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USC Releases Statement On Actions They May Take Against Lori Loughlin’s Daughter Olivia Jade And Other Students Involved In Admissions Scam

The university is also denying admission to all current applicants who are connected to the scandal.

Just days after actress Lori Loughlin was indicted in a national college admissions cheating scandal, the University of Southern California, where Loughlin’s daughter Olivia Jade is a student, released a statement saying the school is investigating students tied to the case.

The future for Olivia Jade, a 19-year-old YouTube influencer who notably made a video saying she doesn’t care about school, currently rests in the hands of USC officials.

“I don’t know how much of school I’m going to attend, but I’m going to go in and talk to my deans and everyone and hope that I can try to balance it all,” she said in a 2018 YouTube video. “But I do want the experience of game days, partying — I don’t really care about school, as you guys all know."

In a statement released Wednesday, the university said each student connected to the scam is under review.

“We are going to conduct a case-by-case review for current students and graduates that may be connected to the scheme alleged by the government,” the university said in an email to the New York Daily News. “We will make informed, appropriate decisions once those reviews have been completed.”

The statement also pointed out that some of the students involved “may have been minors at the time of their application process.”

The university has not revealed whether the student’s age would keep them from being expelled from campus.

Additionally, all current USC applicants who are connected to the scheme will be denied admission, the statement read.

Wake Forest University only had one student connected to the scandal. Based on a preliminary investigation, Wake Forest officials believe the student will not face expulsion.

“We have no reason to believe the student was aware of the alleged financial transaction,” Wake Forest President Nathan Hatch said Wednesday in a statement, as reported by the Daily News.

As of right now, no students are facing charges in connection with the case. While parents and coaches have been charged in the case, officials believe many of the students were unaware of the actions their parents took to guarantee their admission.

A spokesman for Yale University, which also had one student who's implicated, said in a statement that the school “may take further actions.”

Once news of the scandal broke, USC fired Donna Heinel, the senior associate athletic director, and polo coach Jovan Vavic for their involvement in the scam, according to a press release.

USC spokesperson Eddie North-Hager told BuzzFeed News that the school will redirect the money associated with the scheme into scholarships for underprivileged students.

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