Netflix Airs Documentary Surrounding College Admission Scandal

Netflix is being sued by one of the parents depicted in their new documentary called “Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admission Scandal”.

The documentary was released on March 1 and it shows viewers all about how our current college admissions system can be taken advantage of by those with money and status.

The movie opens up to videos of kids getting accepted into their dream colleges then switches to news clips from the coverage of the 2019 College Admissions Scandal.

While it might share details about some of the kids and families who cheated their way into prestigious colleges and universities, the documentary is mainly centered around one man, Rick Singer.

While most people associate the scandal with actors Felicity Huffman or Lori Loughlin, Singer was the mastermind behind the whole scheme. He would be paid lots of money from rich and famous parents to get their children in what he called the “side door” at top institutions. 

Singer treated his job as coaching and dressed to fit the part, normally wearing gym clothes. That was fitting because he would pass off the students as athletes even though they were not. He would then bribe the coaches or administrators and they would then secure the students a spot at the college. 

The movie goes into details about Singer and his earlier life. He started off as a regular college counselor in Sacramento, CA. He helped students write their essays and prepare their applications to send to schools.

Somewhere along the way, Singer started bribing schools. Overall he performed 761 side doors and paid $25 million in briberies.

All the information in the documentary was gathered by the FBI in an investigation also titled “Operation Varsity Blues”. The conversations in the documentary are based on recordings of phone calls made from Singer’s phone.

In the reenactment of some of the phone calls, Singer is played by Matthew Modine. Modine is best known for his role in “The Dark Knight Rises”.

The director of the documentary is Chris Smith. Smith also directed “Fyre” and “American Movie”, other popular documentaries.

While Singer is the most well-known when it comes to college admission scandals, he isn’t the end-all-be-all for rich people to cheat their way into schools. 

Singer was caught but the system that he exploited has not changed a bit since.