# Felicity Huffman, Lori Loughlin indicted in Ivy League bribery scheme **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 12, 2019, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001 "2019-03-12T15:06:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/81 "2019-03-13T00:21:06Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > That makes absolutely no sense at all. If the kid actually met the requirements of graduation, of course they get to keep their degree. That’s what degrees are. > > The people who committed crimes should be punished, but the kid did nothing wrong. And from their perspective, getting in isn’t the part that matters. It’s how you got out. Some of the kids damn well did something wrong like posing for a picture as if they were on the crew team or allowing someone to take the SAT for them. I’d investigate if they actually did their coursework if possible. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/82 "2019-03-13T00:24:46Z")
> **[William H Macy Called Daughter’s College Application Process ‘Stressful’...](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/william-h-macy-called-daughter-184117206.html)** > > William H. Macy’s comments about his daughter’s college application from several months ago resurfaced on Tuesday following news of his wife Felicity Huffman’s arrest as part of an alleged admissions fraud scheme.“We’re right now in the thick of... This is funny. A quote from Macy from several months ago complaining about how stressful it was when his daughter was applying for colleges. Not a word from the celebs today. They are definitely huddled with their rep from one of the best PR firms and a lawyer or two figuring out how to spin this. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/83 "2019-03-13T00:25:49Z")
The kids most definitely did something wrong. A number of them knew their test scores were faked, because they sat right there and watched somebody else fill in the right answers. Kick them out, void their degrees, fine them millions - kids and parents alike. Then jail every coach/administrator/whatever for 20 years minimum. Scorched earth. Let Macy, Huffman and the rest of the parents enjoy prison food while their entire lives are confiscated. No prisoners, no quarter. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/84 "2019-03-13T00:33:59Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Although I knew it was a private school if someone told me they graduated USC I wouldn’t be any more impressed than if they said UCLA. Well I would probably be impressed if they were a starter on the football team because there aren’t many who could. Maybe its because I’m on the east coast. I think your impression of these various schools is out of date. UCLA is a top 20 school, ranked higher than USC in the linked list: [https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities) All of those schools listed earlier in this thread are elite and very difficult to get into. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/85 "2019-03-13T00:37:13Z")
**Manda JO** , damn I thought of that same vid too when I read about Loughlin’s daughter and her wanting the party experience rather than actual schooling. I like the clever part of bribing coaches to declare the kids to be “athletes”, which only confirms the already extant perception that the schools will admit whoever Coach says admit, regardless of objective qualifications. Though it suggests that the coaches have some sort of margin of people they can admit on say-so without consideration for whether the “student”-athlete will bring success to the team… I mean, if were a coach would I recruit totally useless posers, or someone who may not be able to tell the multiplication table from the coffee table but who with a year’s training may destroy the opposition in the field/court? Style points for the staged/'shopped photos of the teens being athletic. Compared to that paying someone to take the SAT for your teenager looks just so pedestrian. Loughlin’s daughter not only was there just to party, she \*monetized \*her experience – on move-in week she did Sponsored Instagram shares advertising how she furnished her dorm room through Amazon Prime. So at least she’s got that much business sense. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/86 "2019-03-13T00:39:15Z")
I’m sure Macy is just as guilty as his wife but lucky for him he seems to have not left as much of a paper trail. The FBI likes ironclad cases. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/87 "2019-03-13T00:39:56Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Loughlin’s daughter not only was there just to party, she \*monetized \*her experience – on move-in week she did a Sponsored Instagram share advertising how she furnished her dorm room through Amazon Prime. So at least she’s got that much business sense. Right there is a reason to go after the kids. She shouldn’t be allowed to profit from her crime. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/88 "2019-03-13T00:42:40Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I think your impression of these various schools is out of date. UCLA is a top 20 school, ranked higher than USC in the linked list: [https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities) > > All of those schools listed earlier in this thread are elite and very difficult to get into. I think you are confusing your specific knowledge with public perception. I have already started[this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=872324) so this one doesn’t get derailed. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/89 "2019-03-13T00:45:10Z")
The indictment had this exchange from a recorded phone call: Parent: “And is there any risk that this thing blows up in my face?” Cooperating Witness 1: “Hasn’t in 24 years.” In other words, this scheme has been going on since _1995_. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/90 "2019-03-13T00:48:55Z")
Interestingly, one of the ways that this scam was sold to the parents was that it would actually be _cheaper_ than the traditional “donate to the school and your child will get in” method. The perpetrator described it as a third method (after actually being qualified and making a donation) that was both less expensive and guaranteed to work. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/91 "2019-03-13T00:51:42Z")
