Lying on your application

[Bartleby007]

<p>Over the years, I’ve heard numerous stories of high school applicants embellishing/fabricating items on their college applications – all from second- or third-hand, fairly unreliable sources. Usually the source is the parent of a higher academically ranked student at the same school who didn’t get great admissions results. The stories are wide-ranging: students adding Varsity letters, saying that they played a Varsity sport when they only managed the team, purporting to have been awarded various sports accolades (MVP, All-League selection), winning non-existent science/musical performance titles, etc. I’m not sure what to think of all this. Kids say goofy things to each other – sometimes out of modesty, sometimes out of insecurity. It’s certainly possible that the information passed down through many hands is inaccurate.</p>

<p>Do some people lie on their college applications? Probably. I do think that some sort of mechanism should be in place to keep kids honest. I doubt that the top-tier universities invest significant resources in auditing the applications of high school kids they admit. Perhaps several of these awards/titles/honors could be added to the student’s official transcript. It would be very easy to add any items that are school-affiliated (sports participation, choir, clubs, etc.) along with leadership distinctions. At least then, a guidance counselor (hopefully a trustworthy adult) could serve as a “check” in the system.</p>

[Finnlet]

<p>

For schools that require LORs, it’s a bit easier to tell the real achievers from the frauds, as the letters from teachers and counselor should match the student’s account of their achievements.

</p>

<p>Unless you’re dealing with a case I saw as a senior. A student wrote her letter of recommendation and presented it to the teacher for his signature. In my presence, he glanced at it, signed it, and sent her on her merry way. I have no idea what the letter said, but, given this student’s track record, I’m sure it contained ample exaggerations. When you mix teachers who are willing to condone this behavior with the students who practice it, the fraud is easy to pull off. </p>

<p>(This girl was still rejected from the Ivies at which she thought she was a shoo-in, but she went to JHU and was recently accepted to a UChicago grad program. I have no doubt that her ethics are the same)</p>

[collegevetting]

<p>

Mrs. Miller, a piano teacher, didn’t like that none of her students were ever selected for the concert society, so she “founded” the Miller Concert Series. Each of her students gave a recital in the Miller Concert Series.

</p>

<p>=)) </p>

[collegealum314]

<p>

Mrs. Miller, a piano teacher, didn’t like that none of her students were ever selected for the concert society, so she “founded” the Miller Concert Series. Each of her students gave a recital in the Miller Concert Series.</p>

<p>=))

</p>

<p>Ha! It sounds something in the joke section of Reader’s Digest.</p>

[SomeOldGuy]

<p>And Mrs Miller’s less talented students were the first performers in the Miller Lite Concert Series. </p>