Student Admitted to Harvard After Dad Bought Fencing Coach’s House

Harvard officials have launched an independent investigation into a sweetheart property deal involving a student’s parent and the head coach of Harvard’s fencing team. The probe is taking place amid a nationwide college admissions bribery scandal, in which 33 parents have been charged with bribing officials and falsifying test scores to ensure their children gained admissions into top universities.

According to the Boston Globe, Jie “Jack” Zhao—a Maryland-based businessman who co-founded iTalk Global Communications Inc—had purchased a home from Harvard fencing coach Peter Brand in 2016. The property was reportedly valued at $549,300 at the time; however, Zhao ended up purchasing it for whopping $989,500.

Why would anyone, especially a successful businessman, purchase a house at nearly double its assessed value? Oh, and did we mention that Zhao’s youngest son was later admitted to Harvard and secured a spot on the fencing team? 

Zhao has dismissed allegations that he bribed his son’s way onto the Ivy League’s sports team, insisting he purchased Brand’s home as “a favor.” The dad, whose oldest son was also a member of the Harvard fencing team, said he befriended the coach through his children’s involvement in the sport. Zhao told the Globe that on one occasion, Brand was complaining about his commute to work. The home in question is located in Needham, Massachusetts, about 12 miles away from Harvard.

“I want to help Peter Brand because I feel so sorry he has to travel so much to go to fencing practice,” the dad said. “[…] He did not ask me, ‘Jack, can you buy me a house?’ No. No. No. That is just not the situation.”

Zhao said he had offered to buy the house because it would benefit both parties: “I’m just making his life better plus making a good investment.” He also said the purchase had nothing to do with his son’s admission. According to the Globe, Zhao’s youngest son was a sophomore in high school at the time of the house purchase. He was an accomplished fencer who had nearly perfect SAT scores and solid grades. The student’s mother also has a number of Harvard graduate degrees.

Per the Globe:

“You can ask me why didn’t you check the market value of the house? I did not because I trust him,” Zhao said. “He gave me the price … I said, ‘fine.'” 

Zhao said he saw no conflict between the sale and his younger son’s college admissions process.

If he did, Zhao asked, “why would I use my own name” on the real estate documents.

“If I know the policies that the coach cannot sell to students or parents of student, I would not do it. I have no idea, right? I don’t think there’s any violation or anything,” he said.

Zhao reportedly never used the house, and held on to it for 17 months. He eventually sold the home at a loss of $325,000. 

Our current understanding is that these allegations are not related in any way to the “Operation Varsity Blues” scheme to influence student college admissions.

Zhao’s oldest son graduated from Harvard in 2018; his youngest is still at the school, completing his sophomore year.

Shortly after the Globe published the report, the dean of Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Claudine Gay, addressed the allegations in a letter to school affiliates. She said the university was conducting an “independent review” of the Globe‘s findings, and made sure to point out that the probe was not part of “Operation Varsity Blues,” the FBI’s investigation into the aforementioned college admissions scheme.

The letter read in part:

These revelations naturally raise questions about how Harvard’s recruitment practices for student-athletes compare to those of peer institutions. I want to take a moment to describe them for our community. Our process is distinctive in two important ways. First, the applications of all recruited student-athletes are reviewed by the full admissions committee and decisions are made through a vote of the entire committee. The committee has approximately 40 members. Second, all recruited student-athletes must be interviewed by an admissions officer or alumni interviewer. It is my understanding that other institutions may have different practices.