Transcript Forgery Concerns (Serious Inquiry)

Parents Forum
81

<p>From the OP's description it sounds like there is already quite extensive evidence of the fraud (and a confession from the student). All that really needs to happen is for the high school to check what transcripts the colleges have (the college could just fax a copy of what they have back) and then it would be quite obvious if the fraud took place or not. </p>

<p>The evidence in this case seems quite set in stone and just needs someone to compare it and see if it's all legit or not. Either the transcripts match or they've been forged and don't match.</p>

82

<p>There was a boy in my daughter's grade 2 years ago who paid someone to take the SAT's for him. He was discovered and expelled by the principal on the spot.</p>

<p>The boy you mention clearly was intelligent enough to excel on his SAT's yet too lazy to work hard to earn good grades. He is a freeloader, liar and cheat. He should not be allowed to get off impersonating himself as a serious student and at someone else's expense--a place at a good school. He is immature and needs to learn the reality of life. Give him a choice: You tell his principal or his parents.</p>

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<p>I feel for you, Concerneddad. I too have faced the dilemma of whether to tell parents when I know a teen has done something inappropriate. On one hand, if it were my kid I'd want to know. On the other, I fear the parent hating and blaming me. But the "crime" I would have informed them about has never been anywhere near this major. You're damned if you do and damned if you don't. </p>

<p>The important thing for you to remember is that none of this is your fault. Even if you call and "rat out" the kid tomorrow, the blame should fall on the KID, NOT on you. He put himself into this situation. </p>

<p>I agree with the above posters that the longer the deception goes on, the worse the consequences will be. I'd advise the student and parents to withdraw ALL applications NOW. Just state that they're being withdrawn for personal reasons. </p>

<p>If the kid & parents chose not to tell the colleges, and he is accepted and enrolls, well that's trickier. Either way, he will probably eventually be found out. </p>

<p>The issue of telling the high school is even worse. On the one hand, it's the morally right thing to do. On the other, not only may the kid face expulsion, but he will be socially ostracized. The other kids will NOT take kindly to someone who tried to undermine all their legitimate hard work. </p>

<p>I don't know if the parents are complicit. If they are, you can kiss that friendship goodbye - and who would want to be friends with them anyway? If they aren't, it's hard to say how the parents would react. But I think it's a chance you have to take. (Easy for me to say, here at a distance).</p>

<p>Good luck. Remember, in the long run life will be a lot easier if the deception is found now instead of years from now. You would actually doing the kid a favor by revealing his secret.</p>

84

<p>
[quote]
The issue of telling the high school is even worse. On the one hand, it's the morally right thing to do. On the other, not only may the kid face expulsion, but he will be socially ostracized. The other kids will NOT take kindly to someone who tried to undermine all their legitimate hard work.

[/quote]
And this is a problem - why? I'd give the kid a chance to withdraw applications and save face, but remember some schools notify mid-March. He needs to do this soon. Otherwise I'd have no compunction about ratting out the kid. It's not fair to the other kids in the school who have had their possible acceptances stolen by this kid.</p>

85

<p>
[quote]
It's not fair to the other kids in the school who have had their possible acceptances stolen by this kid.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Worse, how many applications of other honest students from this school may now become circumspect because of one person's actions?</p>

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<p>If you go to the parent, and the parent realizes he has to guide the kid to withdraw the applications immediately, the other students won't have been unfairly harmed by this student. But if you go to the high school, they might be heavy-handed, bring charges against the kid, exoel him, never let him recover even after he's started over. They'd just kill him academically forever; that's what schools do.</p>

<p>Pulling the apps is like plea bargaining rather than being found guilty, but either way it admits guilt and takes penalty. </p>

<p>The h.s. can't get the other kids accepted, but if he withdraws for unnamed reasons, maybe those colleges will revisit the list of students applied from that school and choose someone different. </p>

<p>I see no reason to involve the school if the boy himself (or guided by the dad) pulls his college applicatioins in the next few days...</p>

87

<p>I agree that the apps need to be withdrawn quickly. The student can simply tell friends he has decided to take a year off. I don't think the high school needs to be told. If the student/parents leave things as they are, the jig will be up when it's time for the final transcript to be sent. At that time, the family would find out why quietly withdrawing the apps would have been the preferable choice.</p>

88

<p>Many of you are assuming that the kid only submitted applications using the faked transcripts. OP implies that he put in a few this way but didn't mention whether all the apps were phony. If I had to guess, there were others done through the school (otherwise the school would wonder that the kid was applying nowhere) that went through the school and made use of the authentic school transcript. If this is the case, I hope the kid comes to his senses and withdraws apps from every school where the phony transcripts were submitted - before it is too late. </p>

