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Really, do they require the ACT and the SATs? It's been a few years since my kids went through college apps, I haven't been updated on changes.</p>
<p>Oh please! How can you diagnose "deep psychological problems" from a brief secondhand (that's right, we haven't heard from him, only his mother) event report on the internet? He made a mistake, and should correct that mistake ASAP. Apparently it wasn't an accident, but I think it is sufficient to correct the mistake without withdrawing the applications or turning himself in to the closest police station.... or psychiatric hospital.</p>
<p>I think a simple letter to the schools stating the correct scores is sufficient, as long as you go and add some schools (especially safety schools) that the false scores weren't sent to. Beyond that I agree that it is vital your son knows that his value, worth, and future, as well as your love, are not dependent on his SAT scores or their falsification. Correct the mistake and move on. He has been punished already. Talk to him to see why he wrote down incorrect scores; there are a couple of possibilities (feeling that the school is too much of a reach, strong desire to get in to that school, feeling his scores in general aren't good enough, competition with friends or classmates, etc.) and each deserves a different response.</p>
<p>cbreeze, sorry that my post was unclear -- I meant to say that the ACT can not be used in lieu of the SAT II requirement, as it is can be at many private colleges. Distressed Mother did not mention any SAT II scores but did say that her son was considering taking the ACT, and I was trying to make sure that they understood that SAT II's are a higher priority, if in fact they have not yet been completed.</p>
<p>"Oh please! How can you diagnose "deep psychological problems" from a brief secondhand "</p>
<p>Did you miss that I wrote "could indicate"? We don't have all of the facts and I'm not jumping to conclusions. I talked this over with my D before posting, and she was really shocked by the kids behavior. Her friends would never cheat on anything, and noted that his actions seem to be self destructive since he WOULD get caught sooner or later.</p>
<p>Chances are he just made a mistake, and if he learns from that mistake, it will have been a positive experience in the long run. Better now than embezzling funds from his clients some day. His mother is concerned, and I agree that it is wrong to be nonchalant about this.</p>
<p>What I have never understood is why colleges ask you to self report your grades and scores when they'll get official transcripts and score reports. </p>
<p>I agree that some counseling may be in order to see if this was more than a simple blip.</p>
<p>mathmom, it is usually because the score report may or may not arrive before the first round of application reads, and most kids report accurately, so it gives the school a chance to start reviewing right away. It may serve an additional purpose because a few kids foolishly lie on the self-report, and then you know what kind of student you're really dealing with. IIRC, one of the alumni interviewers on CC had a kid lie to her in the interview about easily verifiable facts.</p>
<p>I don't think Superfuzzy is off. The late teens and early 20's are the times when all kinds of mental issues start triggering as kids start to transition to adulthood. Thankfully, most of the time, the problems are temporary. But friends of mine whose children had "issues", lament missing the early signs that could have indicated these problems. I agree that the kid just probably made a mistake, a spontaneous bad choice. However, if he is truly stressed, and this is a symptom of this stress, and if he is still stressed, his next symptom might be something with some consequences that would be painful to the family. If this is an early warning call, it should be heeded. I'm not saying he should be dumped into a psych unit. I am saying that he should be watched, communication lines opened farther, and maybe he would benefit from talking to someone, whether it is a professional or a trusted uncle or friend of the family, or clergy. He may be getting panic attacks, anxiety attacks, mood explosions, depression, that may be causing him some real trouble. </p>
<p>It is not unusual for a kid to spontaneously do something stupid, and realize ås soon as he has done it, how stupid it was. See it all the time. Unfortunately, have lived it and am living it. But it might be time to get into that mom-copter and hover a little, to make sure that the kid is not having some troubles that need more help. Senior year can be so stressful, and college acceptances have become the prize that assesses kids' success or failure in highschool, particularly in some settings. Parents can alleviate or exacerbate the pressure at home, but kids who are sensitive to these things can get overloaded just from stimuli at school. A wrinkle of the nose, and negative statement from peers can nix a school so quickly, and the parent will never know what happened. It really does not hurt to keep an eye out.</p>
