Accessibility links

Breaking News

Student Union

Chinese Mother Sentenced in College Admissions Scandal

FILE - Xiaoning Sui, center, a Chinese national residing in British Columbia, Canada, leaves federal court in Boston, Feb. 21, 2020, after pleading guilty to paying to get her son into the University of California, Los Angeles, as a fake soccer recruit.
FILE - Xiaoning Sui, center, a Chinese national residing in British Columbia, Canada, leaves federal court in Boston, Feb. 21, 2020, after pleading guilty to paying to get her son into the University of California, Los Angeles, as a fake soccer recruit.

A Chinese woman who lives in Canada was sentenced Tuesday for bribing a fixer to get her son admitted to the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) as a soccer recruit.

Xiaoning Sui, 48, of Surrey, British Columbia, was sentenced to five months' time served during a videoconference hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock.

She was ordered to pay a fine of $250,000 in addition to forfeiting the $400,000 she paid to admissions counselor William "Rick" Singer of California to gain her son entry to UCLA, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Sui is among dozens of rich and famous parents who are accused of buying their children entrance to some of the best universities in the U.S. The U.S. Department of Justice conducted a multilevel, yearslong investigation they dubbed Operation Varsity Blues.

Sui was arrested in Spain, Sept. 16, 2019, and detained in prison there until she was extradited to Boston, Massachusetts, for the plea hearing. She pleaded guilty in February to one count of federal programs bribery.

Singer and Sui admitted to agreeing in a phone call in August 2018 that she would pay him $400,000 in exchange for him writing her son's application in a "special way," the Justice Department stated in a release.

Singer told Sui he would pay a UCLA coach in exchange for a letter of intent for Sui's son to play soccer. The letter of intent gained Sui's son admission to UCLA, as well as a scholarship.

Sui wired the $100,000 to a bank account in the U.S. northeast state of Massachusetts in the name of Singer's sham charitable organization, Key Worldwide Foundation (KWF), according to the Justice Department release. Jorge Salcedo, then head coach of men's soccer at UCLA, designated Sui's son as a recruited soccer player, which also resulted in his receipt of a scholarship.

Salcedo agreed to plead guilty but has not had a hearing. Singer has pleaded guilty and cooperated with authorities.

FILE - Actress Lori Loughlin departs federal court in Boston after a hearing in a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal, Aug. 27, 2019.
FILE - Actress Lori Loughlin departs federal court in Boston after a hearing in a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal, Aug. 27, 2019.

Earlier in May, a federal judge refused to dismiss charges against actress Lori Loughlin, her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, and other prominent parents accused of cheating the college admissions process, the Associated Press reported.

The judge sided with prosecutors who denied that investigators had fabricated evidence. Defense attorneys had urged the judge to throw out the indictment over allegations of misconduct by FBI agents. Loughlin and Giannulli are scheduled to go to trial in October on charges that they paid $500,000 to get their daughters into the University of Southern California as crew recruits even though neither girl was a rower.

Last year, actress Felicity Huffman pleaded guilty in federal court to paying an admissions consultant $15,000 to have a proctor correct her older daughter's answers on the college admissions exam, known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT. Huffman served 11 days of a two-week sentence for her role in the scam.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

See all News Updates of the Day

Competition grows for international students eyeing Yale

FILE - The Yale University campus is in New Haven, Connecticut, on Dec. 4, 2023.
FILE - The Yale University campus is in New Haven, Connecticut, on Dec. 4, 2023.

It’s tough to gain admission to Yale University, and it’s getting even tougher for international students as standout students from around the world set their sights on Yale.

The Yale Dale News, the campus newspaper, takes a look at the situation here.

Read the full story here.

Student from Ethiopia says Whitman College culture made it easy to settle in

FILE - This May 18, 2021, photo shows a woman typing on a laptop in New Jersey.
FILE - This May 18, 2021, photo shows a woman typing on a laptop in New Jersey.

Ruth Chane, a computer science major from Ethiopia, writes about her experiences settling into student life at Whitman College in the U.S. state of Washington.

"The community at Whitman College made sure I felt welcomed even before I stepped foot on campus," she says.

Read her essay here.

Claremont Colleges student gets a shock when she heads home to Shanghai

FILE - In this Feb. 2, 2012, photo, students walk through the campus of Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif.
FILE - In this Feb. 2, 2012, photo, students walk through the campus of Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, Calif.

In The Student Life, the student newspaper for the Claremont Colleges, a consortium of five liberal art colleges and two graduate schools in Claremont, California, student Rochelle Lu writes about readjusting to her Shanghai home after spending a semester in the United States.

Read the full story here.

Cedarville University aims to ease transition for international students

FILE - A recent graduate wears a garment with their graduation year April 25, 2024, in Los Angeles.
FILE - A recent graduate wears a garment with their graduation year April 25, 2024, in Los Angeles.

Cedarville University in the U.S. state of Ohio says it’s got more than 140 international students representing 44 countries.

Here, the school interviews Jonathan Sutton, director of international student services. He talks about his job and the opportunities for international students on campus.

Read the full article here.

Morehouse College offers prospective students tips on applying and thriving

FILE - People enter the campus of Morehouse College, a historically black school, in Atlanta, Georgia, April 12, 2019.
FILE - People enter the campus of Morehouse College, a historically black school, in Atlanta, Georgia, April 12, 2019.

Morehouse College, a private, historically Black liberal arts college in the U.S. state of Georgia, offers a guide for international students interested in attending the school.

Among the tips to apply and thrive at Morehouse:

  • Take advantage of the school’s orientation program
  • Turn to the school’s Center for Academic Success for tutoring, support and more
  • Immerse yourself in campus life via clubs and societies

Read the full article here.

Load more

XS
SM
MD
LG