I decided not to jump into the fray of the Springer college admissions scandal. The people involved are reasonably far removed from my world. My clients are seeking information that will complement the efforts of their children to gain access to a good college. Part of my job is to help define what a “good” college is for them. Unfortunately, that particular bit of help is not always appreciated.

Anyway, none of the clients I have worked with these past 14 years gave any indication that they were willing to drop between 15 thousand to a million dollars to buy a place in a college for their child. But, that doesn’t mean there are no underhanded avenues for the middle class by which students can gain an unfair advantage over their peers. One such business was brought to my attention by a colleague. It is a website that offers to write papers for a price from a high school English essay to a dissertation. They describe themselves as, “The professional essay writing service for students who can't even.” Their website is very well done with soft colors and a cute little bird to guide the underachieving student, who has more money than good sense, along a path of cheating their way to academic success.

Is it just me, or does this seem blatantly wrong?! If not outright illegal, doesn’t it seem too unethical to advertise as if it were a cool backpack or notebook? And what does the short-sighted high school student hope to gain by acing English classes in junior and senior year with papers from a professional writer? The college they get into will also require they turn in written assignments of some kind. Do they have this service write all their college papers? If they gain a college degree with this service, will they have them write all their work-related reports? The path of cheating, once taken will end badly. If you don’t believe that; Google college admissions scandal and read through a story or two. Look at how many successful adults have lost jobs and may face jail time. Look at how the public now views their kids, many of which didn’t know what their parents were up to.

There is no substitute for hard work and doing what you know is right. It is definitely not right to claim good grades from work that was done by anyone other than yourself.