The college application process, for those staying within the rules, is one long and maddening lesson in the limits of control. Study hard, make the sports team, detail the family financial situation and then … sit and wait.

That this nerve-racking powerlessness could simply be bought off is among the most galling parts of the college admission scandal that exploded across the country last week. Instead of students doing what they can and hoping for the best, the elaborate scheme outlined by federal prosecutors involved nailing down spots at elite schools by cheating on standardized tests and funneling bribes to athletic coaches.

For the honest applicants, the path to college is paved with years of effort and culminates now, in these early spring weeks, with answers landing at any moment in email inboxes. Some students worry that their achievements are too few. Others fear they might be viewed as not authentic enough. Some are led by their parents, but many navigate the process with little or no guidance at all.

[How the admissions scandal looked to students at a predominantly black school in Kansas City.]

There are athletes who have spent years in sports like crew, trying to keep their grades up while also drawing the legitimate attention of recruiters, unlike the families caught in the scandal last week. Most students are not applying to superelite schools. Some have already entered the world of higher education by going to community college — and are now hoping to transfer to a four-year school not too far from home.