Guilty Admissions

The Bribes, Favors, and Phonies behind the College Cheating Scandal

By: Nicole LaPorte

Narrated by: Betsy Foldes Meiman

Length: 10 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

This entertaining exposé on how the other half gets in tells the shockingly true story of the Varsity Blues scandal, and all of the crazy parents, privilege, and con men involved.

Guilty Admissions weaves together the story of an unscrupulous college counselor named Rick Singer, and how he preyed on the desperation of some of the country's wealthiest families living in a world defined by fierce competition, who function under constant pressure to get into the "right" schools, starting with preschool; nonstop fundraising and donation demands in the form of multi-million-dollar galas and private parties; and a community of deeply insecure parents who will do anything to get their kids into name-brand colleges in order to maintain their own A-list status.

Investigative reporter Nicole LaPorte lays bare the source of this insecurity - that in 2019, no special "hook" in the form of legacy status, athletic talent, or financial giving can guarantee a child's entrance into an elite school. The result is paranoia, deception, and true crimes at the peak of the American social pyramid.

With a glittering cast of Hollywood actors - including Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin - hedge fund CEOs, sales executives, and media titans, Guilty Admissions is a soap-opera-slash-sneak-peek-behind-the-curtains at America's richest social circles; an examination of the cutthroat world of college admissions; and a parable of American society in 2019, when the country is run by a crass tycoon and all totems of status and achievement have become transactional and removed from traditions of ethical restraint.

A world where the rich get whatever they want, however they want it.

©2021 Nicole LaPorte (P)2021 Twelve

Critic Reviews

"[A] riveting rundown of Operation Varsity Blues.... Readers will be captivated by this entertaining look behind the headlines." (Publishers Weekly)

Roasting Rick (a more accurate title)

I felt turned off by the author who I wasn’t at all surprised to find out is a journalist and reporter by trade and once worked for a magazine called Vulture!

Like a vulture, the author feeds off the carrion of Rick Snyder’s already (!) decimated reputation then regurgitates it back to the public in this “book” which has the tone of mean girls gossip she acquired by obviously interviewing anyone who claimed to know the guy as if asking his EX wife or a guy he went to Highschool with was “investigative journalism.”

What a joke. The same market that consumed the snake oil salesmen Rick Snyder will likely consume this book and give rave reviews deluding themselves that bc they read it they are “in the know” know about some scandal.

The stupidest part was presenting him as a sociopath (antisocial) as if that just explains everything and absolves all the parents involved of responsibility or the burden of free will. Even if someone did diagnose Rick with APD - you have to be treating someone to diagnose them by the way - that’s not what this story is about and author too heavily weights this.

This is the story that shouldn’t be. Who didn’t know that money, power and influence rule America? Rick sounds like a poor kid who realized the American dream in true rags to riches style but then got greedy, went too far and committed crimes.

That doesn’t mean, as author implies, that everything he ever did was a crime (for example that Tab can story is the definition of petty exaggeration) not that he acted alone. He saw a market and he worked it. Now he’s the fall guy and rightly so. He broke the law but in classic scapegoat fashion fingering Rick doesn’t make anyone else more innocent and when the author talks about “the media” she should have been transparent that she meant herself.

Very captivating

This was a fascinating story and incredibly well-researched. Highly recommend to anyone remotely interested in the college admissions scandal!