University of California schools 'inappropriately' admitted at least 64 wealthy, well-connected students in the years before a college admissions scandal that embroiled schools all over the US

• An audit found that the University of California school system "unfairly" admitted at least 64 students into their top ranking schools in the six years before the college admissions scandal.
• Students were unfairly admitted to the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, San Diego, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, based on their "personal or family connections to donors and university staff."
• More than 20 applicants were admitted as athletes despite not having much athletic talent, the audit said.

The University of California school system "unfairly" admitted at least 64 students into their top ranking schools in the years leading up to a college admissions scandal that involved several top universities in the county, a state auditor found.

The report found that from the 2013-14 to 2018-19 academic years, at least 64 students that were mostly white and wealthy were admitted to the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, San Diego, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, based on their "personal or family connections to donors and university staff."

"By admitting 64 noncompetitive applicants, the university undermined the fairness and integrity of its admissions process and deprived more qualified students of the opportunity for admission," state auditor Elaine M. Howle wrote.

At least 22 applicants, 13 of whom were admitted to UC Berkeley, were admitted as athletes despite not having much athletic talent, the audit said.

"This is a significant problem that the university needs to deal with," Howle told the Associated Press. "Let's hope this isn't occurring across the country, or at other universities in California. But it is very concerning."

Howle also told the AP that there are "at least another 400 or so students ... that were really questionable."

The audit also found the UC Berkeley admitted 42 applicants that were children of staff and donors, but at the same time denied admission to more qualified candidates that didn't have those ties.

The Los Angeles Times reported that UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ told students in an email to the Berkeley community that the school is "committed to getting to the bottom" of the "highly disturbing allegations of improper conduct in our undergraduate admissions work."

UC President Michael Drake told Business Insider in a statement that the university system "will swiftly address" the issues raised in the audit and discipline the individuals involved.

"I appreciate the time and effort the California State Auditor's (CSA) office committed to helping the University of California strengthen its admission policies. I take the findings and recommendations very seriously and will do all I can to prevent inappropriate admissions at UC. I have zero tolerance in matters of compromised integrity," Drake said.

The audit said that staff was not properly trained or supervised in reviewing applications, "which led to inconsistent reviews, and affected applicants' chances of admission."

"The Office of the President has allowed weaknesses to persist for years and has not ensured the admissions policies and processes have been consistently and fairly applied from campus to campus," the audit said.

The audit was requested last year after the college admissions scandal, the AP reported.

Federal prosecutors said parents paid about $25 million to get their students into elite schools including some in the UC system, Yale, University of Southern California, and Stanford.

Some bribed college athletic coaches to recruit students regardless of athletic ability and in other instances entrance exam administrators were bribed to falsify ACT and SAT answers.

Federal prosecutors have charged more than 50 people. Actress Lori Loughlin is the latest to be sentenced in the scandal. She will serve two-months in a medium-security federal correctional institution in Victorville, California.

• Here's the full list of people charged in the college admissions cheating scandal, and who has pleaded guilty so far
• Why Lori Loughlin will spend 2 months in prison for the college admissions scandal while Felicity Huffman was sentenced to 14 days
• Here's everyone who has been sentenced in the college admissions scandal so far
• Lori Loughlin was sentenced to 2 months in prison for her role in the college admissions scandal