College Admissions Scam

There is so much going on in the news this week regarding college admissions scams.  It is disturbing to see what some people with money, influence, and privilege do to get what they want. There are so many angles to look at this from that leads to outrage, frustration, injustice, etc.

As a parent, I completely understand wanting to help my children by giving them the best shot in life, allowing them to take advantage of opportunities and helping them get ahead. What parent hasn’t thought about their connections to help a door open for one of our children or for one of family or friends in order to give them a step up?

Nearly every job I ever had started with an introduction. Of course, it was up to me to go through the proper channels and get the job on my own merits.

So I ask, what lessons are these parents who have been implicated in being involved with these scams teaching their children?

What about integrity?

What about the value of hard work?

Do these students now wonder what their parents really thought of their capabilities? (Perhaps they were not capable of getting into their college of choice by themselves?)

I believe most parents want our children to find work that is fulfilling, meaningful that will provide for their needs and even beyond.

What about finding the right school where the student will be appropriately challenged, grow, learn and be able to thrive. One where they can work on becoming a person who can go out into the world and contribute to society?

Rather than investing in cheating the system, what about investing in their children to help them start to figure out what they want to do in this lifetime? Who do they want to be? What do they want to do? What do they want to accomplish?  How do they want to help others?

These are not easy questions for any of us to answer but it is possible to start to answer them by slowing down, taking time to reflect and working at it.  It is always helpful when you have friends and/or family who will walk beside you as you figure these things out.

I commend the many parents who take time to help their child find a path for their future by having conversations, exploring career options on their own or getting them the help they need. The time invested in this can yield great dividends.