Once again I am without internet. I had it about one hour yesterday, then it was gone again. I am at my friend Scott's home using his computer and his internet. I'm trying not to listen to his tirade about AT&T and my DSL internet connection. AT&T "promises" they will be by tomorrow (Friday) and they will replace the outside box that holds my phone and internet connection. We shall see. They said they would be there between 1 pm and 5 pm. Hopefully, I will be back online Friday night. Again, we shall see.
For now, I want to say something that has been on my mind since I have had a chance to watch the news channels due to the fact I had no internet.
There has been a lot of talk about abuses of the ACT or SAT scores used to get into colleges and specific college programs in the states. ACT stands for American College Testing. SAT stands for Scholastic Aptitude Test.
When I enrolled in Missouri Southern, I was told to have my transcripts and ACT test scores sent to the Admissions office. I did and as I was enrolling, the lady taking my information told me I would have to take the ACT. I told her I had already taken it, and it was supposed to be part of my transcripts. You are not allowed to handle your transcripts or your ACT (or SAT) test results. She practically called me a liar, but I knew I had taken the test, since it's not one a teen who wishes to enroll in college soon forgets. She finally found it on the back of one of my transcript pages my high school had sent.
Back when I was going to college, if you wanted to get your child into a prestigious college and you had a ton of money, you donated a building, a library, a science lab, or some such. It was almost (ALMOST) assured your child would get into the school of their (or their parents) choice. Not so today. If you want your child to get into a prestigious school, you pay a "fixer" who either comes in and changes the scores, retakes the test, or in some way manipulate both the scores and the sports team on which you are paying for your child's admission.
Your child doesn't have to show up for the sport, they just have to be enrolled long enough to be part of the team after admittance.
Once your child has been admitted, they don't have to show up, and can drop the team before the end of the first semester. That means, students with
real potential, but have played by the rules, can't be admitted.
Of course, these parents are now on the hook to the Feds (FBI) who are taking this case seriously. Parents have now been jailed and most, if not all, have posted bail.
Wouldn't you rather donate a building than face jail time? If only I'd had someone who could have taken my GRE (Graduate Record Examination, the ACT equivalent of grad school). Students must take this exam to try to gain
admission to a graduate school program once they have completed their undergraduate degree.
I'll be around to visit as soon as my internet is restored. I had planned to visit tonight, but Scott needs his computer, so this is as much as I'm allowed until I get my own internet back. Please forgive the fact I can't spend time with each of you, my loyal friends, followers, and readers. I'll be by soon, I promise.
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14 thoughtful remarks:
Sounds bad without internet again, you need another provider! I saw on the news here about the bribes people are paying to get their kids into prestigious schools, and it's not different over here! Valerie
Sorry you are having internet problems yet again Elizabeth. Hope it is fixed soon.
We live in a very strange society now where money can get anyone into anywhere so long as you have enough of it. It must be hard for any kid that isn't uo to speed to have to try to keep up with others that took the entrance exams and passed as you did.
Have a great day and thank you to Scott for letting you use his computer
Love Chrissie xx
I do hope that your internet gets fixed today-especially as you TV is also unavailable! Sadly, money talks in many places! Hugs, Chrisx
So sorry you're having more internet problems Elizabeth. I really hope it gets sorted quickly for you.
Hugs,
Annie x
Internet woes are the pits. Is there another provider in your area you can switch to?
Good luck that the internet problems get fixed today for you ! Fingers crossed Elizabeth!
Oh yes - so sad that cash is king in our world.
Big, big hugs, Susi
I'm sorry you don't have internet. Good old ATT. My first thought about that college cheating scandal was how many qualified students didn't get in, because their slot was bumped to make room for the cheater children. And some / all of the children knew: if someone took your SAT test for you, you know you cheated. If you get in to a college to be on a sports team that you never played, you know you cheated. So some of the children are just as guilty as the parents. Then when I read more about the scam, I discovered tax payers were also victims: some / all of these parents declared a tax deduction to charity for their "donation" to the scam charity that was used to pay the bribes. So they were double cheaters. But I find it hard to believe only 50 people were involved in this scam. Will the rest who also did this get arrested, or will they get a pass?
It was really interesting to read about the education scams and issues. Something I have to admit not knowing about. Cheating is a no go area for me in any situation. How will these children face the realities of adulthood, the parents must have deep pockets and deserve to have the law after them.
I hope you get your internet fixed Scott is a real gem helping you stay connected.
Yvonne xx
Hope your net is restored soon Elizabeth.
I've been following the saga of the payments by some Hollywood stars to get their kids into university, it's very sad that such things happen nowadays. A gift of a building wasn't good either...
It seems there's not much that money can't buy, and I wouldn't say "no" to riches if someone handed them to me. But I'd rather go to a school I could get into on my own anyway than a school I knew was full of students on a much higher academic level than I was where I'd know I couldn't meet expectations without further cheating.
I'm hoping your internet access is soon restored and stays stable.
So sorry you haven´t internet Elizabeth, hope you could get it soon. And it´s sad to read that money is, once more, the most important thing for many people.
I wish you a very happy weekend,
Big hugs, Caty
AT&T sounds horrible!!
Very frustrating to hear about the college admits scandals now, too. Maybe if we had school free for everybody they would be based on merit alone. And schools wouldn't be tempted to pass students who aren't even trying just to keep the enrollment up and money coming in, too. (I saw that when I was in college 20 years ago).
I hope they fix your internet problem!!
I think this scandal had brought to light some of the college admission issues. I will say though that there is still the legacy admission to some ivy league schools. Some of the kids who get in on legacy may be highly qualified, but some get in on name still. We had a recent case of my high school and an ivy league school. The student wasn't a bad student, but certainly not as academic as some other students. But due to some family connections, this student got accepted. Now I can't say what the college used to admit this student, but the impression around school was that the student got in trully on family connections. Maybe this person did truly meet criteria for admission to their choice of major. Who knows? But it did leave a bad taste in many other students mouths. Hope your internet gets fixed soon, but I am guessing maybe it did since I see a Saturday post. If not, hope it is fixed soon. Hugs-Erika
I used to have AT&T internet. Hated it.
I don't see a whole lot of dif between donating the building and bribery in terms of being a bad way to get a kid into school. Both are pretty lousy but I think the thing with the bribery is that it is a much worse example. It saddens me to think parents did this.
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