<p>It’s fascinating how, if I were to live abroad, I could find a community of expats or others who could clue me in to how things are done in other countries. But some other cultures never seem to amass those resources. Just goes to show, “smart” isn’t just all about SAt scores.</p>
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Not sure what the take home message is . * cheating and spending big bucks may not get your kid into Harvard but does work for schools a few rungs down the ladder???*</p>
<p>It seems the “consultant” didn’t pass the money on, so the college was not bribed.</p>
<p>I’m shocked, shocked, that the middleman would steal the bribes.</p>
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<p>Or maybe it might have worked at Harvard if they had the opportunity to give directly. The article did say that Zimny failed to donate money to Harvard on their behalf.</p>
<p>A logical question is, how many other families fell victim to Zimny?</p>
<p>The irony is that the schools their boys attended, BB&N and Loomis Chaffe, have strong tutoring and college advising programs. They really didn’t need an outside consultant. Roughly 1 in 5 BB&N graduates ends up at an Ivy anyway.</p>
<p>As to whether the parents were as clueless as they claim to be, I can believe it. I’ve sat in prep school admissions waiting rooms with Asian parents who, while clearly wealthy, didn’t seem to speak much English and looked shell shocked. The Chows were doubtless looking for the kind of inside information American parents and students come to places like CC to find. What EC’s will get my kid noticed? If I give a million to Harvard and my kid has a 3.5 will they admit him? If a Chinese college consultant told me they could get my child into a top Chinese university by greasing a few palms I would have no clue as to whether it was true or not. Would you?</p>
<p>I think their bigger fault is being focussed on the Ivy League to the exclusion of all the other wonderful schools out there. Had they not been so anxious about getting their boys into the absolutely top schools, and so willing to do anything to guarantee admission, they might not have made such easy prey for this shyster.</p>
<p>For a look at Ivy League obsession among Asian-American parents:
[Ivy</a> Dreams 1/10 Intro - YouTube](<a href=“Ivy Dreams 1/10 Intro - Asians Documentary - YouTube”>Ivy Dreams 1/10 Intro - Asians Documentary - YouTube)</p>
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<p>I wouldn’t, but the point is - because I have this little thing known as problem-solving skills combined with the mindset that gee, maybe not all countries operate the same as my own, I’d figure out that I needed to get a hold of current American citizens living in China and find out what the true story was. </p>
<p>Again, it’s fascinating to me that they all seem to make the same “mistake” of overvaluing the Ivy League again, and again, and again. Really - no one ever goes back to the homeland and says, “Hey, guys, I knew you thought that in America, the Ivy League was the golden ticket to happiness, but it really doesn’t work that way over there?” I’m forced to come up with the conclusion that problem-solving and introspection aren’t valued.</p>
<p>I’m reading the “plan” pdf. I can well understand someone from another culture falling prey to such a scam. Zimny states in the plan that Ivy colleges only deal with middlemen when admitting the children of wealthy foreigners. Many businesses have branch offices to deal with customs, etc., so someone coming from a foreign culture might find it quite reasonable that they need a middleman.</p>
<p>Don’t forget Zimny did teach at Harvard. He could quite credibly present himself as an insider.
[quote]
The Harvard line on his r</p>
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<p>That’s why it’s a perfect scam. Offer to sell parents services they don’t need, then claim success when the kids get into an elite college.</p>
<p>Or it could become a “simple” fraud case–did he really invest their money or just use it to support his lifestyle.</p>
<p>“I’d figure out that I needed to get a hold of current American citizens living in China and find out what the true story was.”</p>
<p>Pizzagirl-
If a parent came to you and asked what the magic numbers are to get your kid into Cornell would you know? Is it a million dollars with a 3.6 and 2000 SATs, or perhaps 100 thousand with a 3.7 and 2200 SATs? Zimny passed himself off as an expert, someone familiar with the gatekeepers at elite institutions. The Chows met him at the graduation ceremony at Eaglebrook, itself an elite prep, and as Periwinkle notes, he had the bona fides to pass himself off as an expert.</p>
<p>I don’t find it shocking that really rich people would spend a couple of million bucks to get their kids into Harvard. If they’re rich enough, they might spend more than that on landscaping.</p>
<p>The Chows may want to look at this as a blessing in disguise if their kids happen to be extremely mediocre academically. </p>
<p>One older relative happened to know a literary figure widely renowned within the Sinosphere and to some extent, internationally among Chinese literature fans. His son got admitted to one of the Ivies a few decades ago mainly because of his father’s fame. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, it seems the son ended up being so overwhelmed by the freshman undergrad workload that he ended up committing suicide before the year was out. My older relative happened to see him and greeted him by asking “What brings you back to the states”. Turns out he was there to go to the campus for the sad task of picking up his son’s body and effects so he could take them home for a family funeral. :(</p>
<p>The only difference in that story and the Chows was that this literary figure’s son attended private prep school in Hong Kong before heading off to that Ivy and there was no money exchanges involved. </p>
