Any parent knows that the college search can be an all consuming process from finances to test scores, and campus visits.

HaeJeon Abbott has one child at Rochester Institute of Technology and another applying to college. She says she's not surprised to hear about news of a national cheating scandal where parents of wealthy children are accused of buying spots at big name schools.

"As a parent, I hope that colleges look at students for their merit and not for where their family is from or what their family can offer,” said Abbott.

Tyler Naimy is working on his Master's in Business Administration at the University of Rochester. He says the scandal highlights the problem of inequality.

"It's kind of tough to hear, especially when there's people even further down in the socio-economic chain trying to get in that are doing everything they can and they meet all the requisite criteria to get into the school," said Naimy.

Tutors at the Chariot Learning Center in Brighton help students get into their dream college by prepping them to get the best test scores for admission.

 

 

Mike Bergin, who owns the test prep company, says he works with thousands of hardworking students and parents who want to see their child succeed.

"To hear a story where parents were working in a lot of cases behind their children’s backs, and kind of depriving all of the nobility of the process and the integrity of the process from them without permission seems heartbreaking," said Bergin.

Parents like  Abbott believe the take away is that cheating and buying your kids way into college can only backfire for that student in the long run.

"Parents have to remember, it's not their life that they're trying to push through, it's their child," said Abbott. "They might be able to help their child get in the door to a college, but then their child has to be able to go from there."