College Bribery Instead of Studying: Aunt Becky Did What??

Unless you have sworn off listening to, watching, or reading the latest reports from the media (who doesn’t think about tuning out all news nowadays), you have probably heard about the college bribery cases. The bribery seems to have been done by many of the ultra-rich and famous for the supposed benefit of their kids. As it turns out, they did much more harm than good.

Parents or Kids?

The government has filed charges against numerous individuals as they have allegedly discovered more than fifty cases of bribery and other shenanigans where parents have made an extreme effort to ensure their child was accepted into the right college. If this sounds like a Lifetime movie script waiting to happen, you couldn’t be more right. Even the government named the investigation “Operation Varsity Blues” after that movie from two decades ago. I’d make a bet that there are some James Van Der Beek and Dawson’s Creek fans in high places in the FBI.

But do you really think it meant all that much to the kids if they got into that specific college that their parents were paying big money in bribes for them to get into? These are rich and famous families that apparently have determined that if you throw enough money at a problem then it goes away. Cue up the Willy Wonka Oompa Loompa song about blaming the mother and the father. We all should have learned our lesson when Veruca Salt turned out to be a bad egg.

The Media Attacks

There are six major corporations that control 90 percent of the media in the United States. These companies basically determine what is presented as major news and what is not. This is a sad fact. They can bury stories or create something out of nothing just based on their own personal views. They must have really hated Uncle Jesse to attack his television wife so strongly. Have mercy!

Lori Loughlin, the actress best known for playing the role of Aunt Becky on Full House, has been the hardest hit by the media in this scandal. She is charged with paying half a million dollars to make sure her two daughters both were admitted into the University of Southern California. Her husband is the founder of a multibillion-dollar fashion company so I guess a half a million to attend a school where the actual tuition is about $50,000 a year without financial aid doesn’t really matter to them.

I’ve got news for you, a good tutor and junior college would have saved you a lot of money. They probably could have gotten into the University of Southern California on their own if everyone was willing to put forth more of a real effort. Mr. Howell always came off quite charming as he offered bribes on Gilligan’s Island. Perhaps it was because he made no effort to hide that they were indeed meant as bribes. The reports about these secretive meetings in this college admission scandal just leave most of us shaking our heads.

The Time Machine Game

I would always present my students a little fun sci-fi writing prompt in my classes. It was called the time machine game. They were encouraged to write about what they would do if they were given the power to go back in time for just ten minutes. It basically would boil down to what they would change from the past. Younger students didn’t have much background knowledge for history, so they could only write about what they would change in their own life with the ten minutes if they could. This might be an educational game that these parents that have been charged could play with their kids.

Hiring a good tutor to help their kid pass a test is a good start. However, why not hire a tutor in every subject they are struggling with instead to help them raise their grades as well? A little time and very little money spent now could have saved them from public embarrassment and wasting a small fortune later. Just think how iAchieve could have helped them prevent all of this. We offer tutoring for tests, help with college planning, and can improve grades in all subject areas. All of this and you won’t have the FBI knocking at your door either!