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<p>Agreed. If anything, the European and East Asian systems are perceived by most internationals as far less corrupt and open to “political influence” than the US private college higher-ed admissions. </p>
<p>One side effect of this…especially in East Asia is that university admissions become far too competitive* so a lot of rich and powerful parents who don’t want to subject their darling kids to all that prefer to send them abroad…especially to US universities where the “soft factors” like ECs, geographic diversity, position/wealth of parent could play a favorable part. </p>
<p>It’s also a reason why I’ve witnessed situations where international grad students from East Asian countries who did their undergrad in indigenous top colleges tended to look contemptuously upon fellow compatriots who happen to be undergrads on the same campus…including a few elite/Ivy ones. </p>
<p>The common idea among the former group was those undergrads were academic lightweights who used their family’s money and influence to access a golden laden backdoor to academic prestige. </p>
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<li>In 2007, slightly less than 50% of the Mainland Chinese National College entrance exam applicants scored high enough to gain admission to ANY college. Of the ones admitted, only a tiny minority ever goes to topflight Chinese colleges like Tsinghua, Beijing U, Fudan, Nanjing, Shanghai Jiaotong(Engineers), etc.</li>
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<p>Yes, because everyone always walks around being “contemptuous” of others’ choices in almost every situation. That’s how the world works. Yep.</p>
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<li><p>Not all ex-pat communities…especially those from 2 or more decades ago are necessarily clued into “how those things work”. Western ex-pats have had a historical tendency to wall themselves off from the locals socially, overwhelmingly prefer to send their kids back to the West for higher education, and may spend several decades in those countries and not even master the basics of their foreign language…including saying “Hello”. Older relatives and their Western missionary/business friends have told countless amusing stories of such ignorance among Western ex-pats…including fellow missionaries/businesspeople.</p></li>
<li><p>There may not always be an ex-pat community to turn to because of unavailability or that community is severely divided due to culture shock, politics from country of origin, dialect, social class, or other fracturing factors. The Chinese community here in the US has had that history going back a century and half. Speaking of dialects…the difference between Chinese dialects could be as starkly different as English versus Czech…not Southern US/California Valley versus Boston/old NYC accents. </p></li>
<li><p>Your level of international adaptability has only become widely accepted even among a critical mass of Americans within the last 20-30 years. Even then, I’ve witnessed countless examples of idiotic American tourists abroad who feel something’s untoward because things aren’t done the “American way” or because they feel offended that no one can speak English. Some friends have even seen/eyerolled over other American tourists going so far as to call on US Constitutional rights while being arrested in foreign countries. </p></li>
<li><p>Everyone has varying thresholds in being able to take stress…including that from being in a foreign country/environment. Some have a far lower threshold than you and as a result…forget all their acquired adaptability skills when that stress threshold is exceeded. All hail PG and in her absolute perfection. 
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<li><p>Most of the world has been geared for English speakers due to the influences of the British and Americans over the last century and half. In short, it’s much easier to be an English speaker going to China or Japan…especially the urban parts than it is in reverse. I don’t see nearly the same frequency of Chinese signs even here in “international” NYC as I saw English signs in Taipei or even Mainland Chinese city of Xi’an while I was there in the late '90s. </p></li>
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<p>Moreover, unless I’m missing something…there’s not too many Americans who have mastered a foreign language to the point of being helpful with simple directions or the like. Heck, there’s still parts of the US like parts of the Midwest IME and from friends’ experience…large rural parts of the US where you can be harassed for speaking in a foreign language.</p>
<p>I feel like I need to go shower after reading the article - slimy on both sides.</p>
<p>“I seriously doubt this is true in most of Europe, and it is definitely not true in China. Through there is still regional inequities (some provinces/metropolis, like Beijing and Shanghai, are allotted more seats per number of applicants), in China, college admission is one place (and maybe the only time in one’s lifetime) that everyone competes fairly.”</p>
<p>If it is as I remember, entrance to the large state universities are by exam, and the exams are numbered - one’s name isn’t even on it.</p>
<p>Well, cobrat, I’m not a proponent of becoming an expat and not fully learning the local language and customs. But I’m also not a proponent of WILLFULLY believing that things in the new country “have” to be the same way as they were done in my home country. It takes a special level of lack-of-adaptability to not be able to even entertain the notion.</p>
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<p>Of the “really rich” people I know, few are concentrating on getting their kids into Harvard, precisely because the kids can take over daddy’s business just as well with or without a Harvard degree. Indeed, they can let the kid slack off on Party-On U for all it matters - it’s not going to make a difference.</p>