Creative Things People Have Done for Admission

[gouchicago]

<p>

Publication Date: Wednesday Dec 16, 1998 </p>

<p>To jest or not to jest: the college admissions game
The pros and cons of showing a college your ‘wacky side’
While other high school seniors were probably spending their November afternoons studying or writing essays for their college applications, Tyler McNiven mounted a campaign to become a Stanford freshman next fall. </p>

<p>And “campaign” is exactly the word to describe the Woodside High School senior’s strategy to impress Stanford’s admissions committee. Concerned that his application alone would not get him into the school of his dreams, McNiven, a self-described Oval Office aspirant, took the political route, holding press conferences, passing fliers that detail his qualifications and engaging in marathon handshaking. </p>

<p>Driving around campus with a red car and a white bullhorn (Stanford’s colors) and with a small tree (the university’s mascot) strapped to the top of the car, McNiven discussed his strategy with a reporter via cell phone. </p>

<p>“I feel the application doesn’t show everything,” McNiven said. “They’ll see the wacky side of me. I’m exposing more of myself to the Stanford community.” </p>

<p>McNiven’s campaign raises questions many college applicants have probably asked themselves: How much of a risk should I take to get “noticed?” Or is it better to play it safe and risk appearing boring? </p>

<p>Though McNiven’s actions probably fall into the extreme category of application gimmicks, college admissions offices do receive a fair share of gifts and unusual gestures, all designed to demonstrate an applicant’s affinity with the school. </p>

<p>Generally, admissions officers are not impressed. </p>

<p>“Frankly, gimmicks don’t work,” said Joe Case, interim dean of admission at Amherst College in Massachusetts. “It really needs to be something of substance.” </p>

<p>“It can be something clever and substantive–that’s a positive thing,” Case said. “Driving around campus: No. Sending the world’s best brownie recipe: No.” </p>

<p>When the students’ qualifications come up for final review, Case said, nothing substitutes for good old-fashioned book learning. </p>

<p>“Basically, you’re going to have to back it up with secondary preparation (and) test scores,” Case said. </p>

<p>Christoph Gutentag, Duke University’s director of admissions, said he hasn’t seen too many outrageous stunts in his 15 years of working in college admissions. </p>

<p>“It doesn’t happen as much as you might think,” Gutentag said. “I think most students take the process seriously.” </p>

<p>Not to say Duke doesn’t receive its fair share of mementos every application season. The list of gifts received by Gutentag’s office reads like a mail order catalog: 4-foot greeting cards, life preservers with “Duke” emblazoned on them, prescription bottles bearing cutesy messages, cookies and more cookies. </p>

<p>“If it’s edible, we generally eat it,” Gutentag said. </p>

<p>Both admissions officers agreed that gimmicks usually suffer by failing to have much of a point. Gutentag said applicants should find better modes of self-expression, whether through the application essay or by sending bona fide support materials, such as a sample of the student’s artwork or a tape of a musical performance. </p>

<p>“(Applicants should) be their best selves and think about the best ways to have that manifest itself,” Gutentag said. </p>

<p>Gutentag said that while gimmicks rarely hurt a candidate’s prospects, an occasional one has been known to backfire. In the case of McNiven’s campaign, his chances depend on whether the admissions committee finds him amusing or immature, Gutentag said. </p>

<p>“It all depends whether they see him as being creative or harassing,” Gutentag said. "That might influence their decision. There’s always the possibility of going overboard. </p>

<p>“There’s always a risk of hurting your cause rather than helping it.” </p>

<p>Jean Dawes, a guidance counselor at Palo Alto High School, said she wasn’t aware of Paly students participating in application ploys. She said she doesn’t advise her students to send items along with their applications unless they reflect talents or accomplishments. </p>

<p>“Everybody likes chocolate chip cookies,” Dawes said. “But I don’t know if it ever gets written on an applicant’s file that ‘Mom makes great cookies,’” Dawes said. </p>

<p>As for McNiven, who applied for early decision, he may hear as soon as this month about his collegiate fate. Stanford’s dean of undergraduate admissions did not return a phone call about McNiven’s application or Stanford’s admission process. </p>

