Did USC favor special admission for rich kids?

Earlier this week the Los Angeles Times published one article which alleged that the University of Southern California offered children of wealthy and connected potential donors “an alternative path” to admission – one that had an acceptance rate as high as 90 percent. In 2024, USC’s regular acceptance rate was 9.2 percent.

Citing internal university documents it said it had reviewed, the newspaper alleged that university officials had a system in which students with average or below-average grades and non-star athletes but whose parents or relatives were potential donors were encouraged to apply. attend college as walk-on athletes, giving them a better chance of admission. The newspaper cited internal emails detailing how much money applicants could give and how applicants could tailor their athletic and academic resumes for a better chance of admission. Some of the admitted students have never participated in official competitions of the teams for which they were recruited.

Tommy Trojan, a bronze statue, stands in the center of the USC campus.

In 2019, USC and several other universities became involved in the Varsity Blues scandalwhich found that an independent admissions consultant named Rick Singer had bribed college coaches to accept students—even if they had little or no athletic ability—as recruits. Singer pleaded guilty to fraud and was released in August after serving 16 months in prison. Several of Singer’s clients, including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, also served prison sentences.

USC did not respond to newspaper questions about specific students, citing privacy laws. It updated on October 18 statement on its website about university admissions issues that denies any wrongdoing. “Except with respect to the Singer clients, we are not aware of any evidence showing that the students who were not on a schedule were admitted through an explicit quid pro quo – and in fact, many of the families of those applicants never donated to USC . at any time. For those applicants who were not legitimately admitted as student-athletes, one or a small number of athletic department employees violated USC policy and undermined the athletics admissions process.

The idea that a private university would give preference to the children of wealthy donors is not particularly shocking. The practice was legal in California until a few weeks ago, when Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning donor and legacy preference in admissions to private nonprofit universities starting in 2025. “In California, everyone should be able to get ahead through merit, skill and hard work. The California Dream shouldn’t be accessible to just a lucky few, and that’s why we’re opening the door to higher education wide enough for everyone, in a fair way,” he said in a speech. statement.

Norman Vanamee is the articles director of Town & Country.