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'It’s unfair': Houston area students, parents react to college admissions scandal

The scandal is hitting a nerve with parents and students around the Houston area with some college counselors saying it makes their job tougher.

SUGAR LAND, Texas — The nationwide college admissions scandal is hitting a nerve with parents and students around the Houston area with some college counselors saying it makes their job tougher.

“My kids, they were shocked,” said one area college counselor, mentioning one student who got a 1520 on the SAT but still did not get into the University of Texas. “Now it doesn’t feel fair for them to even apply because their first thought was, ‘My parents aren’t rich.’”

That counselor said after a parent once offered her money to take a test and others wanted to pay for recommendation letters and essays, she’s not surprised at the national news.

Christina Emanis of Katy said the hard work of her two sons, ages 21 and 19, at Katy High School earned them their current spots at Texas A&M and the University of Houston.

“They worked very hard, they did extracurriculars,” Emanis said.  “My children had to apply themselves, and they were disappointed, and I knew that was a part of their maturing.”

That’s why Emanis said the national college admissions scandal hurts her faith in the system and the schools involved.

“I feel it’s a failure in their parenting, and it’s a failure in the process,” she said.

Some college students from Stafford are frustrated, too.

“It’s unfair,” said Chanice Labassiere, a junior at University of Texas-San Antonio. 

“Go start a business, go do something else with your money rather than cheat people of that spot,” said Kayla Chretin, a junior at Sam Houston State University.

It’s money that young people and their parents who earned and sacrificed for success say cheats the students out of an even more valuable education.

“Failure is part of the process, and that’s how you achieve,” Emanis said.

“It’s a different feeling when you work hard for something and you see that at the end of the day, it doesn’t feel the same as if you just bought it,” Chretin said.

Meanwhile, the local college counselor said she’s motivating students by reminding them most students are still judged on merit, while urging parents to take a step back.

“Don’t ‘lawnmower’ this for your kids,” she said. “Make them clear their own path. They have to learn how to be adults.”

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