<p>The kid still has time to undo what he did. Hopefully he is very remorseful, realizes how wrong it would have been to go through with the applications and understands just how much trouble he could (would ) have gotten into and never repeats any thing like it again. Strongly encouraging him to pull the apps and telling the father if necessary is a far greater kindness to a family you've known for decades than allowing the inevitable to happen. </p>

<p>Here's a relevant, if dated artcle. Hard to believe, but most of these companies are still openly doing business five years later. Others are stepping in to produce watermarked documents that are not easily forged. </p>

<p>The</a> Chronicle: 2/7/2003: On the Web, It's Easy to Earn Straight A's</p>

<p>This also answers the question about postmarks if you really had any doubt. Not that this is really a question of what he can get away with.</p>

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<p>Great article roshke - scary that it's from 2003!</p>

<p>It helps to answer the OP's original question about criminal liability for the student - that looks unlikely. More likely he would simply be expelled from the college when they found out. (Which could be tens of thousands of dollars in non-refundable tuition later).</p>

<p>Convince the parent and kid to withdraw the apps with the phony transcripts, the sooner the better. That's the only way I can see to minimize the damage and consequences to the kid.</p>

90

<p>I have read over this thread, and what really stands out for me is this: what would I do if I were this kid's parent? And what kind of example are we setting for our children if we uncover fraud and do nothing?</p>

<p>I think that it would kill me if my best friend knew that my child had cheated on something and did not tell me - because it would make me think that we were not really friends, if I could not trust them to do the right thing when my child makes a very bad decision. In fact, it would make them complicit in it, in my eyes. We all know that protecting a child from punishment is a way of reinforcing cheating and avoiding giving them the opportunity to learn from their mistakes, and to take ownership of their behavior. </p>

<p>Not turning this student in is really not fair to the student, the high school, and peers. In your shoes, I would take the forged document to the principal of the school, tell them what happened, tell them what the student told you, including your concern that the student may have sent this transcript to colleges (who do not scrutinize documents that closely, i can tell you from personal experience). Colleges are unlikely to find this out on their own - they need either you, or the principal, to call it to their attention. </p>

<p>OP, your biggest problem now is, you are as guilty as this student if you do nothing about this situation, and your failure to take reasonable action is just going to confirm to him that his actions are justifiable, because adults are condoning them. We aren't children - as adults, when we see wrongdoing, we have to act on it, regardless of the difficulty - otherwise, how will our children ever learn to be responsible, honest and upstanding citizens themselves.</p>

<p>What your friend's son did is illegal, by the way. And if you keep your mouth shut, you are his accomplice. Now you are both committing fraud together. Do the right thing! Call the principal. Let her/him follow school district policies and handle it. And then call the kid's dad and tell him what you did. You can't predict what will happen, but you do have an obligation to do the right thing now.</p>

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<p>This is March already and some schools even started sending decisions out (e.g USC). So no call from any college about this? Looks like the cheater actually succeeded the first round?!</p>

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<p>i wonder how many people cheat like this. And how many of them actually get away.</p>

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<p>OP
Let us know what happened.</p>

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<p>bump. I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering how this is turning out.</p>

95

<p>OP, are you there or did you go underground? We're all curious!</p>

96

<p>Weighing in late.
I can't imagine offering such a person a job. I strongly suggest letting your friend know about their son's behavior. As for me, I wouldn't want a friend who wouldn't have their student withdraw all of their applications after committing such fraud.</p>

97

<p>I strongly recommend that the young man read this article:
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/education/10yale.html?_r=1&oref=slogin%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/10/education/10yale.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>He needs to withdraw all falsified applications immediately.</p>

<p>Because he did nothing in the high school computer systems, if he can withdraw those applications he may be able to fly under the radar. But, if that falsified transcript is stellar, his test scores are stellar ... even if he withdraws his application, some institutions may see him as a shining prospect and may continue to recruit him.</p>

<p>Not a pretty situation. To mitigate the potential damage, this needs to be nipped in the bud now. It cannot be permitted to snowball.</p>

98

<p>I suspect this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of individuals doing somehting like this. It is desperate times for students looking for admission to colleges; I guess desperate times call for desperate measures in some individuals' minds. No college is worth doing anything of this nature. Hopefully people will realize this!</p>

99

<p>This may be old… But are you guys all idiots? This is obviously not a person concerned about her friends child. Here is a HS student who is trying to forge his own documents. There is no reason why the friend would know so much detailed information. Also look at the questions that are being asked… Its very obvious. No one would ask these detailed questions with such a concern for another. The person wants to know if they will get caught, if they try it, and what they really need to do. Its just a way for con artists to gather information and really thinking each detail through.</p>

100

<p>This is mail fraud. Serious felony. Is this guy going to college to be a politician? It’s the only occupation I see him qualified to be.</p>