Felicity Huffman
In her own letter, Huffman explained how she came across the college admissions scam by accident.
“The factual story is that I didn’t go shopping for a college counselor to find out how to rig a SAT score. I didn’t even know such a scheme existed,” she wrote. “I hired a counselor for guidance and expertise on how to apply to colleges as successfully as possible for my daughter, Sophia.”
She explained that Rick Singer, the college consultant who is charged with leading the scandal, was recommended to her by Sophia’s high school. It wasn’t until after a year of tutoring Sophia that Singer recommended illegal activities to boost the teenager’s test scores.
“He told me, ‘We will make sure she gets the scores she needs,’ by having a proctor bump up her scores after she takes the test,” Huffman wrote. “Sophia would never know and then she could, ‘Concentrate on what really matters: her grades and her auditions.’”
She continued, “I was shocked that such a thing existed and after he made the initial suggestion, it remained on the table.”
The actress said that it took her six weeks of going back and forth with the offer until she decided to take it.
“To my utter shame, I finally agreed to cheating on Sophia’s SAT scores, and also considered doing the same for Georgia. But the decision haunted me terribly; I knew it was not right.”
She ended her letter, “As painful as this has been, I am truly grateful for the lessons I have learned and the opportunity to change and live more honestly. I am now focusing on repairing my relationship with my daughter, my family and making amends to my community.”
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