<p>Some people declare so many extracurriculars. I think that some of them simply bull***t colleges, writing many things that they haven't done in their lifetime. Hence the question: do colleges verify extracurriculars of international students? Same question relating recommendations of teachers/employers/religious mentors/etc. What if a student wrote a letter of recommendation by himself?</p>
<p>Schools do make an effort to determine the authenticity of specifics on international applications. They spot check and verify information in a variety of ways. </p>
<p>Many foreign applicants use an intermediary to help them with the process and some of these are more reputable than others.</p>
<p>The New York Times wrote an article a couple years ago about the problem of fraud among Chinese applicants to US universities: <a href=“The China Conundrum - The New York Times”>The China Conundrum - The New York Times;
<p>niceday, I’ve read this stuff. Major emphasis of the article of this kind that those frauds actually get in constantly =))</p>
<p>Problem is: accomplishments of the sort that do actually open doors (like winning the international math olympiad) are easy to verify. ECs that cannot be verified (like whether you actually practice the violin for 2 hours each day) tend not to have a huge impact on admissions either.</p>
<p>You are forgetting one thing. there are essays and LOR which will reveal a lot about yourself.</p>
<p>be honest mostly to others and to yourself</p>