Varsity Blues | The Side Door | 2
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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It's late afternoon in two thousand five at the Sacramento County Day School. Classes are over and the campus has begun to empty. Groups of students drift toward the parking lot while teachers carry briefcases and armfolds of papers to their cars. Inside the headmaster's office, Steve Repture sits behind his desk, running through his schedule for the rest of the week. Country Day is one of the top private schools in Sacramento, and Repture has been its headmaster for the past two years. Yeah, come in. The chair of the math department steps inside, closing the door behind him. Hey Steve, you have a minute? Rapture nods toward the chair opposite him. Yeah, sure, what's up? It's about Rick Singer. Oh, not again.
Yeah, I'm afraid so. Another parent called this afternoon. One of Singer's clients. They said we're grading their son too harshly and it's hurting his college application. But I assume the grade is correct? Yeah, I checked it myself. Kid has earned his C. They want me to turn it into an A minus, though. Rapture shakes his head. This is this is getting out of hand. I've got teachers who say they don't want Singer's clients in their class anymore. Not because of the kid's behavior, but because of his. I know the math department used to be regarded as a weak link around here, but we've worked hard to turn it around, so I I'm upset that he's out there badmouthing us to parents. Ah, yeah, I know.
Why are private schools pushing back against Rick Singer’s influence?
Um Well, I I've tried speaking with him. I invited him to meet with me, but he never showed. I gave him another date and the same thing. No explanation? None at all. He didn't even call to apologize. So what now? Repsher leans back in his chair. Well, I've spoken with the principals at Rio Americano Granite Bay about this. He's doing the same thing there. They've stopped inviting Singer to speak at school events, and perhaps it's time we did the same. Well, he's got plenty of support among the parents. Yeah, but the board hired me to run the school, not Rick Singer. Tomorrow morning I'll let the staff know he's no longer welcome on campus. And if he turns up anyway, then I'll have to have security escort him off the property.
Parents are entitled to hire whomever they like, but when someone starts undermining my teachers, my staff, my school, then it becomes my business. For months, Steve Repture has hoped he could resolve the issues with Rick Singer without such drastic action. But each new complaint has made that harder. Again and again, Singer has encouraged anxious parents to believe that disappointing grades are the school's fault and that they can get a different outcome if they just apply enough pressure. But now Repture has had enough. Singer is no longer welcome at Country Day, and as other elite schools in the area are also closing their doors to him with any luck, Rick Singer won't be in the college counseling business for much longer.
Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of American History Tellers. In our latest series, a police raid on a New York City gay bar in 1969 ignites a series of demonstrations lasting six days and marks a turning point in the fight for LGBTQ rights. Listen to American History Tellers on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, I'm Cassie DePeckel, host of Against the Odds from Audible Originals. In our latest series, it's 1910 and a train full of passengers is trapped in Washington's Cascade Mountains, with an avalanche headed straight for them. Listen to Against the Odds on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts.
From Audible Originals, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is American Scandal.
Fuck.
By early 2005, Rick Singer was telling the world that his new college counseling business was thriving. In a profile for a newspaper in Sacramento, he claimed he had hundreds of clients across the country working with a network of 12 specialist coaches.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:50
2
Why are private schools pushing back against Rick Singer’s influence?
1:50–11:32
3
How did Rick Singer build his college‑counseling empire in the mid‑2000s?
11:32–19:47
4
What did former admissions officer John Ryder discover about Singer’s advisory board?
19:47–24:42
5
How does the “side door” differ from traditional donations or back‑door bribes?
24:42–33:07
6
What was the Georgetown tennis “walk‑on” scheme and how was it executed?
33:07–38:23
7
How did Rick Singer use USC’s athletic programs to secure admissions?
38:23–41:56
8
Who is Donna Heinel and why did Singer pay her $20,000 a month?
41:56–43:05