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Education Department Opens Probe Into College Admissions Scandal

Education Department Opens Probe Into College Admissions Scandal

(Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Department of Education has begun a probe into the eight colleges implicated in a federal investigation of admissions fraud.

Yale University received a letter from the agency saying it is initiating a preliminary investigation into whether the school and seven others have “complied with regulations and requirements pertaining to the federal student aid program,” Peter Salovey, the school’s president, said Tuesday in a statement. The other schools weren’t listed.

Employees or parents of applicants at Stanford, Georgetown, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas, Wake Forest University, the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of San Diego were among those named in the March 12 federal indictment alleging a sweeping college-admissions bribery scheme. The FBI said the scam involved a private admissions counselor who created a system where parents paid to cheat on entrance tests and create fake athletic profiles.

Spokespeople at Yale, Texas, Stanford, UCLA and USC said their schools are working with the department to respond to questions. The Education Department and the other schools didn’t immediately reply to calls and emails requesting comment.

Politico earlier reported the investigation.

To contact the reporter on this story: Janet Lorin in New York at jlorin@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Margaret Collins at mcollins45@bloomberg.net, Josh Friedman, Steve Dickson

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