On Tuesday, dozens of parents were among 50 people charged with participation in a widespread college admissions scam. The parents who included famous actors, financial leaders and other successful business people allegedly were part of a scheme in which athletic coaches and exam proctors were bribed to get an illegal leg-up for their children, even after the kids had gotten the advantages of a privileged upbringing.

These parents broke the law, according to federal prosecutors.

But the wealthiest of families in the U.S. can rely on multiple legal ways to buy their children into college, even as universities continue to market themselves as meritocracies a selling point that long has been an essential part of perpetuating the American dream.

Theres the donate-a-ton-of-cash-to-a-fancy-college route, just like Jared Kushner s dad did for him by pledging $2.5 million to Harvard University. Or theres the cottage industry of boutique services for students extra tutors, essay coaches and interview prep professionals designed to help the elite get their kids into Ivy League schools and other prestigious colleges.

People believe the meritocracy is real and they want to participate in it, said Tressie McMillan Cottom, who has studied and researched access to higher education. But compared with the upper hand enjoyed by the upper classes, low-income and working-class families arent even close to competing on an even playing field, she said.

One New York-based college consultancy firm, Ivy Coach, charges up to $1.5 million for its most advanced package, according to Brian Taylor, the companys managing director. Marketed as a concierge service that helps students apply to up to 20 schools, it is the ultimate level of continuous personal attention to every detail , according to the companys website.

Taylor said he recognizes that the college admissions process is certainly a game. The parents charged in Tuesdays indictment allegedly made the mistake of operating outside the legally acceptable rules.

Instead of paying for test prep, they are accused of paying for a test proctor to fix incorrect answers their children gave in entrance exams. Instead of paying to shuttle their kid from one extracurricular activity to another, they are accused of paying college coaches to create a fake spot on a team for a sport their kids didnt even play.

In the process, these alleged schemes reveal greater truths about the college admissions horse race.

Its a totally unfair system and we help students beat an unfair system at an unfair game, Taylor said. We do so ethically, though.

The machinations that give powerful people access to exclusive colleges usually occur outside the public spotlight. Tuesdays indictments break wide open the false promise of equal access to higher education exposing the bag of goods so much of the public was sold about why people succeed, according to Cottom, an assistant professor at sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University.

The internet has only further stratified the system. It was supposed to democratize access to information about elite institutions. But these schools arent accepting more students as more students apply. In turn, people with money are taking greater steps to get a big edge.

People with the means to do so will pay for specialized knowledge that is not democratically available, said Cottom, author of Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy.