<p>Surely she has a lot of experience from her many years in admissions, and she has been described as a nice person. No one is saying that she didn’t mean well, but perhaps if in these past 2 years she’d have gone back to school to get some college counseling certification to have some credentials to go along with her experience, that might be more meaningful. The article says she “remains committed to the mission of taking the stress out of college admissions. And to that end, she is consulting with parents, sometimes offering reduced fees, sometimes charging about $500 for a three-hour session, plus unlimited e-mail messages.” A “reduced” fee of almost $170/hr is still a nice income. It is unfortunate that she got divorced and cut herself off from all her former work colleagues and friends. Yes, she has every right to make a living, and since she is not required to have a licence or certification to hang a shingle outside her door, then she can do what she is doing. It would, IMO, just be a little more palatable if she had elected to get some formal training/certification to give it a bit more credibility. </p>
<p>And its lovely that she wants to do volunteer work with teen cancer survivors. Many of us do lots of volunteer work. That is as it should be.</p>
<p>Kei-
I wonder if Marilee had been a member of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors, and if so, what the requirements for membership are. If she was a member, and if her membership was revoked, I’d wonder what they would ask her to do in order to be reconsidered fro membership inthe organization. What they would expect/require in order to qualify for membership is what I’d like to see her do. Does that make sense?</p>
<p>I am speechless at what she’s doing. I imagine that if colleges find out that a student has used her services, that would be the kiss of death to an application. Anyone would wonder about the judgement of a person who would use as a college consultant a person whose career was built on a faked resume.</p>
<p>Since there is no formal licensing board, there may not be a formal review process with sanctions, requirements, etc., like there might be if someone had a professional license restricted, suspended or lost. Sometimes licensing boards do things like require continuing education, supervision of work, ethics training, etc. These would be a good place to start.</p>
<p>I’m with Northstarmom. The fraud first occurred when she was a full-grown adult and continued for almost 30 years. She was actively perpetuating this fraud (allowing herself to be listed as “Marilee Jones, PhD” when she spoke at conferences) as recently as three years ago.</p>
<p>If she’d faked something on her college app at age 18, or cheated on an exam during college, I would be more apt to conclude that she had grown into a trustworthy person. People are weak, and we screw up sometimes. But this wasn’t a one-time mistake. It was a way of life.</p>
<p>Speaking as a competitor, I’m pretty disgusted that families would hire her instead of an honest member of our profession. I don’t believe she ought to be in a position of responsibility, influencing how students present themselves to colleges. There are a lot of other ways to make a living.</p>
<p>Speaking as a lawyer, if someone was practicing law without a law degree for 20 years, there would be no “rehabilitation” process within the bar. You’re done. Time to find a new field.</p>
<p>I know some of the observations here are a bit harsh. That’s because of the tone of the NYT piece. (btw:–is there any doubt that she is reading this thread?)</p>
<p>The Times piece would have served her better to omit the gratuitous “I’ve been approached by schools wanting to hire me as an admissions officer” but I don’t want to work that hard for institutions that are beneath me." (My translation, but accurate, I think.)</p>
<p>She should have addressed her transgression (again) and said something like " I am filled with unrelenting regret over my original misrepresentations, and over my recurring failure to correct them. I would urge any young person who might be tempted in similar circumstance to recognize that the level of long term regret will far exceed the short term gain from such lapses in self control. I loved the job that it cost me, and I probably will never be able to do it again. "</p>
<p>And if she wants to be hired somewhere, she should talk about how much she misses doing the nuts and bolts and blocking and tackling of the job…not about how she doesn’t want to work that hard. Those who are 58 have a hard enough time with that image without holding up a sign saying that’s how you feel. </p>
<p>The fact is that there are probably more than a few schools out there who would be willing to employ her in various capacities. The Berklee guy said she’d been great.</p>
<p>It’s just going to be a little tough to overcome the reason(s) for not hiring her in the competition for senior level spots at elite colleges. She probably can get a job within the next year or so at a much different type of institution. Maybe she makes more than that consulting.</p>
<p>I would take issue with the assessment that
she was a good dean. I know many of the things
she said really grated on alums. I also remember
the “MIT admissions are a complete joke” thread
was started well before she was found out two
years ago. If she did such a great job, why was
that thread so active while she was still at the helm?</p>
<p>If I recall correctly, it was the undergraduate degree that she initially lied about completing, then went on to add graduate degrees without even being enrolled!</p>
<p>If this doesn’t fly in the face of academic honesty, I don’t know what does. It is a complete betrayal of the standards she espoused, and was in charge of upholding. She is beyond contempt, IMO.</p>
<p>How exactly was she a “good dean?” What did she do that was so exceptional in her field that she is still in demand as a consultant? I’m not trying to be snarky, I wish someone would expand on her accomplishments. I know she did talk and write about making the admissions process less stressful, but I don’t see that this had any real effect, even at MIT. It seems that she only proved you don’t need any particular credentials to succeed in the admissions profession, but then again, I’m curious about why she was considered to be such a success in the first place, aside from what struck me as a gift for self-promotion. Honestly, what’s so difficult about being a Director of Admissions at a place where so many kids want to apply anyway?</p>
<p>I must be one of the more forgiving posters but wonder why I’m surprised at some of the vitriole considering the context of these forums. Her messages during her tenure at MIT were great messages and from all reasonable sources she did a “good job” at her job. I think it’s unfortunate that she lied on her resume although it was something that was much easier to do 30 years ago than it is today. I think it’s unfortunate that she couldn’t have quiety “fessed up” somewhere down the line and spared the college the public negative PR. I see nothing wrong with her continuing privately counseling potential college students about something she clearly understands and from all account “was good at.” Because the “education” industry is so credential driven I doubt she could ever return as the “face of some collegiate admissions team”, but for her to carve out a career path outside the walls of a particular college or university doesn’t bother me in the least. At the very least she’s learned that these types of lies do bite you in the butt, even decades later, and if anything that lesson will be born on those she counsels and that is not necessarily a “bad thing.”</p>
<p>Clearly. And unfortunately “ethics” hasn’t been something that’s been revered in our society for several decades…winning at all cost has been revered. I don’t condone it on any level but I also have great capacity for forgiveness…maybe too much.</p>
Maybe it’s unfair to single out this sentence, but I will admit I am bothered by its ethical implications. It was not “unfortunate” that Jones lied on her resume, it was wrong. “Unfortunate” would be if she told the truth but the college she got her degree from somehow lost the record of it and made her look like a liar. </p>
<p>People every day accept limitations imposed on their choices by the necessity of telling the truth. People give up jobs, relationships, money, opportunities of all kinds, because they would have to lie to get them. Jones chose not to do that. The fact that it was “easier to do 30 years ago than it is today” really has nothing to do with anything.</p>
<p>None of us is perfect. We have all done wrong things, and we are all entitled to hope for forgiveness if we are sorry for what we have done. But forgiveness is one thing, and glossing over wrongdoing as “unfortunate” and suggesting it’s understandable because of how easy it was to do at the time is something else entirely.</p>
<p>I’m especially troubled that she has “put it behind her” and won’t talk about it any more. That’s crap. It’s relevant to her current work, and she needs to address it on an ongoing basis.</p>
<p>Parents who consider hiring me are perfectly justified in asking me about flunking out of high school and how I will avoid teaching their kids that they can blow off high school and still get to Harvard. That’s a valid question, and I answer it. Parents should expect that kind of openness from a consultant, and so should the consultant’s marketing director, AKA the NY Times.</p>
<p>I won’t link to her website here, but suffice it to say that while she makes much of her career at MIT, the phrase “resigned in disgrace” does not appear anywhere. You will not find me trading on the prestige of my expensive private high school while neglecting to mention the ugly circumstances of my departure.</p>
<p>I could accept her if she made right the wrong she committed - if she undid the lie, in other words if she went back and actually earned all the degrees she had been claiming all those years.</p>
<p>“I could accept her if she made right the wrong she committed - if she undid the lie, in other words if she went back and actually earned all the degrees she had been claiming all those years.”</p>
<p>I also think she should be publicly honest about how she lied about her background, and that info should be included on her website.</p>