In the wake of college admissions scandal, Duke reviews its past decisions

Last year, more than 37,000 students applied for admission to the university, but only 8.6 percent were accepted.

Brodie Craig was one of those.

"It was definitely a lot of hard work that I put in throughout high school," he said.

He says it's upsetting, but not surprising, to learn that, at other top schools, like Stanford and Yale, some parents paid to gain admission for their children.

"My parents are actually both teachers, and my dad works in admissions in high school," Craig said. "I've seen growing up what can happen in terms of the influence of money and stuff like that in admissions to college."

Ammara Aqeel, from Pakistan, said gaining admission into Duke was incredibly difficult.

"It was a lot of hard work," Aqeel said. "My family never had the money to pay for anything. It's so frustrating and heartbreaking to see, if you're from a rich family, you can fake everything."

Her boyfriend, a Duke alum, is a college admissions counselor in Pakistan.

"One of the things that pains me the most is I work with students on a daily basis," said Altamash Rafiq.

The couple said they are glad Duke has launched an internal audit of its admissions.

Vincent Price, the president of Duke, told the student newspaper that officials have audited admissions over four years so far and have not found anything that raises concern.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said Friday it has proactively reviewed the last five years of special-talent students in athletics and will continue to review each incoming class going forward.