My daughter feels and so do I feel betrayed by this admission process. We know a neighbor of ours who created a fake charity group and fake helping poor and environment group . She (Neighbor daughter) already got in Duke/UCLA/UC Berkeley. They are hoping for Ivy day decision and feel like they will get in one of those as well.
I wish college see through this glitz and fake packaging they created, or else we just lost hope being honest in this college admission process.
A mom from NC
Stop watching or caring what your neighbors do.
Hi @Pizzagirl - I totally agree and that’s my advice to my daughter as well. I believe in God and at the end truth will prevail.
A lot of people, confronted with circumstances like this, say “Ignore it - colleges are smart enough to figure these things out.” I don’t think that’s the case, and I don’t see why honest applicants should lose out due to behavior like this.
You should be absolutely sure this is actually a fake group, and this person really did include it in her applications. If so, it would be a good idea to bring it to the attention of your school’s guidance counselor. Application fraud harms the school as well, if an applicant is later found out and that casts doubt on any student from your HS in the future, so he/she may well take action. Don’t write an anonymous note to the admissions office that says “check applicant X’s ECs” - this is unlikely to have any effect, and you should be certain enough of what you’re saying to feel comfortable going “on the record.”
At the end of the day, this family has made a truly idiotic decision. Diplomas can be revoked well after you graduate. She could be 50, a partner at a law firm, and suddenly lose her degree. She could be a doctor on the verge of retirement, lose her licence, and face all manner of lawsuits. She could be three years into college, having paid $150,000 in tuition, and be asked to leave. Even if she’s never caught, that risk will always be there.
S said the same thing about the National Honor Society. Very sad. I feel that all of this service stuff is hollow. Catholic schools push it and I observe that most of it is a lot of standing around.
@LisaNCState , I don’t believe in God, but I do believe that a student’s character will usually eventually surface. But, it’s not my problem. Something I do with my kids when these kinds of perceived injustices pop up is to ask them whether they’d trade places with them.
Hi @NotVerySmart - If Duke can not figure it out ( I understand UCs since they are public and don’t do check throughly like private colleges do. ) not sure others will. We are good friends so not sure I can go on “record” and complaint but it pains me to see they ready to go any length to get in.
It really stinks, but I agree that these things tend to catch up with people.
You just have to run your own race and do what you think is right.
I would rather not get in than live with the guilt of doing something like that (if, in fact, it’s true).
Hi @bopper - My daughter has higher GPA and 20 points more on SAT
Thank you @SouthFloridaMom9 - I agree
It’s annoying that people cheat, but you should consider that it’s very unlikely that a single [fake] charity was solely responsible for this student’s admission.
You can console yourself with the fact that the statistical correlation between professional success and where one attended college is quite low.
When my brother and I were young, my mother used to tell us, “Keep your eyes on your own plate.” I think this is a situation where it is best to do the same.
It may catch up with her or not, but I don’t think you need to feel it’s your duty to report it.
It’s frustrating now, but soon enough your daughter will have an admission to rejoice over, and life will move on.
I probably should’ve made myself clearer. What I’m saying is that you should be willing to speak to a GC personally and let them know about your concerns, rather than send unsigned letters left, right, and center. The GC can then look into the matter, and may well let these universities know. It’s not in his/her interest for your daughter’s HS to be blacklisted when this student’s lies are revealed. Speaking to the GC - so he/she knows exactly who’s making this statement - is different from declaring for all the world to hear “X is a filthy, no-good, liar and I call on you to ostracize her.”
I won’t tell you how to choose your friends, but…
@NUwildcat92 - I agree that single charity can’t be sole factor for these acceptance however my daughter busted for her ECs while these people created a group and visited foreign country and took couple of pictures (and posted on their website) handing out clothes etc. We know for sure it was a family vacation not a charity trip.
@NotVerySmart - We really cut it down on our friendship when we first saw this blatant lie they created. I will never consider them as our true friends any more. If they can do this who know what they are capable of.
Thank you all - I don’t want to sound grapes are sour. We will keep doing what is right and God will help us.
@LisaNCState No one is getting into UCLA or Berkeley because they created a charity. They are getting in because they have a GPA and a test score that meets a minimum threshold and they represent $38,000 in tuition to the UC system. It’s very unlikely Duke is letting someone in just because of a charity.
Whatever you do, please do not insert yourself into this situation or involve the school GC. Your kid will be ostracized forever, you don’t know the whole situation, and frankly it’s none of your business. If your kid has similar or better stats, your kid will have some great opportunities too.
If I were compelled to report a situation like this, I would NOT drag a third-party GC into this. Any more than if I thought you bought stolen goods, I wouldn’t notify the bank teller where you withdrew your funds. The GC has nothing to do with anything.
@LisaNCState I understand your frustration, and it stinks that folks will cheat. You do realize though your daughter could be rejected and the neighbor could be accepted absent of the fake charity?
Every year this happens, a parent and/or child is disappointed a kid lower stats got in to a particular school. NONE of these schools accept applicants strictly based on test scores/gpa. Check some of the other threads that have already released decisions. There are so many kids that post lower stats that with acceptances, and higher stats with rejections. Its a holistic process, you never know what the school is looking for.