Well, in this scandal, the main actions revolved around unfair advantages. One big part was bribing college coaches to get their kids into schools as athletes when they weren't legitimate athletes. Another was manipulating standardized test scores. They would pay someone to take the tests for their kids or get the scores altered. And some also fabricated the students' achievements outside of academics to make their applications look better. All these actions were aimed at getting their children into colleges that they might not have otherwise been able to get into through legitimate means.
In the college admissions scandal based on real story, the key actions included bribery and fraud. Bribery was rampant, with parents paying large sums to college insiders to secure admission for their children. There was also fraud in terms of falsifying student records, such as creating false resumes of extracurricular activities. This all combined to undermine the integrity of the college admissions process. It was a blatant disregard for the rules that are supposed to ensure a fair competition for all students vying for a place in college.