USC Is Preventing Kids Associated With the College Admissions Scandal From Registering for Classes

The University of Southern California (at the center of the college admissions scandal that has rocked Hollywood, tech, and Twitter for the last week) has announced that it has identified current and incoming students involved in the scheme—and that those kids who are currently enrolled will be prevented from registering for classes. “USC has placed holds on the accounts of students who may be associated with the alleged admissions scheme; this prevents the students from registering for classes or acquiring transcripts while their cases are under review,” the university said in a statement today.

The two most notable USC students that we know were implicated in the scheme, Lori Loughlin’s daughters Isabella and Olivia Jade have already reportedly withdrawn from the school after it was made public that Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli allegedly paid fixer William Singer $500,000 to get them into the school. As for other students, BuzzFeed News reports that about half of the 32 parents named in the Justice Department’s affidavit were trying to get into the school and that the university has so far identified six students with ties to the scheme in the current application pool and will deny them admission.

Though other elite schools, including Yale and Georgetown, were named in Operation Varsity Blues, USC was at the center of many of the bribes. Senior associate athletic director Donna Heinel is alleged to have helped admit students as walk-on athletes, apparently more than two dozen students. And Homayoun Zadeh, an associate professor of dentistry at USC, was even named as one of the parents, having refinanced his home to pay Singer to get his daughter a spot.

As for the other kids who are already enrolled via their parents’ illegal dime? “We will make informed, appropriate decisions once those reviews have been completed,” USC told BuzzFeed. “Some of these individuals may have been minors at the time of their application process.” With today’s update, it looks like the school has found those current students and frozen their accounts. “These students have been notified that their status is under review,” the USC statement says. “Following the review, we will take the proper action related to their status, up to revoking admission or expulsion.”