It will play with your minds.

What they show in the documentary is unfortunate but it shouldn't deter you from your hard work or give you an excuse to try less.

I am a beneficiary of the "front door" and quite satisfied with the outcomes of my smart and hard work so far.

No rich folks are out there eating your seats (or at least think of it in that way).

Edit: Don't watch it through torrent either like me :)

WHY WOULD YOU PAY 45 mil TO GET INTO HARVARD?? I get that it’s prestigious but you won’t even make that that much after college? What’s the point of spending so much if it’s not even a recoverable amount 😭

Have any of you watched the Netflix documentary on Operation Varsity Blues?

I found it very interesting to learn the more specific details. It really gave me perspective on what our students may go through and deal with. Though I teach at a community college, I've had several students who have shared their frustration with college admissions. I've also had students who had to come back home for various personal reasons from big name schools.

I honestly just feel bad about the higher education desire culture that's been created. It's so frustrating.

Ideas: -Erika and Tom Girardi embezzlement -Theresa and Joe's fraud and jail

These could be so good!!

how long do you think it will be until operation varsity blues lsac/lsat style comes out of the woodwork and the public sees how many rich people bought their kids spots/lsat scores to gain admission to the T14?

I give it 2-3 years. real guesstimates only

Why were those 'celebrity parents' literally just sentenced to no more than half a year-ish in prison? It's so weirdly moderate. I don't get it. I do have reason to believe that such a small extent of time would make no difference in their life (nor any fine).

Could someone familiar with legal provisions/this whole scandel help to explain?

🎶I think I've seen this film before/So I'm leaving out the side dooooooooor🎶

So like a lot of people, I’ve been watching the college admissions scandal documentary on Netflix and there’s a specific section of the documentary near the end of the first third when the interviewees are talking about the pressure on high school students to get into “good” colleges. One of the interviewers says something along the lines of “These kids are freaking out about a single word they wrote in an essay” and I just thought “That kinda sounds like a certain subreddit I know...”.