Hong Kong Parents Sue "Educational Consultant" Over Harvard Rejection

In this article, we see that parents from Hong Kong have filed a law suit against an "educational consultant" in Boston who attempted to help their children gain admission to Harvard University.

According to the parents, the "consultant" claimed to have connections at the school and also claimed that if the parents were to donate a large sum to Harvard, this would improve the chances of their children being accepted.  The children, however, were not accepted.

Some experts are quoted in the article as saying that an educational "arms race" is beginning.  An "arms race" is a term from when the United States and Russia attempted to spend more and more money on arms (weapons) in order to exercise greater power around the world between 1945 and 1989.  There was also a "space race" in which the United States and Russia competed to land people on the moon.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/parents-sue-education-consultant-million-sons-harvard/story?id=17436668

1)  Do you think that there already is an educational "arms race"? What might have caused it?

2)  Do you think the competition for "top" schools is a good thing or bad thing for our society?

3)  Do you think it is a good thing or a bad thing for students? 

4)  Why is there such intense competition for these top schools?  Many successful people go to ordinary schools and some successful people do not attend a university at all.

5)  What do you think the benefits are of attending a "top" or "elite" school?  Do you think the education is really better there than at other schools?  If a student goes to a "second tier" school, will it be harder to succeed or does everything depend on the student's drive or desire to succeed?

6)  In regard to this article, who is right and who is wrong?  Were both parties (parents and consultant) wrong?  Were both parties right?

7)  Can the parents be considered to be "bad guys" in this situation?  Were they, essentially, trying to bribe their children's way into Harvard?  Were these "good" parents?  If you need to bribe your way into a school, is it worth it to even go there?

8)  Based on what you read in this article, does it seem as if admission to the "top schools" is a fair process?  Or was the "educational consultant" trying to make it seem as if getting into a top school requires deceitful behavior? 

9)  Do you think the consultant deliberately mislead the parents into believing that a person could bribe his/her way into an American school?  Do you think the admissions process at an "Ivy" school is fair?

10)  Do you think these consulting services, who employ ex-admissions officers from Ivy League schools, are ethical places?  What if a parent cannot afford to pay their huge fees?

11)  Are parents in your home country similar to these parents?