I am looking to see if some claims that a friend is making pass the smell test, because I suspect that said friend is not being entirely truthful to us.
First claim: My friend currently attends community college in Northern Virginia, and from what I can tell, they are doing quite well there. They applied to George Washington University last spring and allegedly got in. However, they then allegedly had a snafu with the community college in regards to some math classes that were supposed to have been awarded AP credit from high school, but the school is now not giving them credit for said classes, and thus they have to take them again, delaying their enrollment at GWU for a year. I suggested that they lawyer up if they were supposed to have gotten credit for those classes through AP work, but they opted to just retake the classes. I didn’t push them any further on it, assuming that it might be less expensive to just take the courses again than to pursue the matter legally. They have also alleged that because of this delay, they would need to reapply to GWU for the following academic year.
Second claim: Friend claims that they were admitted to GWU under a computer science program whereby they complete their bachelor’s degree practically for free, in exchange for a commitment to work for the university for five years after graduating. In other words, my friend is claiming to be going to GWU at almost no cost, and has a job afterward that they are committed to staying in for five years.
I suspect, in regards to the first claim, that they simply did not get accepted into GWU, and are using this alleged AP problem as cover for their non-acceptance. As far as the second claim, I have never heard of any university that gives a free education to someone in exchange for a job after college with a five-year commitment. I also couldn’t find anything about such a program based on a search of Google. Plus, why would anyone offer someone a job after college that early when they haven’t even begun their major coursework?
Please help me determine whether I am the one who is off of their rocker, or if my friend is feeding us a whole load of nonsense. Thanks!
Both claims are BS. For the first, you’re either admitted or not. GW won’t rescind application based upon not having AP credit in something.
For the second claim, you’re right- no one will let you into a program ahead of time with a guarantee of employment post-graduation. Especially an employer like GW that already has awesome benefits (90% tuition paid WHILE working full time, for example). They don’t need to offer programs like that to entice people that haven’t proven anything. Even with @SJ272 's example, that’s a FEDERAL scholarship/internship program, but that’s for AFTER someone’s already been part of a program (so that they can at least prove the ability to achieve a certain GPA prior to applying), and even further because the government has a problem acquiring and retaining talent in cyber sercurity because people can make 50-100% more in the private sector.
The first claim makes zero sense. Even if that were true, they could have just taken those math classes at GW or could have received the AP credits at GW (assuming they received a 4 or 5). A community college cannot force someone to not be able to transfer elsewhere.
As for the second claim, I have never heard of any program even remotely similar to the one you mentioned.
That nursing program above does sound like a good deal (50% off of tuition, which is not cheap there). But the rest all seems nutty, including the OP’s suggestion that the friend lawyer up over AP credits.
I agree the first claim makes little sense. I was just wondering if the details of the scholarship/work commitment had gotten confused in the retelling.
I think it’s kind of sad that one friend apparently feels compelled to lie to save face and the other seems quite keen to catch her out. Maybe one of those lingering high school friendships where it’s really better to part ways.
@SJ2727 I agree. It’s really sad that this friend feels the need to concoct stories about their life to make themselves seem like something that they’re not. They had done this previously about where they lived, claiming that they lived in downtown DC rather than near Fredericksburg (they later admitted to this untruth). The thing is that the rest of us won’t judge them based on the reality. If they didn’t get in, fine - we’ll still be supportive. But we can’t be supportive if we don’t know what is true and what isn’t. And I’m coming from a position of more experience, as I completed college in 2003, so I’ve been through the whole undergraduate thing, albeit at a different school. If they would come clean about their situation, we could help them, but so far, no luck.
@LilacLane If you graduated in 2003, that would make you in your late 30s, so I do not see why you are hanging out with a young kid who has a questionable relationship with either truth or reality. Of course, with that age difference, they may be making up stories to impress you.
In that case, pull the “age card”, and tell your friend that, while grownups don’t always tell the truth, making up stories like they are doing is extremely immature, and they should have grown out of it after middle school. Tell them that not being accepted to GWU does not make you think less of them, however, making up stories does.
In all honesty, if they applied and were rejected, it does not reflect badly on their character. They worked hard in the CC, they worked at expanding their education and job opportunities, basically did everything right. If they weren’t accepted that’s just their bad luck or their grades, not their character or personality. Also, if they were rejected, your friend group can put their heads together to strategize how to do better next year, or maybe find another four year university to which they would have a higher chance of acceptance. As you wrote, you support and help each other, but you cannot do it if your friend doesn’t tell you guys what’s actually happening.