Kids Are the Victims of the Elite-College Obsession

Updated at 12:44 p.m. ET on March 13, 2019.

The actors Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin are among 50 people—including 33 wealthy parents, college-prep executives, a college administrator, two ACT/SAT administrators, and nine college coaches—charged Tuesday in what Department of Justice officials called the largest college cheating scam it has ever prosecuted. The FBI alleged that parents spent up to $6.5 million to guarantee their children’s admission to elite universities by inflating entrance-exam scores and bribing college officials.

Loughlin and her husband allegedly paid “bribes totaling $500,000 in exchange for having their two daughters designated as recruits to the USC crew team—despite the fact that they did not participate in crew.” The FBI alleged, “In many instances, the students taking the exams were unaware that their parents