Rick Singer, mastermind behind college admissions scandal, was working on his own degree – until last week

PHOENIX – The man who exploited a broken system to help wealthy parents bribe and cheat their way into sending their children to elite colleges spent the past eight months taking a familiar approach to turning his life around: education.

Rick Singer, the consultant at the center of the largest college admissions scandal in American history, had been enrolled at Arizona's Grand Canyon University since November 2019, according to GCU spokesperson Bob Romantic.

As of July 21, Singer no longer was a student at the university, Romantic said.

Singer had been working on a doctorate in psychology at the Phoenix-based university and had hoped to be near completion when he was sentenced sometime in 2021 or 2022, his lawyer Donald Heller said Tuesday. 

Singer pleaded guilty in March 2019 to charges of racketeering, money laundering, fraud and obstruction for his role in the college admission scandal, in which Singer accepted millions of dollars in bribes from high-profile parents to help their kids gain acceptance into some of the nation's top colleges and universities.

Singer assisted the FBI in its investigation. Many of the parents have since pleaded guilty. 

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Heller described Singer's college pursuits as an "effort to change his life for the future."

Heller did not respond immediately to requests for comment about Singer's split with the school. 

Singer's attorneys filed a motion July 16 seeking permission from the court for Singer to travel to Arizona from his residence in California without further court order to work on his doctorate at GCU. The court granted the motion July 17, allowing him to travel freely between the two states.

According to the court filing, Singer had completed five courses in the program – earning three B's and one A – and written the first portion of his dissertation. 

Twenty classes were required to complete the program and three residency's had to be attended in person, according to the court filing. Singer also anticipated having to attend in-person meetings.

It was unclear whether GCU was aware of Singer's past while he was a student.

Follow Grace Oldham on Twitter at @grace_c_oldham.