<p>But McNiven might have done well to consult “Questions and Admissions: Reflections on 100,000 Admissions Decisions at Stanford,” a book written by Jean Fetter, a former Stanford dean of admissions. The book advises: “It is definitely a myth that a gimmick can make a difference in the final decision.” </p>

<p>–Jennifer Kavanaugh

</p>

<p>[To</a> jest or not to jest: the college admissions game](<a href=“http://www.paloaltoonline.com/weekly/morgue/monthly/1998_Dec_16.ADMIT.html]To”>To jest or not to jest: the college admissions game)</p>

[Kumara]

<p>haha, the one with ‘Go Yale’ is hilarious!! LOLZ</p>

[gouchicago]

<p>

[quote]

A Smith College applicant glued words to a Scrabble board trumpeting her attributes. A Tufts University hopeful designed a neon-green flower made of duct tape. And a teenager desperate to get into Harvard sent in a homemade chocolate replica of the school’s Veritas shield.</p>

<p>As the competition for spots increases, anxious-to-impress applicants try to see how far they can go beyond the required essay and forms. Admissions offices at Tufts, MIT, Harvard, and other colleges across the country wind up with a shelfful of items each year, ranging from the adorable and clever to the risqu</p>

[gouchicago]

<p>

Azia Kim was like any other Stanford freshman. She graduated from one of California’s most competitive high schools last June, moved into the dorms during New Student Orientation, talked about upcoming tests and spent her free time with friends. </p>

<p>Daniel Novinson
Azia Kim allegedly climbed through this first-floor window in Okada to sleep during spring quarter. The 18-year-old was evicted after her ruse was uncovered Monday night.
The only problem is that Azia Kim was never a Stanford student.</p>

<p>Kim, an 18-year-old from Orange County who graduated from Fullerton’s Troy High School, lived in Kimball throughout fall and winter quarter. She lived in Okada, the Asian-American theme dorm, until Monday night, when University staff finally caught onto her ruse.</p>

<p>Friends aren’t sure of her motive for sneaking onto campus and living a lie, but many speculate that she felt pressure from overbearing parents to attend Stanford — regardless of whether she was admitted.</p>

<p>What Kim’s friends do know is that they are scared and angry that someone slipped through the cracks for eight months.</p>

<p>“Personally, I don’t feel safe now that Stanford allowed this to happen and that they’re not doing anything to ensure the safety of their students,” said Amy Zhou ‘08, Kim’s roommate in Okada. “I think something’s definitely wrong with the system if this could happen.”</p>

<p>Kim declined comment for this story, unless the newspaper agreed to withhold her name. She suggested, but then declined, postponing publication one day in exchange for speaking on the record.</p>

<p>Kim started her con on Sept. 18, 2006, the day before New Student Orientation began. She told Kimball roommates Jenssy Rojina ‘09 and Missy Penna ‘09, a star softball pitcher, that she was a freshman who was temporarily out of housing due to a technical mixup, according to Zhou.</p>

<p>Rojina and Penna, who both declined comment, believed Kim’s story and let her sleep in their room. Kim apparently told Rojina that she moved into Kimball because she disliked her assigned roommate. Kim squatted in the 210-resident dorm — splitting her time between her “room” and the Kimball lounge — for the majority of fall and winter quarter.</p>

<p>“‘I ate with this girl, I went to San Francisco with this girl, she was like my sister’ — that’s what Rojina said to me,” said a friend of Rojina’s. “She told me that [Kim] crashed there every night.”</p>

<p>But come spring quarter, Kim’s welcome in Kimball was wearing thin, so she set out to find a new room. Okada resident Jennifer Lee ‘08 told her that Zhou’s roommate was going to Japan for the quarter, creating a vacancy in the one-room double.</p>

<p>“I remember she came to my room because the door was open and she was asking if anyone wanted a roommate,” said Lee, Okada’s ethnic theme associate. “She seemed like a pretty typical Stanford student, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. Not really suspecting anything, I just told her the rooms that were available.”</p>

<p>Kim moved into Okada 108 on Apr. 18. She told student staff that Stanford Housing had approved her transfer from Roble because she had more friends on East Campus.</p>

