Private California colleges admitted students who didn’t meet requirements

EdSource

Mallika Seshadri

August 7, 2023

Over the past four years, the University of Southern California, Pepperdine University and Vanguard University admitted students who had donor or alumni connections but failed to meet minimum admissions requirements, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

USC admitted eight students who did not meet admission requirements — including two who did not meet minimum math requirements and two who failed to prove they graduated from high school.

At USC, applicants with ties to alumni or donors are given a “special interest tag,” which does not “guarantee an applicant’s admission, nor does it shift an applicant to a fast-track admission process,” the university said in its reports.

“Like other highly selective universities, we use a holistic admissions approach that considers all aspects of each individual applicant’s qualifications and achievements,” Lauren Bartlett, a spokesperson for USC, said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle. “Federal law does not permit us to discuss individual admissions decisions.”

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