<p>^^ Schools do verify, even when mentioned in LORs. </p>
<p>My younger DS has a position in a company with responsibilities that do not to fit with a high schooler, but that of a leading executive. Schools did email and call writers of his LORs to verify that the level of involvement he explained in other parts of his application were in fact accurate. </p>
<p>The LOR writers had mentioned his activities, but he had further explained how having that position influenced his education. Schools really wanted to make sure he was not embellishing his responsibilities because they seemed way out of synch for someone his age. We expected that and had given the LOR writers the heads up that they might get contacted, so they were ready. Surprising though how many schools did check. </p>
<p>I would not count on schools checking in the OP’s situation. The key word is many; if it were all, then not issue. It could just be the OP’s luck that none of the schools he applies to are in the “many” that check pool. The more I think of it, I do not think “many” is even operative, not with the thousands of applications today. I come down on the side that the default in most cases is to not check and move on to other candidates who are not questionable. </p>
<p>That said, I agree also they will check if the OP is a strong to very strong candidate. However, if a standard or borderline applicant though, given adcom time constraints, I would not count on my luck they would check. They could easily assume each applicant is lying a bit here and a bit there and end up not trusting either application. </p>
<p>That is a completely different situation than one applicant doing something out of the ordinary; verification of one applicant’s information does not look bad on a school or the applicant. However, two students making the same claims could make adcoms wonder if there are lies in other students’ apps, which are not as blatant, thereby tainting the entire pool. </p>
<p>I would think better to be in front of the situation for the OP’s (and the school’s) sake, than hoping adcoms see the situation in his favor. But that is just me - I never depend on someone hopefully seeing something my way. I tell them my way right up front, so there are no questions of my position.</p>
<p>If you have not discuss this with the girl in question about her intent, then there is really no evidence that she will do this. It could be just trying to get on your nerves or like others say…just a hear-say. So going to the counselor without actually validating this act from the original source might be starting a war that can escalate beyond what you had imagine. We have seen how some high school competition has escalated to very disastrous ending, especially when parents are involved.
So think, plan and act wisely.
Best of luck to you.</p>
<p>I would report the rumors to the GC at the very least. If nothing is done, it was either nothing, or no one cared, but at least you did your part - though you could escalate it up the admin chain at your school if nothing is done and you continue to hear rumors. Do not go to colleges themselves, that’s above your pay grade, except in very special circumstances.</p>
<p>This person may very well get away with it if you don’t at least let someone know of your suspicions. Not all schools will verify - and you don’t know the connections this person has. People like this cheat often because they know they can get away with it - either they’re betting no one will check or that someone high up will cover for them.</p>
<p>True story - a few years back, the school bully at D’s HS got the most prestigious award - because no one bothered to report her up the chain. She had a very powerful family connection for years that covered for her, but had lost that by the time of senior year. She was a real Mean Girl or Eddie Haskell-type, sucked up to adults but routinely abused her fellow students to tears out of view of the adults. One parent I knew finally had enough, tried to report her abusive behavior, but ran into initial roadblocks, and dropped it thinking it would make no difference. When the big award was announced, the parent, and several other parents were just floored - and all not regretted following up. To report her now was going to look like sour grapes - together, their reports could have prevented the award, but now they will forever have to see her mugshot on the school wall - the kid that abused all their kids for years. All because they didn’t think it was their place to keep trying to stop someone like that.</p>
<p>Like the old quote goes, all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.</p>
<p>awcntdb,
You are mincing words. The issue is that the schools, especially the small schools that carefully read apps will likely call if they spot what looks like potential EC dishonesty. YOu said " colleges are not going to waste time trying to figure out who is telling the truth." in response to the OP’s situation, and I am disagreeing with your response, and potentially misleading the OP.</p>
<p>Colleges don’t typically verify EC’s unless they seem unlikely. In the case that two students list the same things, though, they will probably check. In general, OP should be OK if the GC knows that the other student is fibbing. However, to be safe, say something NOW. This shouldn’t have become such a huge thread; OP do what you think is right. Don’t try to spare the other girl’s feelings. Save your butt! </p>
<p>Unless they are reviewing the applications side-by-side it is unlikely the college would even notice two people from the same HS with the same ECs. Even small schools have thousands of applicants. If the EC is not unusual, it would probably not register mentally for them at all. EIC of a school newspaper? One per school x how many schools in their application pool? I think noticing the overlap is more of a needle in the haystack type thing.</p>
<p>If the OP and/or the other student are on the proverbial bubble, they may check. If they are just trying to gain admission to a big school and not competitive for scholarship or whatnot, this may not ever come up at all.</p>
<p>At small school there may be one reader reading apps for a region. If they catch the conflicting info (they certainly may not) but if they do, and they are interested in the applicants, there is a likelihood they will look into it.</p>