<p>“At RA training, this will be one of those stories that you would never expect to happen,” said a resident assistant who lived with Kim. “It’s kind of impressive, how she was able to figure everything out and trick so many people.”</p>

<p>Still, Kim had neither a Stanford ID nor a key, forcing her to sneak into meals and enter her room through its window, which overlooked the Munger construction pit, the Wilbur parking lot and a dumpster, three feet off the ground. Zhou never noticed, as she spent nearly all her nights in her boyfriend’s room.</p>

<p>“She took off the screen and always left one of the windows wide open and the blinds up,” Zhou said. “I just guessed she always wanted a breezy room.”</p>

<p>To avoid suspicion while in Okada, Kim pretended to be a sophomore majoring in human biology, going as far as to buy textbooks and study with friends for tests she would never take. Residents of the 94-person dorm were none the wiser.</p>

<p>“She really knew her stuff, and really knew the schedule,” Zhou said. “For HumBio, she would say, ‘I have a midterm Monday in this room,’ and I knew that was true because my friends are HumBio [students].”</p>

<p>Last Sunday, Okada RA Soo Kim ‘08 triggered the beginning of the end at the weekly staff meeting. An Otero RA told her that Azia Kim had claimed to live in Otero. Soo Kim was suspicious and emailed Housing on Monday. Only then — eight months after Azia Kim first moved into Kimball — did the authorities finally realize what had happened.</p>

<p>“It’s kind of crazy that it was under our radar for so long,” said Soo Kim. “I couldn’t even imagine a squatter situation. That was never anything that I was conscious of.”</p>

<p>It took Zhou even longer to find out the truth — she said that Azia Kim broke into her email account and permanently deleted emails from Housing that explained the situation. Kim even replied to Housing, imitating her roommate in an email that Zhou provided The Daily:</p>

<p>“Hey Edith,</p>

<p>Actually, Azia doesn’t stay here permanently, she just stays occasionally when she stays late. Sorry, I apologize for any confusions.</p>

<p>Amy”</p>

<p>Azia Kim pretended to move out early Monday evening, removing every visible object save for a light or two. </p>

<p>But Zhou soon discovered that Kim had simply hidden her clothes in the closet. The RAs confiscated Kim’s possessions and posted a terse notice on the door. A cab eventually took Kim to an uncle’s San Jose house at 2 a.m. Tuesday morning.</p>

<p>Zhou is not taking any chances though: She’s ordered Housing to install a chain on her window.</p>

<p>“To think that someone I trusted to be a Stanford student with a key was climbing in and out of windows and that I was in the same room all this time really freaked me out,” Zhou said.</p>

<p>Police are currently investigating the situation. They could press trespassing or theft of services charges — Stanford Housing charges unauthorized visitors $175 daily, bringing Kim’s eight-month liability up to $42,000.</p>

<p>But after filing a report with the Department of Public Safety, Zhou doesn’t think much will be done.</p>

<p>“The police just said, ‘If we see her on campus, we’ll evict her,’ and say, ‘Don’t do anything anymore,’” Zhou said. “Even after hacking into my email account, they said there’s nothing they can do unless she was using it to fraud anyone. I don’t think they’re going to do anything.”</p>

<p>The police did not return a call seeking comment.</p>

<p>Residential Education officials declined to comment — typical practice for any ongoing investigation. More than 10 students were interviewed for this article; many are ResEd employees who would only speak off-the-record or on the condition of anonymity.</p>

<p>Neighbors and acquaintances described Kim as a quiet, tall Asian girl, unassuming at first glance.</p>

<p>“She was kind of shy, kind of reserved, but for someone who really isn’t affiliated with Stanford, that’s to be expected,” Okada neighbor Bo Zheng ‘08 said. “When I saw her in the hall, she wouldn’t really say ‘hi’ or anything.”</p>

<p>But closer friends hinted at deeper troubles underneath a sweet veneer. </p>

<p>“There must be something big behind this,” said Lee, “because I don’t think people behave this way for no reason. We’re hoping she gets help if she needs it.”

