No More Singing the "Varsity Blues".

• Author: Crowley, Stephanie
• Position: EDUCATION - College admission interviews

"Interviews are the one sure way to see and hear the 'raw' [college] applicant. No parent can pay to alter a personal interview--at least not yet."

IF YOU ARE NOT part of the affluent, privileged families that have incensed the rest of the country with their carelessness and obsession with being affiliated with a brand name university for life, you probably are hoping the "Operation Varsity Blues" college admission scandal will bring about some necessary changes. Expecting radical change likely is unrealistic, but tightening up the loopholes would help.

Perhaps the "side door" will be closed. Going forward, there should be more questions as to who is carried on the bench of the soccer/tennis/crew, etc. teams--just who are these students and what did their acceptance look like? Schools can admit any athlete they deem necessary to continue or improve their athletic success, but applying students certainly will have their talents more scrutinized than just an "action" shot and claims of accomplishment or membership.

Hiring additional admissions staff to "audit and regulate" would be very costly. I expect more work will be placed on athletic coaches and admissions staff to finer comb through each potential student-athlete's application ensuring there is proof of submitted talent and keeping both departments on the same page.

Requiring verification from high school and club coaches also could streamline fact checking. Athletic scholarships are life changing for the students who are pulled out of dead end lives, but wealthy families using the system just for acceptance to the "right" school must end.

Coaches will need to be more transparent with their scouting and recruiting plans, and most likely will be a bit timid working with boutique college prep counselors. These high-priced counselors and athletic coaches at competitive schools will be more closely reviewed and verified. Prominent universities do not want a tarnished reputation by providing more for the privileged when they already are accused of not providing enough opportunities for the underprivileged.

Boutique college prep counselors will have to be registered or open their books for complete transparency on how they charge for services. For far too long, some (not all) private services to gain additional opportunities have operated as they pleased. Those who could not afford these counselors assumed favors occurred, but the Varsity Blues scandal proves how low the morals dropped and...