James Maroney

Statement from State Senator James Maroney on College Admissions Scandal

HARTFORD, CT – Today, State Senator James Maroney (D-Milford) released the following statement in response to reports of a college admissions scandal in which multiple people have been indicted for a cheating scheme to get their children accepted into the most prestigious universities despite their children lacking the academic credentials.

“It’s very disappointing, especially for anyone who has worked really hard to try to earn their way into these colleges,” said Sen. Maroney. “Unfortunately, it has become extremely competitive at the top colleges and many people have the mindset they can only get a good education at these top schools, so they’re willing to go to great lengths. They wrongly focus on getting into a narrow band of schools rather than finding the right school for them. It’s the opposite of what we’re trying to promote with the legislature. We’re looking at access and affordability, and helping more students get into school and find pathways to get a degree. We don’t want the message to be that you can only buy your way into a top school. We want people to know that it still is possible to earn your way into the best schools, and that you don’t need to go to just the best schools, there are many great schools to get an education.”

Sen. Maroney is the founder and Director of Educational Consulting at First Choice College in Milford, which aims to prepare high school students for college. They provide SAT and ACT private tutoring and offer community initiatives to help families prepare to pay college tuition. Sen. Maroney has also introduced and co-introduced a number of bills which, if passed, will make college affordable and establish non-traditional pathways to earning a Bachelor’s Degree.

About James Maroney: Sen. Maroney was first elected to represent the 14th District (Milford) in 2018. Before being elected to the Senate, he was a State Representative for the 119th District from 2012-2014, where he served on the Higher Education Committee. Due to his distinguished service on the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee, he was asked to serve on the Planning Commission for Higher Education and help develop a strategic plan for higher education in Connecticut.