The college admissions scandal that surfaced in early March has made me reflect on the biased way in which colleges accept incoming first-years.

Based on my personal experience as a current college student and someone who went through the college admissions process, the news of this college admissions scandal disgusted me.

For me, the college process was anything but easy, and the fact that 50 of my peers cheated the system leaves me feeling aggravated.

Forbes Magazine reports in a March 18 article that this scandal has led to the arrest of 50 people thus far.

The scandal involves all areas, from cheating on college entrance exams to falsely claiming to be an athletic recruit.

Colleges favor the rich and then tend to admit everyone else, but at a high cost.

In all honesty, UVM was not my first choice for college.

When I was rejected from my “dream school” I felt as if I wasn’t good enough and I was very hard on myself.

For many students, the college admissions process is overwhelmingly stressful and hard. I’m not the first one to say that the SAT was not my forte.

I can’t imagine how easy my life would have been during my junior year of high school if I had the opportunity to skip out on SAT prep sessions after school.

Nor can I imagine how easy life would be if my parents wrote a check to get me into my dream school.

Thankfully, UVM is not involved in this scandal, but sometimes there are legal ways to buy yourself a spot in a top university.

A March 12 article from USA Today stated that Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump’s husband, was accepted to Harvard after his family donated $2.5 million to the university.

People should be more aware of the tuition gap between in-state and out-of-state students, which is a major problem currently plaguing our campus.

According to the UVM Office of Undergraduate Admissions, the cost of attendance for a full time in-state student is estimated at $35,220.

This is an outrageous amount considering UVM is a state university.

Compare this to the in-state tuition at University of Massachusetts Amherst, which is $29,876.

This difference in cost sends a clear message to many that UVM is too expensive, end of story.

On the other hand, the estimated cost of attendance for an out of state student is a whopping $60,468.

Many prospective out-of-state students have to give up on UVM due to the steep price tag.

Money should not be a factor in whether a student can receive an education at the university of their choice.

I am glad that the guilty parents are finally seeing the effects of what they have done.

As for UVM, too many potential students have had to give up on their dreams on attending due to the hefty tuition.

The tuition gap is a pressing issue that needs to be discussed and eventually solved.

People always believe that money can solve all problems, but in these cases, money is the problem.