DURHAM, N.C. -- Marcia Abbott and her husband, Gregory, will spend one month each behind bars for trying to use fake test scores to get their daughter into Duke University.

  • On Tuesday, a federal judge in Boston sentenced the couple after they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud
  • They paid $125,000 to alter their daughter's test scores. It's part of the nationwide college admissions scandal.
  • Duke University isn't accused of wrongdoing. It's not clear if the daughter even sent in her application

On Tuesday, a federal judge in Boston sentenced the couple after they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud. They paid $125,000 to alter their daughter's test scores. It's part of the nationwide college admissions scandal.

Duke University isn't accused of wrongdoing. It's not clear if the daughter even sent in her application.

The Dean of Undergraduate Admissions did release a statement without directly addressing the matter.

“In general, I think it’s important to remember that this case represents a very small number of the millions of students applying to college each year...Admissions offices, secondary schools and families overwhelmingly go through the process with integrity," says Christoph Guttentag.

Spectrum News spoke with current students who seemed to be annoyed that families would cheat in order to become a Blue Devil.

"So I feel like everyone who gets in here has worked super hard to get in here and done the work to get in," says freshman Matthew Brune.