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Audit Shows UC Wrongly Admitted Well-Connected Students

"Back to School" by Flickr user wtipton / used under CC BY / resized and cropped
Back to School https://flic.kr/p/LSYNF3

 

A state audit released yesterday found that the University of California school system has been admitting wealthy students as favors to donors and well-connected families.

 

The audit examined admissions practices over a six-year period at four of the UC's nine campuses. 

 

It found that at least sixty wealthy students were wrongly admitted because of their personal connections. More than twenty of those applicants were falsely designated as student athletes even though they had no athletic ability. 

 

UC Berkeley was one of the campuses under investigation. It wrongly admitted 42 students based on their personal connections instead of their qualifications. Prosecutors allege at least one student was accepted to UC Berkeley with fraudulent test scores. 

 

The audit comes in response to the college admissions scandal last year which implicated several universities across the country. 

 

The state auditor has called on the UC President's office to review admissions practices. UC President MIchael Drake said the University will address the state auditor's concerns and discipline those involved. 

 

Carla Esteves is a 2020-2021 Audio Academy Fellow with KALW. Her reporting interests include environmental justice, housing insecurity, climate change, business and economy.