Lock them up! Lock them up! Lock them up! ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/92 "2019-03-13T00:52:34Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I think you are confusing your specific knowledge with public perception. I have already started[this thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=872324) so this one doesn’t get derailed. While I posted on your new thread, based on when my younger daughter was applying to UCs, Berkeley and UCLA were definitely the top two. I’m surprised UCSD was on the list. Good school, but not all that prestigious. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/93 "2019-03-13T00:55:37Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I think your impression of these various schools is out of date. UCLA is a top 20 school, ranked higher than USC in the linked list: [https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities](https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities) > > All of those schools listed earlier in this thread are elite and very difficult to get into. I don’t know much about the USC undergrad program, but there is a Computer Engineering Masters program for money which shovels the students in and ejects them a while later with almost identical resumes and absolutely identical course work. I had to wade through about 100 of the damn things each year. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/94 "2019-03-13T00:58:47Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Interestingly, one of the ways that this scam was sold to the parents was that it would actually be _cheaper_ than the traditional “donate to the school and your child will get in” method. The perpetrator described it as a third method (after actually being qualified and making a donation) that was both less expensive and guaranteed to work. I expanded on this in post #33. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/95 "2019-03-13T01:14:30Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > kids of alums get special help for free a lot of places. One thing they do for alum kids is if you are out of state then you get in based on the in state criteria which is easier. Is this true? Given that in-state students pay less tuition, I think the schools would favor those from out of state. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/96 "2019-03-13T01:25:37Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Is this true? Given that in-state students pay less tuition, I think the schools would favor those from out of state. Generally speaking, there’s conflicting pressure. State legislatures (that set the funding) apply pressure on the schools to accept in-state (since that’s the point of having a state university, and it’s what their constituents want). However, as states cut funding, they have less leverage. Generally speaking, the % in state/out of state is a political question as much as a financial one. And it’s more complicated because even if they take 75% in-state, in-state may represent 90% of applications. So it can be harder to get in as an in-state student even though they make up a much larger percentage of the student body. But for the big flagships, it tends to go the other way–they get a LOT of out of state applications, and it can be a bloodbath. I think UT and Georgia Tech were both well under 10% for out of state this year. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/97 "2019-03-13T02:42:17Z")
As a parent of a college student who worked hard to get there and get scholarship money and that I am paying to close the gap to minimize her long term debt, and a college bound high-school junior that is also working hard to do well for his future, this makes me VERY FUCKING ANGRY! Fuck these families - they are assholes and terrible human beings! :mad: Now, if the kid was unawares of mommy and daddy pulling strings and greasing palms behind the scenes to get their “pwecious wittew snowfwake” into the college of their choice, that is one thing. But, if you are taking the SAT by yourself and there is someone there looking over your shoulder and making corrections, you have to know that is not normal. Fuck you!! :mad: OK, so this is all not very surprising that the rich use their power and influence to purchase a pedigree college tag for their offspring. The news is that they are getting caught and humiliated, which is good, but I am sure this poor behavior will continue and all this will be forgotten by the next news cycle or two. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/98 "2019-03-13T02:59:55Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > There’s a couple in my city who has sued the school district every year since their teenage daughter started kindergarten, because the district says she isn’t qualified for the T&G program. Get a clue, folks (and don’t bother with a college fund; just save up for the therapy bills). :smack: > > I found out a while back that a mentally retarded HS classmate from a well-off family has a master’s degree, and suspect this is how she got it. She certainly didn’t belong in mainstream classes, let alone the college track, and am also puzzled as to how she managed to get AND KEEP a job as a high school art teacher. I remember that she got a 3 on her ACT (not 23, not 13, THREE) and teachers would give her sympathy C’s and D’s because they had to, I guess. In addition, since she was part of the ultra-mega-duper popularity crowd and I was not, when I was assigned to sit next to her, she would pat me on the head while speaking to me, usually using baby talk, until I asked her if she was a lesbian and told her to knock it off. > > p.s. I know her behavior was because of my place in the pecking order, and not her mentation, because she didn’t do it to other people. Wait a minute, you know a mentally retarded girl who has a masters degree and was also popular, who may or not have been a lesbian and also a high school art teacher, wow that’s some accomplished tard right! ---
**Author:** ![I.Dunno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9f8e36/32.png) [@I.Dunno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I.Dunno)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/99 "2019-03-13T03:37:41Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > Oh, man. You would think William H. Macy, of all people, would know better than to get involved in [some kind of harebrained criminal scheme](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116282/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2). Those [never end well](https://giphy.com/gifs/fargo-LVwbiWi2hfShO). Yeah, but that TruCoat… ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2019, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001/100 "2019-03-13T04:25:53Z")
Loughlin’s daughter, who has something like 2 million followers on Instagram, has said she’d much rather make beauty tutorials than go to classes. Considering her SAT score, it seems obvious she wasn’t college material in the first place, and with the fallout from the bribery scheme, she’ll probably end up dropping out soon anyway. None of this will hurt her popularity. She’ll probably go on to “create” (actually just sign her name to) a line of cosmetics and maybe a fashion line. In a [Christian Broadcasting Network interview](http://www1.cbn.com/700club/actress-lori-loughlin-balancing-family-faith-and-career) 5 or 6 years ago, Laurie Loughlin said > [@](#): > > I always thought, I don’t want to do anything that one day might rear its ugly head and my children have to pay the price for that. Bitter irony. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-indicted-in-ivy-league-bribery-scheme/831001.md?page=6)