Exactly, this!

He might have gotten at least some forgiveness had he in any way tried, in the two year span between the event and his rejection from Harvard, to have done some thing, anything, to try to be a better person. He didn’t. He remained silent, and would have remained so, were it not for the whistleblower who brought his misdeeds to Harvard’s attention.

He only showed interest in becoming a better human, sought advice about how to do so, only after the rejection.