By Justin Kies
The National Center for education statistics found that college attendance has increased roughly 28% from 2000 – 2016, and some students will do everything they can to get into their school of choice.
For most high school seniors, they’ve studied for years in hopes of one day getting into a good college. But with an increasing college attendance nationwide, the competition to get into top-tier universities is greater than ever.
Even for student athletes who have worked their entire life towards an athletic scholarship. Some have taken matters into their own hands by illegally bribing universities for admittance, such as YouTuber Olivia Jade.
“I do want the experience of like gamedays, partying… I don’t really care about school, as you all know,” Jade said.
By getting admitted to USC as a recruited athlete despite not having any sports background, Jade’s viral video shows how mismanaged the admission process can be for others who are more deserving.
“Well I would say it’s unfair if you’re paying to get into any school because there’s a lot of students that have to work really hard in high school, and have to buckle down and get good SAT scores,” said Austin Hukill, a former UNO student.
“And they can’t, you know, just have their parents pay someone to boost their SAT scores you know,” Hukill said.
The reports now expand to multiple states and universities, and include players, coaches, office administrators and even parents.
“I would say they definitely have to retake the test for sure. To see how they would score and to see if that score would get them into the university that they were in,” said Hukill.
As of now Olivia Jade is still enrolled at the university of southern California, while the investigation is still on-going, she and the others involved in the scandal currently await their trial and their punishment.
