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Scotia Wealth Management

University bribery scandal and Canada

The Ritcey Report

April 15, 2019

You can usually count on The Economist to come up with a great headline for a penetrating analysis of a major news story with profound social implications.

So when I noticed an article in their March 16, 2019 issue, “Bribe styles of the rich and famous” I realized that, yet again, they’d nailed it.

The college admissions scandal in the U.S. has had little short of a sensational impact on most Canadians – especially Canadians with college-aged children.

Operation Varsity Blues

The investigation currently taking place – named by the FBI as Operation Varsity Blues – involves an entrepreneurial college counsellor named William Singer who earned $25m from a wide range of well-connected individuals by obtaining places for their kids in top tier schools such as Stanford and Yale.
As The Economist reports: “Among his clients charged with crimes were Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, two well-known actresses; Gordon Caplan, the co-chairman of an international law firm; and William McGlashan, a Silicon Valley private-equity executive who champions ethical investing.
To grease the lucrative scheme, Mr. Singer bribed proctors of admissions exams to fake scores and bribed athletics officials to accept wealthy children with concocted sports résumés, according to court documents unveiled by federal prosecutors on March 12, 2019. The lurid details have provoked embarrassment for universities and Schadenfreude for the public.”

Front door, back door and side door

Expressions like front door, back door and side door punctuated media reports on the matter.

Front door means your kid gains admission on merit.

Back door means you facilitated the process through a donation – in his book The Price of Admission1, investigative reporter Daniel Golden identifies Jared Kushner as having gained entry into Harvard based on a $2.5 million contribution from his father.

Side door means you bribe a university official to accept a faked test score in exchange for a place.

As The Economist reports, in effect Mr. Singer’s scheme “granted mere multimillionaires access to the billionaires’ entrance.” The obvious question we ask is: does it happen here?

The competitive landscape of Canadian post-secondary is very different

In an article called U.S. college admissions scandal puts selection process for Canadian schools under microscope2, Canadian Press reporters Ardina Bresge and Laura Kane offered some important insights about this troubling question.

They quoted a Canada based university admissions consultant as saying that since the selection process at Canadian schools is heavily weighted towards high school report cards there’s less wiggle room for the sort of chicanery being alleged in the U.S.

“The competitive landscape is very different in the United States,” they quoted Robert Astroff, president of Astroff Consultants – a company that helps students prepare for their post-secondary studies – as saying: “There’s much less opportunity to game the system in Canada.”

Canada doesn’t have standardized admissions tests like the SAT or ACT, which some of those charged in the U.S. are accused of falsifying, Mr. Astroff added.

Conclusion: Canadian admissions criteria less subjective

In Canada, the admissions criteria are less subjective, Mr. Astroff is reported as saying, and an applicant’s acceptance often comes down to whether their high school grades meet the minimum requirements.

Another source quoted by Ms. Bresge and Ms. Kane was Curtis Michaelis. An admissions and recruitment co-ordinator at Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B., he was quoted as saying that the U.S. students he works with are often shocked at how “transparent” the Canadian system is.

That’s reassuring news. And while I’m not naïve enough to believe that our process is without flaws, an educational system based on merit is infinitely preferable to one influenced by dubious contributions.

Dave Ritcey, The Ritcey Team, Scotia Wealth Management

1 https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/107533.The_Price_of_Admission
2 https://globalnews.ca/news/5065171/us-college-admissions-scandal-canadian-schools-process/

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