<p>debate_addict,
I suggest that you take leadership and do some more with the coordinator position. The position is a wonderful opportunity for you to create an excellent learning opportunity for yourself and others, but for that to exist, you'll have to forge your own path, not wait for your counselor to lead you by the hand and tell you exactly what to do.</p>
<p>While you can list it on your Harvard app, if all you do now is what you describe, it can hurt you in your interview if you mention it to the interviewer or list it on an activities list that you give that person. Due to the position's unusualness, it's likely the interviewer will ask you for details of what you've been doing and if all you have to say is what you said in your post, the interviewer will probably decide that you are not a leader, but are someone who takes on positions for resume dressing and lacks the leadership and creativity that Harvard seeks in its students.</p>
<p>After all, Harvard literally has hundreds of student-run organizations that are run by students because they truly are passionate about the organizations. Consequently, students compete tooth and nail to join the Harvard Crimson staff where they by choice work very hard to produce Cambridge's only daily newspaper even though the majority of the Crimson's staff don't get paid and don't plan to go into journalism.</p>
<p>Harvard students become the kind of adult professionals who juggle several major outside commitments while doing well on their jobs, which may have no connection with the organizations that the professionals participate in for fun.</p>
<p>i think the real message is that u shouldn't lie.....rather u should word all the accomplishments u did in a good way..i think everything has to do with the way u say what u did. One applicant can say oo yeah i worked at the hospital whereas another applicant could be like i worked at the hospitla and had this great experience of helping others. SO basically dont lie, just remember its all in the wording. At the same time dont exaggerate!</p>
<p>i guess i should elaborate more...
and clear some misconceptions, though i am sure they were inadvertent.
i do not rely upon my counselor for everything i do, but she suggested that i take up the position of student coordinator, and so far i can only view it as a title, since it is all about me contacting consulates...
And this is just an instance that is problematic for me, it does not represent my activity in the leadership sector. Now, i am really enthusiastic about it and i could definitely work my way through it during a conversation with my interviewer, but what i am asking here is that should it not exist as a title (student coordinator for international relations mentorship) since all i do is contact consulates and decide upon issues discussed? (*-Party agreement, Iran's nuclear proliferation, etc)</p>
<p>P.S. i mention the topics, as i could definitely flesch them out and get sth out of them during an interview.</p>
<p>Um I really don't think it matters. If you coordinated stuff, then you are a coordinator and there is no reason why you shouldn't put that on your application.</p>
<p>There is a difference between lying and what I'd like to euphemistically call self-marketing. Just because a position is not quite as demanding or prestigious as it sounds, you can still put it on your app. I mean, I <em>am</em> Co-Editor in Chief for the school newspaper, but we put out very few issues per year and it's a pretty easy job. In another club, I was elected treasurer but had very few duties. What was I going to do? Find more money to deposit? :-P</p>
<p>^^ Yes, there is a difference, but it is sometimes hard to distinguish when the line is crossed. For example, what if you (not you personally) were the vice president of a club but did not honestly fulfill its duties? Sure you can put down VP of -Insert random club-, but the real question is, were you truly a leader?</p>
<p>Get my point?</p>
<p>Oh, lingbo, I agree. Self marketing is extremely important and one should always strive for the better way of presenting.</p>
<p>wait, what's this story about the girl killing her mom, getting into harvard, and then getting kicked out? i must've been out of the country when this happened...</p>
<p>Yep, i've heard about Gina Grant too. The funny thing is that she got into another college shortly after the Harvard debacle. It is things of this sort that complicate the situation regarding adcoms...but the example overall is sort of exaggerated. I mean, unless anyone is actually planning to assassinate their parents, it doesnt really matter. :D</p>
<p>It's pretty unlikely that someone will be pouring through your college application in 20 years. Obviously you shouldn't lie, but unless you've got a major skeleton in your closet then you should be OK with the usual salesmanship. It also reflects poorly on the school if you can just flat out lie on your application and get away with it.</p>
<p>"It's pretty unlikely that someone will be pouring through your college application in 20 years."</p>
<p>It's unlikely unless you get famous or you are nominated for some kind of important public position, which many Harvard applicants hope to achieve someday. Obviously presidential candidates are an extreme example, but you can google Bush and Kerry's SAT scores, HS grades, etc. No one's going to find out that you worked 6 hours a week instead of the 8 you claimed on the app, but if you lie about something important, newspapers can and do dig it up (they'll call your old classmates, among other techniques).</p>
<p>"The funny thing is that she got into another college shortly after the Harvard debacle."</p>
<p>She got into Tufts, which admitted her after Harvard rescinded her admission for lying. What Gina Grant had lied about on her Harvard app was having faced felony charges for murdering her mother apparently due to a long history of being abused by her mother. Gina was sentenced to time in a mental institution, and was later released.</p>
<p>Tufts argued that she hadn't lied on her application for this reason:
[quote]
Her lawyer later argued that educational institutions are forbidden by Massachuesetts state law to ask about criminal matters that do not result in "convictions". Juveniles found guilty are "adjudicated delinquent" rather than "convicted."