The college admissions scandal in March of 2019 has not just affected the families prosecuted but also the students who were not admitted, when making room for those who bribed their way into school.

Students with families that cannot afford to bribe their way into university were set aside, leaving dreams crushed after years of hard work and dedication. Students who spent more time studying and pursuing extracurricular, which made them a more well-rounded applicant, were looked over.

A now-rising sophomore at Baylor University learned this first-hand when she did not get accepted into UT Austin and USC despite having high ACT scores and a notable resume.

Emily Chavez worked hard her whole high school career to hopefully be admitted to her dream school, UT Austin, and other schools such as USC.

“I was actually super nervous applying to college because applying to college is like all your hard work in one resume and sending it to one person to make a decision about your entire future,” Chavez said.

Chavez worked hard in the classroom, and with her equestrian riding, but it was not enough for USC and UT Austin.

Students are not the only ones anxiously waiting for the admissions decisions, parents spend time, money, and emotional energy supporting their student in the college admissions process.

Wendy Chavez, mom of Emily Chavez, was there when she got her rejection letter from USC.

“The real victims here are the kids that didn’t get the spots, because of them buying their way in and that’s super sad,” Chavez said.

Rising sophomore at The University of Texas at Austin, Emma Bredenkamp, was accepted to UT, but she feels for the students who potentially missed out on being a Longhorn.

“I mean it’s always sad when potential goes unrecognized, although I do feel UT does try hard to have a wide and diverse group of students and take a ton of students with potential,” Bredenkamp said.

Sharron Gould, mom of a rising junior at the University of Southern California, has enjoyed her experiences with USC but knows that behind closed doors, she does not approve of the things that go on.

“I know people buy their way places, USC is the type of place where that thing exists, and so there are so many brilliant students there, and it’s an amazing place,” Gould said.

Despite USC having a similar student profile to Southern Methodist University, they remained innocent in the college admissions scandal.

Rising Senior at SMU, Cristina Mauldin, was not surprised to hear that SMU was uninvolved with the college admissions scandal.

“I wasn’t surprised SMU wasn’t dragged into it because I think the university has been playing it a lot smarter since we got the death penalty in football,” Mauldin said.

A college admission will never be a transparent process, and will always be subjective. But for the students that work hard and applied ethically, when they get their admissions letter, they know they have earned it.