<p>I hate those ppl who lied about their ECs,especially when the adm. officers couldn't find out.I know that if an EC which a person can lie about is not really going to help the outcome anyway,it's still not fair for other ppl :/</p>
<p>Ive heard of 2 people who had serious lies. some girl that was a treasurer and put herself as a president on her college app. and another guy who legitimately set up a non-profit organization, but gave him self 500+ hours of volunteer hours.</p>
<p>I know … they are the same people who cheated on hard tests in high school because they were too afraid to risk their perfect GPAs.</p>
<p>Yep. Usually people don’t “full out” lie, but they vastly exaggerate.</p>
<p>Isn’t it recorded that 70-80% or some ridiculous number of people have cheated on tests and stuff…</p>
<p>This is why I always doubt the validity of people who claim to be club officers…President of 6 clubs huh? My ass</p>
<p>do these people EVER get caught? 1 girl was “presdient” of 6 clubs and she’s at duke now…</p>
<p>“Presdient” lol.</p>
<p>there are students who tend to “brag” about their achievement, but those who truly exaggerate are really annoying</p>
<p>don’t be pulling steam out of your head now :D</p>
<p>It’s all good. In ten years, they will be incompetent losers in the workforce.</p>
<p>But, I really am curious. Do college applications work on some sort of “honor” code? Do they just trust the students to tell the truth? Do they EVER check up on anything?</p>
<p>Yeah, henry, you beat me to it. I know this sounds like a typical parent lecture, but trust me, it’s true: Liars and cheaters pay for it in the end. Look at it this way: Those who got “rewarded” for lying on college apps will naturally decide that that’s how you succeed in life. When they leave college, get jobs, get married, they’ll continue on that path. And sooner or later, it will all come tumbling down. Don’t be mad or jealous; someday you’ll be glad you played it straight. Plus, you’ll sleep better at night – cheaters and liars worry every day of their lives that someone will find out.</p>
<p>Basically.
^
| is spot on. </p>
<p>If it looks fishy, I think colleges will investigate it, but being president of 6 clubs kinda prevents you from making a real contribution to any one of them anyway, and I would hope that colleges would acknowledge that.</p>
<p>To natim1, I think the Ivies do work on the honor system. I was at a Harvard presentation a week or so ago and the AO said he didn’t want us to send in verification because that would be overload for the adcoms – they just trust us when we say we did a certain EC. That being said, I do think they have a list of, say, the Intel winners that they can cross-reference. I’ve also heard that the UC’s do random check-ups. Beyond that, I’m not sure.</p>
<p>As for my take on the lying about the EC’s, I doubt very many people actually blatantly lie (as in saying something they didn’t really do). The risk is simply too high. As for exaggerating, I would think that’s fairly commonplace. You’re supposed to sell yourself in the best possible light. Wording things favorably or adding detail to make yourself look more accomplished, to me, shouldn’t really provoke anger as just about everyone is doing that. They’re not claiming to do something they didn’t do, but are merely presenting it better. </p>
<p>As for those who do blatantly lie, I would imagine they’re under some high-pressure circumstances (parents want them to go to some Ivy League, incredibly ambitious, need-to-impress others, etc. etc.) Though I don’t condone lying on the app, I can sympathize with the stress they’re probably under. Honestly, sometimes I wish EC’s didn’t play the role they do now (just make tests more difficult and place greater emphasis on those) – it would be a lot less stress on a lot of people and it would eliminate this problem. It would also filter out the superficial participants who are doing the EC for the sake of college app and allow those who are truly passionate about it to do it. </p>
<p>Regarding what LasMa said, I find that to be highly idealistic and way too black and white for an issue that is far more complex. Although we all wish the whole cheaters-will-be-caught-eventually saying were true, I don’t believe it is. Sometimes in life, it all depends on who is more resourceful with their “cheating” – it’s just the way reality is. No, it doesn’t always come crashing down on them either. Life isn’t always fair. Also, I don’t know about sleeping better at night. Chronic liars/cheaters, I imagine, are those who are remorseless and guiltless. I doubt they have much trouble sleeping either. That being said, I still prefer to sleep better without the burden of a lie, but that’s just me.</p>
<p>Just my two cents.</p>
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<p>Actually, they will be the successful ones while the ones that waste all their time whining end up unsuccessful. Anyways, I’m sure that the person that was “president” of six clubs had other notable achievements to back up their acceptance.Its not like they had an 1200 and a 2.0 GPA and that their ECs were the dealbreaker. Besides, being president of a club doesnt even count that much. Its ECs like Intel First Place and other awards you cant lie about that spark attention.</p>
<p>This thread is great, because it illustrates how much time people will put into worrying about what happens to other people.</p>
<p>Among Kei’s Rules for Life are these:</p>
<p>We hope Karma happens in their lifetimes, but it doesn’t always work out that way.</p>
<p>Sometimes cheaters and liars win.</p>
<p>Don’t get mad, get even: live the life you want to live.</p>
<p>Kei</p>
<p>And, as the Dalai Lama reputedly says, learn how to break the rules properly :-)</p>
<p>Actually I sort of agree with LasMa. Although everything may not come crashing down and I’m sure they don’t stay up till four in the morning thinking about what they’ve done, they will pay for it in some way or another, though perhaps not as much as you think they deserve. If you cheated on tests to get through high school, you’ll find it difficult to do as well as your non-cheating peers at top schools. If you lied about leadership, you’ll find yourself just in the same position as if you didn’t, working for other people. The list goes on and on. And these people tend to be too arrogant and just let something slip-which can have big consequences. That’s the reason why cheating is punished so heavily at college-not because copying homework once deserves suspension-but because you’ve no doubt done it tens, perhaps hundreds of times, and gotten away with it. Besides, really honest people wouldn’t have it any other way, since they wouldn’t be able to be happy with themselves otherwise. ;)</p>
<p>If you flat out lie, like say you’re captain or treasurer or pres when you’re not, or say you’re a national merit finalist if you’re not, then that’s not ok.
however, it is ok to put yourself in the best light</p>
<p>heh reminds me of when our tennis JV captain asked our coach if he should write JV captain or varsity player on his college app (because he plays varsity if somebody is absent). Our coach said “just say you’re captain, don’t specify which team” XD</p>
<p>@ MeSsIaH.</p>
<p>I just fell out of my chair laughing. Did he end up doing just that? Wouldn’t colleges see that as really fishy?</p>