Nineteen eighty-one was a time before private schools in L.A. had waiting lists thousands of names long and parents lost their minds trying to get their children onto those lists let alone into the schools themselves, and in 1981 if you could afford the tuition you basically got your kid in anywhere—there was no competition for any of the open slots that were available, no testing, no belabored meetings with staff, no gifts; if you could write the check to cover tuition you were in. That’s how it worked.
