Yale Rescinds Admission for Student Connected to College Cheating Scandal

Yale rescinds admission of student connected to college admissions scandal

Yale University announced this week they have rescinded the admission of a student who was admitted to the Ivy League school as part of the college admission scandal that implicated 50 people, including celebrities, coaches and school administrators.

The announcement is the first by a university since the admissions scandal was revealed by federal prosecutors more than two weeks ago.

The scheme involved two fraudulent athletic endorsements from Yale's women's soccer coach, Rudy Meredith. One student was denied admission, but another was admitted. That student is only identified in court papers as "Yale Applicant 1."

The move by Yale comes while several top tier schools across the country are dealing with the fallout related to the college admissions scandal. Fifty people have been arrested in connection with the scheme that assisted more than 760 students gain admission to elite universities across the U.S. The mastermind of the scheme, Rick Singer, assisted dozens of families with his "side-door" process that allowed him to bypass the normal admittance process. Prosecutors say Singer would bribe college entrance exam proctors to change answers for students after tests were submitted, or even allow stand-ins to take the standardized tests for people.

In this case, court documents state Singer assisted the Yale applicant by creating a fake athletic profile for the student after the parents paid him $1.2 million. Singer sent that profile to Meredith who used the fraudulent profile to falsely designate the student as a woman's soccer recruit.

Parents of the student paid $1.2 million to Singer to help their child get into Yale. Singer mailed Meredith a check for $400,000 after the student was admitted to Yale. The parents were not named in the complaint.

Meredith resigned from her position and will plead guilty to fraud charges for taking the $400,000 bribe.

Yale rescinds admission for student linked to college admissions scandal

"On the very rare occasion when Yale receives an allegation that a current student included false information in an application, Yale gives the student the opportunity to address the allegation," the university's website stated.

"If Yale determines that the allegation is true, the student's admission is rescinded, based on language in the application that requires applicants to affirm that everything in the application is true and complete."

Yale is the first university to rescind an admission. Last week, USC placed a hold on students' accounts linked to the scandal, which prevents them from registering for classes and getting their transcripts.

“This prevents the students from registering for classes or acquiring transcripts while their cases are under review,” the USC tweeted last week. “These students have been notified that their status is under review. Following the review, we will take the proper action related to their status, up to revoking admission or expulsion.”

Two California college students have filed a lawsuit against eight elite schools that seeks class-action status. The students claim more than $5 million in damages and that "Had she known that the system at Yale University was warped and rigged by fraud, she would not have spent the money to apply to the school," the lawsuit states. "She also did not receive what she paid for — a fair admissions consideration process."

Photos: Getty Images


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