</p>

<p>[Imposter</a> Caught - The Stanford Daily Online](<a href=“http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2007/5/24/imposterCaught]Imposter”>http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2007/5/24/imposterCaught)</p>

[latermeansnever]

<p>hmm ok so some mixed reviews. the reason I ask is because I am applying for transfer after two years to a school that I am in love with and want to show that passion, but don’t know what to do, and didn’t know if it would help. I think my application is great but I want to make sure that I stand out so that my name is recognized and increase my chance of admissions.</p>

<p>any insight?</p>

[esmitty01]

<p>if the school has a animal as a mascot, send them a live version in a box.</p>

[aristotle1990]

<p>

In past years, Smith rejected the applicant who submitted pictures of herself nude on a bicycle; the admissions committee thought the enclosure was poor judgment, Shaver said.

</p>

<p>Oh my. That’s a wee bit more than “poor judgment.”</p>

<p>

The university quickly tossed a student’s taxidermy; it reeked.

</p>

<p>This is disgusting.</p>

<p>

I heard a story, like third hand so dunno how accurate, at harvard one year they had an essay to describe courage in as few words as possible or something. Someone wrote, “go Yale” as their essay for that question and got accepted.

</p>

<p>This is incredible. I could see something like that working.</p>

[xxfly4lyfxx]

<p>one of the stories i heard was about USC. the prompt was to ask yourself a question and answer it. the student wrote “do you play the tuba? no”</p>

<p>the admissions office contemplated over the issue, but accepted him for his bold answer.</p>

[arachnophobia12]

<p>a kid sent in a chair and put a note on it that read “hope this reserves a chair for me.” a different kid wrote his essay on a football…</p>

[enderkin]

<p>i wrote my Why Swarthmore essay in the form of a love letter–not sure if that qualifies. the double entendres are *so bad<a href=“ex:” title=“You’re a well-endowed college, and you have a small student body that most colleges would die for, but you don’t fall headfirst for the big football types, either”>/I</a>.</p>

<p>i’m pretty sure that I’m getting rejected. 3 weeks…</p>

[Peach_Chardonnay]

<p>^thats a bit…extreme.</p>

[powerbomb]

<p>i heard something similar, except, on a harvard app, they asked the students to briefly explain what they thought of “confidence” and a girl simply put a “.” supposedly she got in.</p>

[Meugenio]

<p>A Deep Springs applicant wrote a symphony as an essay response. Another sent in home-made sausage.</p>

[enderkin]

<p>peach: i regret writing it. the innuendos aren’t all physically-related, though. the essay talks about both Swarthmore’s physical AND intellectual merits. the quote above was part of a rather risky grabber.</p>

[Peach_Chardonnay]

<p>

they asked the students to briefly explain what they thought of “confidence” and a girl simply put a “.” supposedly she got in.

Erm, overconfidence? lol this is probably just a myth that was propagated and twisted and isn’t even true.</p>

[Sherwelthlangley]

<p>Yes. About the Stanford story, I know that it is very easy to skip your own classes and attend others at the same university, but I haven’t heard of one actually going to a university not enrolled at.</p>

<p>That’s a stupid endeavor, in the end, because she wouldn’t be getting any credits, now would she?</p>

[Mika08]

<p>Here’s the story of the girl who snuck into Stanford: </p>

<p>[Imposter</a> Caught - The Stanford Daily Online](<a href=“http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2007/5/24/imposterCaught]Imposter”>http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2007/5/24/imposterCaught)</p>

[Sherwelthlangley]

<p>In regards to the applicants writing one word essays, I heard another one. It is also third-hand, and I still am skeptical at its veracity, but I’ll post it anyway. </p>

<p>Apparently one year, Stanford’s essay prompt was to detail the biggest risk ever taken in that applicant’s life (or something like that). A student supposedly wrote: “Now. F you”. (The expletive written in full form)</p>

[griffon]

<p>someone i know personally had a somewhat low gpa for the ivies all because of his screwing up his sophmore year…he made his essay on how he is more than just his grades, listing examples and stuff, and he then pieced together a short movie showing some of his classmates doing things that they were extremely talented at. the message was that it is wrong to judge people on their applications because apps dont show you how amazing the person truly is…he showed the glory of his friends and how they were more than their applications…really creative and well done video…not doing it enough justice but he was accepted at harvard and yale</p>

[griffon]

<p>ironic…because they were judging his app. but it was good i thought</p>