<p>I know, it's definetely not fair that your classmate falsified his/her ec's list just to get an edge. Even though it's wrong, adding several more club memberships, community service hours, etc. won't make much of a difference, so it's not even worth it.</p>
<p>They won't check, unless you say something really spectacular like curing cancer (which is the standard example)</p>
<p>of course, if you don't have any friends in your classes and this is reflected in your recs, yet you say you are a class pres, then they might check or something.</p>
<p>I think only awards like medals would make a difference anyways - and these you can't really check</p>
<p>Neighbor's kid was just sent home from state university - seems he "upgraded" his status on a HS sports team when filling out his application. They didn't find out right away, but when they did he was expelled. </p>
<p>All it takes to check up on most people's statements is one phonecall or e-mail.</p>
<p>Some falsifications are actually a waste of time: The things you can get away with won't make a difference to the adcom anyway. 2 extra hours of community service won't get you accepted to Harvard. An Olympic medal, though, would. The Catch 22 is that the things that actually would make a difference are the ones that you absolutely will get caught if you lie about. If you won an Olypmic medal, don't you think the school would find it suspicious that none of your teachers memtioned it? If you've contributed significantly to the community - wouldn't it be strange if the only place it is listed is in a 2" space on your application - not even in an essay? As previously mentioned, all it takes is one phone call to see who's lying. And then you're out.</p>
<p>Market yourself, yes. Falsify? No.</p>
<p>midwesterner - what exactly did he do in terms of 'upgrading' that they got suspicious enough to check? I mean, state schools are huge, how can they notice anything. I didn't even list EC's for PSU.</p>
<p>You know you can cheat, lie, steal, even murder. And you can get away with it too. If that is what determines how you live your life.</p>
<p>Most ECs are not going to count for much anyways. The awards and kudos you get that really count are things that are easily verifiable, like being a Siemans Westinghouse finalist, or an impact athlete. Falsifying documents is an easy way to get caught if your school sends a lot of paperwork to a college, as it will not fit in the regular mold and be a flag. If you are a match for a school, you have a chance of getting into a school in that category. If you get caught cheating, you lose it all.</p>
<p>I have heard of students who were tossed during the school year when their application proved fraudulent. My understanding was that they got no tuition returned. My advice to a student considering this: If you care enough about yourself that you want to improve with education, why would you devaluate yourself through lies. Eventually even you will see yourself as a fraud.</p>
<p>People who make these types of messages are usually thinking of cheating. The truth is, don't cheat because the risk anit worth it. For example, if one UC finds out that you're lying, they will promptly inform all the other UC's. I think that is one reason they strongly encourage you to "apply widely". They check more often than you think. And colleges treat any type of cheating as an automatic reject/expulsion.
And you're gaining an unfair advantage over someone else. Hell, you should stay awake all night worrying about writing something untrue because you probably screwed a person who WORKED to get everything done because you took his deserved acceptance.</p>
<p>
Speaking of murder - I heard of a case at Harvard a couple of years back: A girl was admitted and Harvard later discovered that she had murdered her mother. (:eek:!) She had failed to mention this tiny detail in her application, and her admission was immediately rescinded. She didn't even get into any of the other Ivy League schools, and ended up at Tufts.</p>
<p>whoa. </p>
<ol>
<li>why is she not in jail?</li>
<li>tufts accepted someone who'd kill their own mother?</li>
</ol>
<p>there's something wrong with this picture.....</p>
<p>There are many reasons she could not be in jail: she could've made a plea of temporary insanity in court and was let off on the condition that she seeks counseling. Perhaps she claimed the murder was in self defense and that her mother was abusive. Maybe the incident happened when she was much younger.... there could be many exceptions. </p>
<p>The point, though, is that falsifying your application will get you screwed.</p>
<p>The story was true. The girl had, I think, murdered her mom and then was committed to a juvenile detention facility. When she applied to Harvard, she said she was an orphan, but didn't mention how it was that she was orphaned. </p>
<p>When Harvard learned of her crime, they rescinded her admisison. I think she did end up at Tufts -- in a single room.
<a href="http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=6354%5B/url%5D">http://www.yaledailynews.com/article.asp?AID=6354</a>
<a href="http://www.tuftsprimarysource.org/classics/delaney.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.tuftsprimarysource.org/classics/delaney.htm</a></p>
<p>Thank you for posting the links Northstarmom.</p>
<p>I quit two ECs my senior year for personal problems, but got in ED to my first-choice-school. Will they check or rescind my admissions? I don't even have to send an updated resume because I'm committed to going there. Would the college check up on my ECs? Would I have a chance to explain? My coach understands completely why I had to quit and even wrote a rec for a scholarship app. for me.</p>
<p>I don't understand how people are being caught once they get to college. It seems stupid for colleges to go back and review whether students' ECs are valid mid-way through freshman year of college. Doesn't make sense. I can understand if a student says that they were an All-state champion in Lacrosse when they merely were a benchwarmer for the JV team, and sucked when they got to college, but not if someone merely upgrades from jv to varsity. That's a terrible thing to do, but what would motivate a college to check if the kid isn't even on the NCAA team?</p>
<p>well, the things they are rescinded over are probably really obvious - maybe like track times or something?</p>
<p>The young lady who killed her mother had extenuating circumstances involving this terrible tragedy. She did her time in a juvenile center. The problem was not just that she had left out that part of her life. There apparently is a direct question on the Harvard application that she did not honestly answer. Any time you lie on the application, and are caught puts you at great risk for getting kicked out of the college or have an acceptance rescinded. Had this young lady been forthright about her very tragic life, Harvard may well have still accepted her, given her stellar academic performance despite a very adverse living situation that culminated in her mother's murder. When schools ask a direct question, and you directly lie in answering it, makes for a likely denial of any decision. I don't know whether Tufts accepted the young lady despite her lying on the app, or if Tufts did not have any questions on the app that she incorrectly answered. I give Tufts a lot of credit for accepting the young lady if, indeed, the app did not address these issues. They truly acted without predjudice.</p>
<p>Does anyone know what happened in the murder case? Was her mother abusive or something?</p>
<p>Yes. The young lady was an abused child.</p>
<p>Well if you read the article, she didn't lie on the Tufts application. they didn't ask the same question as Harvard did.</p>
<p>there was a kid in my school , who said he was captain of a sports team that he wasnt even on. not only did the ivy he got into rescinded him, but a lot of people hated him.</p>