The History Channel’s uber-popular Vikings series depicts the rawness of the heathen Pagans colliding with the pious Christians in 9th century England. Led by their leader Ragnar Lothbrok, the Viking people are ruthless. If they want a village for gold and silver, they take the village. If they want to flay a king in the name of revenge, they flay a king. You see, in their mythology, Vikings needed to be fierce, bloodthirsty warriors and to die in battle in order to gain admission to Valhalla. The end justified the unmerciless means.
We are now learning about a cohort of conspirators across the country who allegedly schemed and perpetrated a fraud to gain admissions to some of the most esteemed universities in the world. From private counselors and high school administrators to college coaches and parents, this group of modern-day Vikings reflects the absurdity that some are willing to take to enter the ivory towers of the more earthly versions of Odin’s great hall. Ethics and morality be damned.
I suppose on some level Ragnar and his fellow Danes enthusiastically raided and pillaged for an understandable reason: eternal life with the gods. But, the motivation for today’s Viking Parents escapes me. There is not only one college available for their children. In fact, there are nearly 3,000 4-year degree-granting institutions in this country alone! To some, there are only the eight schools in the Ivy League. Why? While I will cut some slack for Ragnar’s Pagan ignorance (he didn’t get into Harvard), I’m not so charitable to today’s parents and students.
The information is available for all to see and compare. There are thousands of ethical college admissions counselors who will gladly show them better fits than the name brands. Lifetime earnings data certainly doesn’t support one school over another. Great books like Frank Bruni’s Where You Go Is Not Who You You’ll Be, Daniel Golden’s The Price of Admission and William Deresiewicz’s Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life are waiting to be read.
There is something else driving this crazed madness. Maybe to some parents, their Odin is more like the 1980’s dispenser of unethical guidance: Gordon Gekko. You remember old Gordon from Wall Street fame: “Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.” Look, I’m not saying it is wrong to want to attend Yale or Stanford. They are incredible institutions. For some students, they are the perfect fit, both academically and socially. For others, they aren’t even on the list. But, today’s Viking Parents are driven not by fit but by Gekko’s paraphrased motto: “I shall take what I want because I want it.”
As an admissions counselor, I’ve met Viking Parents. “What connections do you have? Can you guarantee my kid into Princeton? What’s the inside track?” They come to my office with one school on their list and only one acceptable outcome. They might as well be sporting their horned helmet and brandishing their battle ax. Unabashedly, I flee like a peasant villager of Northumbria!
Unfortunately, as history reveals, there will always be Vikings among us. Whether in the form of parents, CEOs, coaches, or political leaders, they are out there. They will demand what isn’t theirs. They will attempt to bully their victims into submission. So, it is no surprise that some Viking Parents were exposed this week. I think those in the postsecondary educational ecosystem need to accept their existence. And, like any good leader in the face of barbarian forces, you fortify. You build defenses. Create oversight, checks and balances, and controls. Maybe, just maybe, fact-checking needs to be revisited in the admissions process. (Hey, all you smart MIT students, why don’t you figure out how to introduce blockchain technology to this problem...come on, I know you can!)
As I end, please remember that a bad apple (or a sordid Viking) shouldn’t spoil the bunch. The world of college admissions counseling is full of well-meaning ethical people. They want to help guide your children on their journey of self-discovery. They will assist them in the rewarding process of actually sifting through those 3,000 colleges to find a few that are perfect fits and who will welcome your children with open arms. Now, who’s ready for Vikings Season 6???