While reading GUILTY ADMISSIONS, I was reminded of the famous politician answering a question about a defeat with this observation: “It hurts too much to laugh, and I’m too old to cry.”

This book is a detailed, fast-paced narrative of the college admissions scandal that for months became fodder for late-night comedians and commentators of all persuasions. Everyone jumped on the bandwagon of opprobrium because “Varsity Blues” had something for every location on the political and social landscape. Nicole LaPorte’s investigative account exposes the myth that college admissions are an equal playing field for every applicant. In reality, it is a system riddled with inequality, chaos and status anxiety that offers side-door schemes to the wealthy and privileged.

"This book is a detailed, fast-paced narrative of the college admissions scandal that for months became fodder for late-night comedians and commentators of all persuasions."

When news of the scandal became public after the first indictments came down, the initial focus was on the well-known entertainment figures who had been caught: Lori Loughlin, Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy. The criminal charges involved people of wealth and status, a development that unsurprisingly whetted the public interest in the entire matter. Two days later, the Hollywood Reporter noted that Nicole LaPorte was writing a book that would revolve around William “Rick” Singer, who turned his California home into a fake not-for-profit organization, allowing under-qualified children of the wealthy and powerful backdoor access to the colleges they wished to attend.

Before talking about Singer, a discussion of the primary aiders and abettors is warranted. LaPorte makes clear in GUILTY PLEASURES that a culture ruled by the rich led to an environment that fed Singer’s criminal behavior. Wealthy parents, many of whom achieved success in their lives without the benefit of influence, felt that their children should not be placed in that position. They put their money into the process with gifts to the right people and donations to the right organizations, hoping that their kids would benefit come college application time. And the elite colleges willingly participated in the game.

Singer is a fascinating con artist. He grew up in the Chicago suburbs and was an aspiring athlete who never had the skill or talent to be a Division I or professional player. He coached high school athletes before turning to college admissions counseling. His life and work were a series of lies and false representations, all created to get his clients into the colleges of their dreams.

As the “Varsity Blues” scandal was announced publicly with early-morning FBI raids, arrests and perp walks, Singer would be an early casualty. In March 2020, he pled guilty to money laundering, racketeering, obstruction of justice and tax evasion for his role in the scheme, which allegedly involved bribing coaches and paying off exam proctors to get wealthy high schoolers admission to top-tier universities. As GUILTY ADMISSIONS comes to publication, a number of parents and college officials have pled guilty, but many more are fighting the charges and awaiting trials that have been delayed due to the pandemic.

LaPorte has presented a sobering tale of the double standard that exists in America’s prestigious learning institutions. Perhaps one of the most important points she makes is that Singer and many other participants truly operated in the open. He simply put all the players together. Now they are being exposed, and only time will tell if the exploitation of a broken system and the subsequent exposure result in changing college admissions practices for the better.