<p>Though it is possible that it will be caught, I think it’s extremely unlikely. I’ve known two cases where the wrong recs were sent to schools and the discrepancies betwe the GC’s recs and the applicant’s ECs were not even noticed. Or if they were, just shrugged off. Unless the ECs are such stand outs that they create a cause, most admissions people will just note whether they look truly terrific (national notices and things that make eyes pop–those are easily checked and likely will be), whether it looks good, looks Ok or not much there and is there a reason why (maybe kid has to work or has some single passion). I don’t think they care much if you are editor of the year book, etc. Not a bit.</p>
<p>Most public colleges are numbers driven – they look to a student’s GPA and test scores to admit, deny or watilist and don’t even bother looking at the EC list, guidance counselor’s Secondary School Report (SSR) or teacher recommendations. </p>
<p>In addition, colleges look to your teachers to write about your scholastic potential, and to confirm your leadership abilities and your extracurricular activities in their letters of recommendation – and they expect everything to be in sync. When it’s not, Admissions Directors will pick up the phone and call a guidance counselor to determine the truth. </p>
<p>So, rather than rat-out a fellow student who says they’re going to do something, but has yet to actually submit a document with a falsehood, I would let it go. Let your fellow student hang themselves by misrepresenting their credentials, as colleges often have disclaimers on their applications, like this one:
<p>Yes, if one wanted to be terribly cruel, one could wait until after May 1, then send a note to the college of the perpetrator’s choice, and get their admission rescinded. Or even into 1st semester of their freshman year. Or even have their Harvard degree rescinded. However, the institution in question may not do any of that, and the OP may not wish to inflict such a high punishment. I say just cut it off before it gets any bigger. Let the GC know it may be happening, if they have any integrity at all, and most do, they’ll take the appropriate action, which is most likely telling the potential cheater that if they do it, they won’t sign off on it and it will ruin any applications. Doing it now just looks like you’re protecting your own application process from any complications - doing it later may just look spiteful.</p>
<p>And if she is awarded financial aid of any type, then she is guilty of defrauding both the college and potentially the federal government . . . I’ve seen it prosecuted!</p>
<p>Charging someone with fraud for financial aid would likely require lying on the financial aid documents, not the EC section of the Common App. </p>
<p>One could make a case that fraudulently gaining admission to a college is part of a chain that lead to illegally obtained financial aid, and it would certainly send a message about lying on your college application, but I’m not sure most prosecutors want to go down that road.</p>
<p>Nowadays many highschools are sending information (transcripts, LORs. etc) electronically, so hopefully the risk of the wrong recc going in the wrong file is reduced.</p>
<p>I served on a scholarship committee some 20 years ago. Did not have anything close to the volume of apps even the smallest selective schools get. I can tell you that even back then when my mind acuity was up there, and I did read each app very carefully I doubt I’d have noticed any overlap of claims in ECs, and really, they were not so heavily counted. it’s not like we said, "wow, yearbook editior, or concertmaster. Nope. It had to really stick out to get a heavy count. We just pretty much looked for “print” in the EC s section and if something really stood out. Most kids filled that section with the same old, same old, and they could have interchanged each other’s ECs for all we cared. So it goes with most selective colleges and the not so selective ones, just glaze over them and the big schools don’t care. If you are good enough that your EC or skill is needed by the school, that’s a whole different story, but otherwise, one just skims those things.</p>
<p>Yes, the LORs are now often sent electronically, I noticed with my one son, Jym. As are the apps, common apps too,and with them, you don’t have the hard copy in hand to as easily compare. the amount of time an app gets is usually very small and unless something flags or catches attention, it really doesn’t count much anyways.</p>
<p>But it doesn’t hurt to let the GC know what the “word on the street is” so that the GC might say a word or two or warning to that student and possibly end all of this. I really don’t think this is a big deal. </p>
<p>Sorry, but wow. Lots of pitchforks in the air for something that was essentially heard through the grapevine. If her “friends” are the source of the information…they can’t be very good friends if they are telling her tales around the school, which makes me question the reliability of the information. If it were my kid, before I encouraged him to storm any bastilles, I would suggest that he go to the source, share what he “heard” and give the other student the opportunity to either make it right, or know that there would be consequences if they didn’t.</p>
<p>This is where I come down. To say nothing, especially if there are early many people saying it to the OP, would be putting one’s head in the sand. This way, if something does happen with a selective college, the GC knows who to support without hesitation.</p>
<p>Definitely reach out to your guidance counselor.</p>
<p>But don’t worry too much about applying to the same colleges. The regional rep for your school generally will read the pile of applications for your school together–and if s/he sees identical ECs on multiple applications, it’s a simple matter to do a quick Google search or make a quick call the the guidance counselor to ask a few pointed questions. At which point your classmate may have disqualified herself. And might get called in to visit the GC. Who might have a different opinion of her that may be expressed if she is asked any questions by admissions people.</p>