Anni and her best friend Katie have had a long-standing dream to go to college together. The problem is that Katie is an under-achiever who resorts to paying her way into Pine State through a surrogate who has taken her SAT test in her stead. Katie then decides to pay for Anni's surrogate, not realizing that the cost is $350,000.

Katie is not the greatest example of a "bestie." In fact, she is about the worst possible influence imaginable on Anni. The only time in the film where Katie does not do some serious damage is when she is in the hospital with a coma. But even then, she fakes her comatose state in order to hear what others are saying about her. Katie will be always be Katie!

One of the most curious characters was Anni's father Grant, who turns out to be the attorney for the sleazy head of the exam cheating ring. Grant finds himself in a pickle when he realizes the unsavory Marshall Callidus is holding Anni hostage and is blackmailing him. Grant has been playing just as dangerous a game as his daughter's best friend.

The best relationship developed in the film was between Anni and her devoted mom Jennifer. The mother will stop at nothing to protect her child when she learns that Anni has been linked to the cheating ring. Jennifer wields a mean baseball bat and, above all, she gives excellent advice to her daughter: "Make good choices; be sensible!"

Anni and her best friend Katie have had a long-standing dream to go to college together. The problem is that Katie is an under-achiever who resorts to paying her way into Pine State through a surrogate who has taken her SAT test in her stead. Katie then decides to pay for Anni's surrogate, not realizing that the cost is $350,000.

Katie is not the greatest example of a "bestie." In fact, she is about the worst possible influence imaginable on Anni. The only time in the film where Katie does not do some serious damage is when she is in the hospital with a coma. But even then, she fakes her comatose state in order to hear what others are saying about her. Katie will be always be Katie!

One of the most curious characters was Anni's father Grant, who turns out to be the attorney for the sleazy head of the exam cheating ring. Grant finds himself in a pickle when he realizes the unsavory Marshall Callidus blackmails him. Grant has been playing just as dangerous a game as his daughter's best friend.

The best relationship developed in the film was between Anni and her devoted mom Jennifer. The mother will stop at nothing to protect her child when she learns that Anni has been linked to the cheating ring. Jennifer wields a mean baseball bat and, above all, she gives excellent advice to her daughter: "Make good choices; be sensible!"

The only reason I watched this is to see just what this scandal was, since university culture (cost, hazings, greek org initiation and denouncing rituals per members' OWN testimonies and documents, negative greek org social reputations such as suspiciously exclusive and domineering networking influence and "LEGACY APPLICATIONS", sex and drug scandals, etc.) is a major muse of mine. My guilty pleasure is Lifetime/Hallmark/Ion/Reel, etc movies so by now I know to be surprised at quality and good acting. What I was looking for here was some kind of truth or enlightenment.

But at the 18th minute mark, she says she paid a guy to take her SAT's.

That's NOT the admissions scandal. At all. That doesn't make sense. You can't pay someone to take your exam, because they CAN'T take your exam.

I'm sure the admissions scandal involves paying staff right in the admissions office at the campuses. It only makes sense. I will risk my job to enroll your unqualified child or expedite their admissions process as a sort of calling first dibs to dorms and course spots and teams, clubs, etc. Therefore I will need a satisfying amount of money from you should I get caught and get fired or tried in court. And hey, some of that money can also go to the school's fund and prestige. For wealthy or connected parents, I'm sure this payment is nothing. And I'm sure this stuff happens way more than the sensational stories and movies and headlines will get you to think. Why play along with a stringent, stressful and long exam and admissions process competing with lowly randoms off of fairness alone when you can just pay your way in? Isn't that what even primary private schools do anyway? But that's just TOO risque of a story, isn't it.

So therefore this movie is pointless. Because not only is it NOT informative and thrilling, it's also poorly performed and average in everything else. Skip it.