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The corruption scandal and manipulation in the admissions process at some popular US universities shoke the public opinion. US authorities have filed lawsuits against some trainers, private companies, and parents accused of being part of a corrupt scheme to secure admission to colleges of young people who did not meet admission standards. It is a small number of applicants among the 1.8 million young people applying every year at the US university.
But the scandal has 'struck in the heart' the belief that the higher education is the best sorter, the track that gives everyone who has the skills and willingness to work hard, the ability to achieve success regardless of family background or status. VOA's Correspondent Ardita Dunellari talked with two Albanian-American students to get their impressions of corruption discovered in the university admissions system:The scandal was followed with anger and surprise in public opinion, but there is nothing extraordinary in the exposed corruption, says the student Keida Gaba:
"I'm not very surprised, that is, it is known that with money everything is done. It is also seen here in Washington that if you have people in the State Department, or in the Senate, it's easier to get in, so it is understandable a little bit. "
Keida attends the studies for International Relations at George Washington University, though this was not her favorite choice. She had first applied to Georgetown University with the conviction that she was a very strong applicant:
"I had very good grades, 4.0 GPA, I had SAT scores (admission exams), I had many school activities: volleyball, football, basketball, church, and robotics that I thought would help me because there are not many women in robotics".
Though she was a strong candidate, its application was rejected, as is the case with most applicants in universities with strong competition.
"(I was) upset..., anyway," says Keida.
But the scandal showed that some applicants managed to bypass the competition by bribing the tennis coach. Although the candidates did not played tennis, the trainer falsified the documents by providing some admission to the university.
Parents who pay under the bail and bribe workers now face federal charges of manipulating the open competition system for university admissions.
For the families who try to nurture in their children the virtue of work and fair competition, such schemes are very damaging and offensive:
"These students give a very bad reputation to those who are real athletes who have tried so much, not just them, but parents, everyone," says Mirela McDonald, the mother of a student who plays tennis.
She knows well what it's like to try to get a seat in a university sports team. For 13 years, together with their spouse, they have supported the boy's passion for tennis.
Evin McDonnald is a high school student at a Washington school and has been competing for many years on the national tennis:
"For the age of 18, I'm in the 20the place in the US; two years ago at the age of 16 I was in the fifth place; while in this area and the surrounding states (mid-Atlantic where seven states are included) I am the number one."
It is a dedication that has required countless hours of training and numerous sacrifices:
"I leave school at 13:30 and return home at 19:00 o'clock, I'm here about half of the day," Evin says, describing the hours spent on the tennis field being trained.
His success has required a colossal dedication from the family:
"Being a student athlete is not easy, especially here in the United States where the competition is very strong. There is a huge commitment on both the athlete's and the parent's side. You need a physical, financial commitment, but you also have to love that sport," says Evin's mother.
The sacrifices gave the result. In the Autumn he will start studying at the University of Texas, a university named not only for the rigorous academic program but also for the strong tennis team. But as it comes out of federal investigations, this is one of the universities where the bribe scheme for tennis coaches was discovered to secure admission to the university. Evin says, revolted:
"I was shocked. I do not understand of how someone can do it. "
He hopes people will not be prompted by this incident to draw conclusions for all the athlete-students:
"I would say to not judge based only on this incident. Consider the general experience because those who play in the sports teams of universities work very hard. People do not see us, of how much we train."
However, scams and schemes do not seem to have faded Evin's love for sport. He is grateful for what he has learned from tennis, which he believes will serve to him for all his life.
"One element of tennis is that teaches you to stay calm and be in control. Has taught me of how to solve the problems by myself; it is an individual sport, the coach can not interfere, so I have to solve the problems on the field by myself. "
And it's not a bad thing for girls to get mad after the athletes, Evin says laughably.
His mother expressed optimistic that the investigative process would serve to set more rigorous controls and restore meritocracy into university applications.
"Although it took a few years to catch it, it was not easy because people had made a variety of schemes behind which they could hide. Yet they were caught, even though they were influential people, yet the system worked; these people are now on trial and some of them may end up in jail. This does not happen in many places, as we know. So I trust the American system. I was sorry for what happened, but I trust the system."
Keida Gaba says the scandal reinforced the impression he had created that the system was manipulated by favorits and money under the hand:
"I lost the faith. You know maybe some students have been accepted in this way. I've heard of some other ways used to secure admission to the university. But when is been discovered that there are some universities that have done this, they are actually famous universities ... I'm upset."
Some students who were not admitted to the universities where the fraud was discovered, have plans to file charges against these universities. The student Keida Gaba says she has no time or desire to deal with something like this:
"In Georgetown, when I applied, was two years ago. Now I am very happy here at George Washington University and I'm finishing my studies, I have my job. And I believe will take a lot of time to file the college."
Meanwhile, the federal authorities' investigations and public opinion response have pushed some of the universities to exclude students who provided the admission through corrupt schemes.