Kelly Ripa Outraged By College Admissions Scandal: ‘The Whole Thing Is A Shame’
As a mother herself, Kelly Ripa knows how stressful college entrance exams season is for students, but also how rewarding it is when the work pays off. The talk show host spoke out about the recent college admissions bribery scandal involving over 40 wealthy parents, including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman, during Wednesday’s episode of Live with Kelly and Ryan. Like many others, Ripa is disappointed in the scheme.
“Let me tell you something,” Ripa began, according to Entertainment Tonight. “As a parent who has gone through this process twice so far, test-taking is a nightmare.”
Ripa shares three children, Michael, 21; Lola, 17; and Joaquin, 16, with husband Mark Consuelos. Michael is currently a film student at New York University.
“It is so exhausting… for the student, for the parents, for everybody involved. Particularity if you are my kids’ tutor, I would think it would be exhausting for you as well,” Ripa continued, adding that those who can afford to hire a tutor are already at an advantage.
The actress is glad that the scheme has come to light after her children already finished their college application processes, joking that they would have asked her to get involved.
“The whole thing is a shame and it’s robbing the kids the chance for them to achieve [getting in] on their own,” she said.
They received "extra time for the test … by claiming a learning disability."
You know who will be harmed by this for years to come? Students with learning disabilities who will be denied their right to accommodations. ?#CollegeAdmissionsScandalhttps://t.co/LsppAEPaHe
— Little Lobbyists (@LittleLobbyists) March 13, 2019
Ripa also told the audience that she does not believe students should attend elite colleges if they cannot achieve the admission themselves. Although the actress did not go to college herself, she still encourages her children to work hard and be genuine and everything will be rewarded in the end.
Loughlin and Huffman were listed in unsealed court documents on Tuesday among several other people who allegedly paid a California man thousands of dollars to increase their children’s chances of admission to prestigious colleges, CNN reported. The conspiracy included hiring people to take college entrance exams for students, bribing test administrators to allow the cheating, and bribing college coaches to falsely list students as athletic recruits.
The scandal is being discussed on social media and live television across the nation as the FBI investigation, called “Operation Varsity Blues,” continues to unfold.
The View‘s Joy Behar, Ana Navarro, and Sunny Hostin also weighed in on the conspiracy on Wednesday morning, slamming the “rich” students and parents who scammed their way through education, according to Fox News.
Navarro admitted she is most angry that there are students who are struggling to attend schools and made to “feel like they don’t belong” even though they are working hard, while others that “don’t belong” are “gaming the system.”
“You must really be mediocre if you have to game that system because you’ve got all the advantages of that system anyway,” Hostin agreed.
