What Next - The Side Door Into College
Slate News
Slate Podcasts
4.5 • 6K Ratings
🗓️ 14 March 2019
⏱️ 21 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The FBI submitted indictments this week into the largest college admissions scam they’ve ever prosecuted. Celebrities, millionaire parents, and college sports coaches are among the dozens charged in a scheme that sought to get wealthy kids through a “side-door” of college admissions. One that guaranteed them entry to top-tier universities.
The admissions system has always favored the wealthy. Can that be fixed?
Guests: Andy Thomason, editor at the Chronicle of Higher Education. And Julie Lythcott-Haims, former Stanford dean and author of How to Raise an Adult.
Tell us what you think by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts or sending an email to whatnext@slate.com. Follow us on Instagram for updates on the show.
Podcast production by Mary Wilson, Jayson De Leon, and Anna Martin
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | There are so many people indicted in the college admissions scandal from this week that I could really start the story of what happened with any of them. |
| 0:11.7 | Today, Oscar-nominated actor Felicity Huffman and full-house actor Lori Loughlin were arrested. |
| 0:17.8 | I could tell you about the Hollywood stars who allegedly paid thousands of dollars to |
| 0:21.5 | boost their kids standardized test scores and might have straight up bought admission to an elite college. |
| 0:26.8 | And they are just two of the 32 parents criminally charged in a massive college admission |
| 0:32.8 | scandal involving 50 people across six states. Or I could tell you about the USC water polo coach, |
| 0:39.6 | who reportedly took money in exchange for slots in the school's freshman class. But I'm going to |
| 0:45.0 | start with someone else. I'm going to start with Rick Singer. So Rick Singer, you know, he was a well-known |
| 0:51.3 | figure in this in this world. |
| 0:58.9 | That's the world of college admissions, which is Andy Thomason's world, too. |
| 1:01.5 | He's an editor at The Chronicle of Higher Education. |
| 1:06.7 | And this is a quote, Rick has an encyclopedic knowledge of colleges and universities in America. |
| 1:11.9 | Far more important, Rick is really great at getting at the heart of what kids and families want and finding the right match. |
| 1:14.3 | That quote you just heard is from a former college president. |
| 1:17.5 | So that indicates a kind of respect and prominence in this field. |
| 1:23.9 | Rick Singer even had a book called Getting In. |
| 1:26.9 | It advised kids and parents how to get admitted to their dream school. |
| 1:30.6 | He had been a consultant, college counselor type for a long time, |
| 1:36.0 | and he came up with this idea that his company would essentially give a side door |
| 1:41.7 | to parents of children who were applying to elite colleges. |
| 1:50.6 | And as he described it, there's the front door that's applying like most of the world applies to these colleges. |
| 1:57.2 | And there's the back door, which is making large donations so that the admissions office gives your child a second look. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Slate Podcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Slate Podcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.

