Wilmington consultant reacts to college admissions scandal

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — 50 people, including actresses Lori laughlin and Felicity Huffman, have been charged for bribing colleges to accept their children through the use of a college admissions consultant. Now a Wilmington college admissions consultant is defending his profession.

“I’ve got several children who work hard in academics and sports, and it’s important for parents to feel like it’s a level playing field,” said parent Jay Warshaw.

Warshaw’s son plays goalie for Laney High School’s varsity lacrosse team. He’s been recruited to play at Methodist University next year.

“It’s taken a lot of hard work in the classroom and on the playing field, and it’s important that that’s straight up and it counts for something, that you get out of it what you put into it,” said Warshaw.

Earlier this week, prosecutors announced some parents paid an admissions consultant to bribe coaches and administrators to falsely make the children look like star athletes, to boost their chances of getting into college.

“I didn’t want parents to become afraid of reaching out for information. There’s so many quality companies,” said John Russo, who runs a college admissions consulting company.

John Russo and his wife JoAnn run a company in Wilmington called Prep U4 Success.

Russo says they help parents of high school students navigate the admissions process legally.

“We’re very excited to present information, we don’t fill out the applications, we don’t do the FAFSA. We equip parents on every aspect that the committees are looking for,” said Russo.

Russo says it isn’t all about grades and test scores, and he teaches parents what else colleges are looking for in applicants. He says avoid consultants that offer to do the paperwork for you.

“We educate parents to do the work, here’s the information that you need to know, and they can get it done without a scandal,” said Russo.

Russo says he will have a free workshop coming up for parents of high school students looking to help their students get in college the right way. Click here for more information.