What's the difference between someone getting in because their parents bought a building and someone getting in because their parents spent 50k/year on a highschool?
In the other case, $10M is being given to the university in order to fund a building.
The better question is, what are the similarities? Different amounts of money are being given to different parties for different purposes. Everything is different. The only thing that's the same is that they're all sort of vaguely related to education.
The other kid, on the other hand...
Natural aptitude and/or sheer obsessive determination can allow anyone to compete with the second - and crucially the money must be spent well to help - if it is just more posh in surroundings but doesn't actually prepare them better than say an average Brooklyn High School then money isn't actually propping them up.
Meanwhile in the first only those with money and connections can "compete".
Realistically, the kids with buildings also went to $50k/y high schools. If I understand the article, the bribery service was for upping the odds from 20% to 100% without the house getting their cut.