“We’re the honest way to get ahead,” says founder Tim Dugan.
United States federal prosecutors have recently indicted parents on charges bribing officials to secure illegal college admissions for their children. These parents spent widely varying amounts of money to have people take the SAT for their children or change their scores upon completion of the SAT. People were also paid to fake athletic scholarships to help their children get into college. These students were then granted admission to some of the top colleges in the nation and in the world. However, these parents and even their children will now face the repercussions of their actions.
To highlight some of these cases:
-In one case, the suspect is still unknown, but this parent had paid $6.5 million to William Springer, the head of the cheating ring. As a result, their child was granted admission to the University of Southern California, one of the most prestigious institutions in the U.S.
-Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli are accused of paying $500,000 to help their children, Olivia Jade and Isabella Giannulli, get into the University of Southern California. Their money was spent to have both children touted as crew recruits to USC, even though they had never rowed in their lives. Both of their children were granted admission and are still at the school.
-William Rick Singer, the CEO of a college admissions prep company, was a linchpin of the fake SAT operation. Singer labeled payments as charitable donations to The Key Worldwide Foundation, a supposed non-profit organizatoin, which he used to launder the bribe money he received from parents.
-Mark Riddell, the Director of College Entrance Exam Preparation at IMG Academy, will plead guilty for his crimes. Since 2012, Riddell was paid $10,000 per test to take the SAT or ACT for students. It is unknown how many tests he had taken. Riddell would also change the answers for students after they had completed the standardized test. His crimes are especially important to us at Dugan Prep because it would be very simple for us to take the easy way out and write papers for students, write colleges essays for students, and take exams in place of students. But that runs entirely contrary to the ideals of learning, enlightenment, and bettering of our students. So at every turn, we will refuse to participate in these actions and we are disappointed in Riddell’s choices.
-Here are a list of schools who have responded to and may be linked to these scandals: University of Texas Austin, Wake Forest, Yale, University of Southern California, University of California Berkeley, University of California Los Angeles, Georgetown University, Stanford University, and the University of Pennsylvania. These are schools have made firings of coaches/staff members connected to the scandal, expelled students in a connection to the scandal, or are investigating admitted students who may have fraudulent SAT scores.
At Dugan Prep, we pride ourselves on teaching an entirely honest and forthright method to help your children achieve success on the SAT. Not only will students receive expert academic instruction, but they will also learn important traits like dedication and quick thinking. Success here comes with hours of tutoring, homework, and practice tests. Unlike the get-rich-quick schemes peddled by unscrupulous companies, our programs require hard work, but when students achieve their goals, they got there honestly and without cheating.
