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Protected Elite

Could not agree more with this writer about how the elite colleges will not suffer reputation damage due to the recent admission scandal.
It is best for all concerned to act like this is some type of freak-show going on in the sidelines and the system is generally sound and doing all the right things. Not unlike having a few clumps of weed in a manicured yard. You don't rip the yard up to solve the problem- just remove the weeds. 

What came to light this year must have going on for a long time and is more wide-spread than we know now. Coming from India, scams associated with high-stakes college entrance exams is hardly surprising. People who have gone through the system, suspected it for the years before it made headline news There may be other reasons why the mad rush to make it to one of these institutions has diminished over time in India - quality of education, more options, brand dilution with more seats being available and so on.

 It's unlikely that would-be applicants decided to pass based on the bad news about leaked exam papers and such. Unless the world outside decides to shun the graduates of these schools en-masse, there is no reason for individual students to be worried about their own prospects coming out of an elite school no matter now tainted the admission system. 
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