<p>technically i don’t think it’s a lie if you say you started in soph year, however inconsequential or pointless your club activities may be. it is a lie, though, to say you started in 9th grade</p>
<p>If it’s an e.c. you have to lie about, it probably won’t amount to much regarding your admission anyways, because the main reason an e.c. would be important because it shaped/changed you to the person that a college would like. And that will shine in your essay,etc.</p>
<p>It’s not worth putting an extra year of an EC if there’s a chance you’ll get caught. What I don’t get is how your 1 essay is supposed to encompass the multitudes of ECs one can participate in especially if you want to write about something else like your life or a difficulty.</p>
<p>Ultimately, it isn’t going to make a difference to your application if you lie about that. It’s not as if the adcom will think “hmm, only been in this club since sophomore year? Why bother applying here? Have fun at community college, reject!” or “OMG, been in this club since 9th grade? WELCOME TO HARVARD!!!”</p>
<p>But if they happened to call your high school and mention it, your school only has to say “wait up, that’s wrong, she only joined the club a year ago” and the adcom will not look favourably on you at all.</p>
<p>It’s not worth it. Just be honest.</p>
<p>Just being in an a school activity (or not) will not matter on how your application is considered, so putting down Key Club, etc., for your freshman and sophomore years will not get you any brownie points with the admissions people UNLESS your involvement lead to noteworthy accomplishments…such as organizing the school’s first fundraiser for an organization,etc. You can’t lie about these kinds of accomplishments because they can easily be googled, and also it would be expected that teachers and guidance counselors would mention them in recommendation letters. </p>
<p>If your application makes mention of impressive EC accomplisments that are not backed up elsewhere in your application file, it’s a red flag to admisisons people…who are then motivated to check up…and being found to falsify or exagerate on the application guarantees a quick trip to the reject pile.</p>
<p>If an EC “accomplishment” isn’t big enough to prompt a check up by the admissions people, it’s also not big enough to make a difference in your application</p>
<p>so there is no reason to lie.</p>
<p>my harvard interviewer asked me about each and every club I did. I did 12 clubs so the interview lasted about an hour and a half. In the end he was impressed. He stood up after our long conversation and said “You seem like a harvard man.” Last month I was rejected from Harvard. I didnt lie but if you cover your bases I don’t see why you couldn’t. Just know who youre talking to. Know what your club does,if there is a sign in, and if there are many people in the club. If youre willing to tarnish your acceptances then go for it.</p>
<p>how did he know all your clubs? interviewers aren’t supposed to have your college application or resume unless you give it to them personally.</p>
<p>I didn’t read the thread, so I may have overlaps with some posters, but…</p>
<p>I won’t give you the moral “Oh don’t cheat be honest all the way” thing, because that’s obviously not what you’re looking for and won’t help anyone, and it’s your own ideal.</p>
<p>The short answer is that you can bs minor stuff like being in key club, and stuff like adding 1 extra year (I.E. saying you participated since 9th grade when you really started at 10th, etc)…and probably won’t get caught. However, the key word is minor… it really won’t make a difference in admissions IMO, and the effect will be marginal at best. </p>
<p>The major ones will be more difficult to bs, obviously, but it seems like you won’t be there. So honestly to answer your question, yes, you can bs them…but I doubt how much of a difference it’ll really make; personally I’d just be too lazy and not bother with such a thing.</p>
<p>Yea you can bs MINOR ec’s. Everyone does that at my school. Just not major ones…and don’t make up EVERYTHING. I know a guy who said he was a captain of speech and debate (he went to like 2 tournaments his entire 4 years…) and captain of crosscountry/track/swimming (He was on JV for all 3…) and president of numerous clubs he was never in (key club, interact club) and he cheats in every class, every test, every hw (literally).
And he got rejected by all the top-tier schools he applied to. </p>
<p>But if you bs some little ec’s to make it sound like you were more dedicated/well-rounded then by all means do it, since everyone else does it…</p>
<p>Bad place to lie. Not worth it be honest man</p>
<p>^^Since when is it okay to BS any ECs?
Minor or major it doesn’t matter. It is still a lie.
I can’t believe there is a thread about this. </p>
<p>What has our world come to…</p>
<p>I can’t believe there have been a LOT of threads in which students have asked the same stupid question. Of course, the ones asking such questions will be the losers whatever happens with their college apps. The real purpose of ECs is to find and develop your talents and interests so as to be able to live a happier, more fulfilled and successful life. BSing ECs won’t do that for anyone.</p>
<p>Same people do the ECs for the sole purpose of college.</p>
<p>The people who only do ECs for college at least develop some skills and knowledge about themselves and the world even if that’s not why they are doing ECs. The people who do no ECs are the ones who totally miss out.</p>
<p>I never, ever joined an EC that I didn’t like. All of my ECs were things I’m interested in and I honestly would have quit in the middle (I actually did for one) if I didn’t enjoy it. Yes, they helped me get into some great colleges, but they also gave me some great experiences, skills, contacts, and insight into my interests.</p>
<p>Ask yourself, if I lie now, will I lie later? It’s a continuous cycle. I understand that you might be tempted to add in an extra leadership position in your drama club but these things have a way of snow-balling into more and more lies in the future. Soon, you won’t be able to keep up with the lies you create. Spare yourself the agony of four months of paranoid worrying and don’t do it. Karma is a *****.</p>
<p>
I’m pretty sure this was addressed to me (and if it wasn’t…whatever), so…whether it is “okay” or not, moral or not, the OP was (as far as I’m aware of) asking whether he’d get caught with bs’ing minor EC’s.</p>
<p>The honest answer is, he probably won’t. Will it help him a lot? Probably not, although it depends on the schools he’s applying to.</p>
<p>If it wasn’t clear enough before, I don’t advocate cheating or lying. I simply don’t feel the need to espouse it on this thread and lecture the OP on a moral lesson and do what’s “right” when that probably wasn’t the point of this thread. </p>
<p>Of course, you’re free to think and say what you want, if that be it (as 90%+ of people on this thread) have said about how lying is bad…and so am I.</p>
<p>There is virtually no chance that you will get caught for minor exaggeration (i.e. slightly inflating number of hours or “inflating” your title as many seem to do), adcoms may even assume that everyone does it because it is so common. I am NOT saying it is moral, but you would probably not get caught. It would also probably have little difference in terms of admissions (so there really is no point).</p>
<p>You likely will be caught for any lie big enough to make a difference (i.e. making up a leadership position/participation in an EC) and that could have big consequences.</p>
<p>i, too, wasn’t that active in my freshman & sophomore years [even though i am now].
i plan to put key club member, which i was, even though i wasn’t really active in the club. would this be considered lying if they find out?</p>
<p>My friend did the most minor thing…</p>
<p>He put “VP” instead of Co vice president, and got rejected ED at cornell when cornell asked my school. Not only that, but he ALSO got rejected by all of the ivies. DON’T DO IT IT ISN’T WORTH IT. Anyways, he had to go to a state school and is now basically banned from the ivies. He had a 2300 SAT and I think a near 4.0 GPA so you guys could imagine the type of horror he went through having to go to a SUNY.</p>
<p>weird, why would Cornell ask his HS all of a sudden? I smell sabotage</p>