<p>A kid who lies about a grade or test score is usually engaging in wishful thinking -- very immature to think he can get away with the lie, but I don't think it's really indicative of a psychological problem. It's no different than the lie your kid tells you when you ask if he has finished the paper due on Friday, and he says "it's almost done"... and the truth is he hasn't started.</p>
<p>The UC's evaluate applications on the honor system (you fill in the application) and then verify after sending out acceptances. They won't even look at transcripts or score report forms until later. Many a student has been accepted and then had acceptance revoked during the summer once transcripts are reviewed. </p>
<p>Kids make a lot of stupid decisions when their feet are to the fire. I guarantee that this is not the first time a kid has lied on an application and it won't be the last. Unfortunately, in this case, lieing about SAT scores was pretty foolish, since all schools verify.......</p>
<p>There is a lot of pressure out there (not just from parents, so DentalMom don't beat yourself up about this..........) The best consequence is for him to contact the CSU's and UC's and ask how to correct erroneous information. There is definitely a mechanism, I just don't recall how it is done. He does not need to make any long or detailed explanation, unless he feels that it will ease his conscience. If he does this soon, his application, which has probably not even been openned, will be evaluated based on his actual scores and it is likely the UC's will never even know. CSU may be different as acceptances are already out there.........</p>
<p>Hopefully, the guilt and embarrassment of having to confess to mom, will serve as a lesson enough and he will be admtted to college and life will go on..........with him being a wiser man.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone!! I greatly appreciate all of your support and benevolence. It has been hard to find time with work and with the choices my son has made. We have talked alot of the situation and things are better now. He said it was due to all the pressure and wanting to get into the same school as his girlfriend, who has a slightly better score than him and ofcourse alot of what CALMOM said: "wishfull thinking".... </p>
<p>We have fixed the CSU's score but we still need to update the UC's about his "error." He will notify the UC's about his unintentionally wrong scores. ALTHOUGH he will not tell the UC's he falsefied scores on purpose he is receiving punishment from me. </p>
<p>My questions is... Should my son send a letter to each UC stating stating that he wrote the wrong scores unintentionally. or send them to UC Application Center. could e-mail work?</p>
<p>If the application can be corrected at the UC application center before they are transmitted to the individual UCs, I see no reason to write anything to the individual UCs (whether by mail or email). </p>
<p>Since he did write the wrong scores intentionally, why send a letter that says that he wrote the wrong scores UNintentionally?</p>
<p>I agree with ellemenope. To send a letter saying the wrong scores were reported unintentionally would be a second falsehood and one that you would be condoning.</p>
<p>Dentalmom, I'm sure this is upsetting to you. Kids sometimes do inexplicable things...particularly boy kids. My son has certainly pulled a bonehead maneuver or two.</p>
<p>But look at one very good thing: your son came clean to you. That's worth something, isn't it? I think it is. </p>
<p>There's no downside to letting the colleges know that there was an error on the application, or just making the correction online. If they question him about it, he should tell the truth, simple as that. Then it's in the hands of the adcoms.</p>
<p>And I would say that it would be a good idea to add a couple of reach schools now. The lesson learned is that lies create more work. </p>
<p>Just as an aside, my daughter added a reach school at the last minute. She's a freshman there right now, and happy as can be.</p>
<p>Take care. This too shall pass.</p>
<p>Look at my post #19. I think your son should wait 4 weeks until the UC app is available for changes on line, then log in and make the corrections. If possible, he should do it from a computer at home so you can be looking over his shoulder to make sure it is done. I think you will have greater certainty that it will be done because you will be able to verify the changes instantly on line. </p>
<p>If that doesn't work, then your son can write to the individual campuses in January. I don't think he should compound the lie by saying it was an accident -- I just think he should write a letter that doesn't offer any explanation at all, and simply states: "The scores entered on the UC pathways form were erroneous; please note that the correct scores are:...." - and maybe attach a photocopy of the official score report.</p>
