I fully expect to see "bribes" to get kids into school. I am not shocked by that. I do have a real problem with the way the ACT and SAT scores were changed and the proctors allowed others to take the test for the students. My daughter had good grades in high school, but has always had trouble with standardized tests (it is her Achilles heal). She didn't do terrible, but she didn't do great either. That kept her out of the "top tier" schools. Instead, she went to University of Texas San Antonio and graduated toss custard laude double major in Psychology and English and was President of the English Honors Society at UTSA. She is now in her masters program at George Washington University.
I say this to first, brag. Second, I mention it to show what a complete scam the ACT and SAT are. They are supposed to be "predictors" of how a student will do in school. According to the SAT, my daughter should have been a "B" student. It doesn't predict a damn thing. Now, you see that their precious scores are easily manipulated and are outright for sale. High schools and colleges need to re-think the standardize testing, or at least their importance. It is a scam from beginning (hey take these prep-courses) all the way to just paying for the scores you want.