<p>This really makes me wonder how fabricated other applicants’ resumes are. If his phenomenal resume got by Harvard and Stanford I wonder how many less illustrious, but just as fabricated, resumes have allowed lesser qualified candidates to be accepted to elite schools and scholarship programs, without raising an eyebrow.</p>
<p>I also think that this is a sad reflection on how competitive our society has become and how polished our teenagers have to appear, even if it is a sham. Really, how can a normal kid with great grades, test scores, EC’s and an honest resume compete against the level Wheeler convinced others he was at?</p>
<p>Exactly, none of us knows what this guy submitted to Stanford. We cannot assume that the information sent to Yale matches what Stanford saw. It is obvious that the college application process still relies on a honor system. </p>
<p>One lesson, however, is that the person DID get caught in the end.</p>
<p>Yes, the admission system relies mostly on the honor system, when not all applicants act honorably. It’s commendable when colleges check the facts.</p>
<p>^ No kidding. I think its only a matter of time before the house of cards comes crashing down on this ridiculous admissions system. Great goals its had, to look at the whole student, but with less and less opportunity for verification (given the numbers), great difficulty to discern true individual merit (how do you know who wrote the essay, how much the science project was the student’s inspiration), and increasing pressures to ‘compete’ for some top X brand of college- and, well, it just seems like cheating is going to be incredibly high. Just looking at the high level of cheating among college students IN college (lots of data on this), the kind of ethics logic you read from students on CC, and witness the actions of politicans, sports figures, credit rating agencies and bankers…and well, I’m not hopeful college applicants will be at any higher level of morality.</p>
<p>This is an interesting discussion because my kids always complained that cheating was rampant in high school. I thought they were exaggerating until I got into a discussion with several friends-- and they all seemed to think that ‘editing’ their kids’ high school and college papers was acceptable. Really? My poor kids wrote them on their own and got feedback from the teachers. I never knew they were competing against mom and dad’s proofreading service (and many of those parents have grad degrees).</p>
<p>What’s truly hilarious is that there are many people who think the “top” schools are “amazingly great.” I think Mr. Wheeler should start a “college admission prep” company.</p>