<p>One reason that I have a rather benevolent attitude toward this is that is something that your son could not possibly get away with.... so while it is an act of dishonesty, I think it is more important to focus on the reasons your son felt so insecure and embarrassed about his scores. I'm sure you know that in other contexts, such as stats posted on this board, the competition is fierce enough that kids regularly lie -- I mean, I don't have any specific posters in mind, but I am pretty sure that there are more 800's reported on the CC boards than are actually given out by college board. </p>
<p>One lesson that can be drawn from this is that mistakes, including lies, can be rectified; and that it is safe for your son to come to you if he has made a mistake or is in trouble... and that your love for him is unconditional. I am sympathetic I think the motivation behind this particular lie are feelings of humiliation. That doesn't make it right, but I do think the solution is to help your son overcome those feelings.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>And I would say that it would be a good idea to add a couple of reach schools now. The lesson learned is that lies create more work.<<</p> </blockquote>
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<p>Applying to reach colleges as a punishment? I like it!</p>
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Should my son send a letter to each UC stating stating that he wrote the wrong scores unintentionally.
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<p>I don't think he should lie. He wrote them intentionally. </p>
<p>Frankly if I were the recipient of a letter saying that the applicant accidently wrote in the wrong scores that just happened to be higher than the actual ones it would be a huge red flag.</p>
<p>I agree with the other posters who say your son should not say that he listed his scored unintentionally. That would be another lie and would not teach him the lesson that lying is wrong. He should change the scores online as soon as that is possible, and in the meantime write to the UC admissions center to notify them that the SAT scores listed on his app are wrong and that the correct scores are as follows. I don't think he needs to tell them he did it on purpose, but he shouldn't claim it was an innocent mistake.</p>
<p>I don't think it's so much an issue of lying vs not lying. I don't think your son should damage his chances at any university over something as silly as this in the name of being "honest" - admitting to falsifying info to you and correcting the scores /is/ the honest decision. The original lie in and of itself wasn't even that "bad"; it didn't help him unfairly or hurt anyone else, therefore although it indicates an issue, as a single isolated incident it's about as "immoral" as pointing to a red pencil and saying it's green.</p>
<p>I frankly don't see a moral problem with writing that he entered them "unintentionally", but I rather think they will assume that that's a /given/. Unless, of course, you feel the need to clarify, at which point they might wonder :P. </p>
<p>Therefore, I agree on the streamlined "My scores are incorrect" approach suggested by other posters, but for a slightly different reason. An additional lie almost always isn't an effective cover-up; it just makes things worse.</p>
<p>quote [ I don't think your son should damage his chances at any university over something as silly as this in the name of being "honest" - admitting to falsifying info to you and correcting the scores /is/ the honest decision. The original lie in and of itself wasn't even that "bad"; it didn't help him unfairly or hurt anyone else, therefore although it indicates an issue, as a single isolated incident it's about as "immoral" as pointing to a red pencil and saying it's green.] /quote</p>
<p>groovinhard........I hope you are not a parent. Honesty is not silly. When someone is dishonest, they lose the trust of those around them. Once trust is lost, it is VERY hard to regain it. Each and every time one of my children is dishonest or does something that erodes trust, I make sure they have to really work hard to earn it back. This is not just an issue about this one incident, altho clearly the consequences of this incident may have an impact on the future. DentalMom is trying to teach her child a life lesson. </p>
<p>The posters have given DentalMom suggestions on how to help her son correct his mistake and fortunately for her son, the UC's allow for making corrections on the application (which is then sent to all the campuses). But, I don't see any parent poster suggesting that intentionally falsifying scores is a "little" thing. </p>
<p>quote [I frankly don't see a moral problem with writing that he entered them "unintentionally"] /quote</p>
<p>Compounding a lie with another lie is a moral problem, if you consider dishonesty wrong.</p>