The University of Southern California is one of the institutions ensnared in the college admissions cheating scam, which allegedly involves bribery, exam fraud, a life coach, Photoshopping, and the actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin, whose vlogger daughter Olivia Jade famously attends the university. Now, USC announced that it will reject any applicants linked to the scandal — and that it has started to review current students and graduates who may be connected, BuzzFeed News reports.
USC, a private university in Los Angeles, made the announcement on late Wednesday — just over a day after the scandal and subsequent charges against suspects were revealed. Per BuzzFeed News, around half of the 32 parents who allegedly paid Singer to rig their kids’s applications wanted their children to get into USC.
More than two dozen students were allegedly accepted into the university as part of the scheme. The institution has already fired an admissions officer and top coach, and is putting a dentistry professor on leave, according to the report.
USC spokesperson Eddie North-Hager old BuzzFeed News on Wednesday that the school will now funnel money associated with the scheme into scholarships for underprivileged students. North-Hager also stated that the school has identified six students linked to the scheme in the “current admissions cycle,” and that those students will be denied admission. The school is also reportedly doing a “case-by-case review of current students and graduates that may be connected to the scheme alleged by the government,” according to a statement.
Another spokesperson, Leigh Hopper, said USC will make “appropriate decisions” once the reviews are finished. Hopper added, “Some of these individuals may have been minors at the time of their application process.”
