<p>Besides moral conviction, what is stopping applicants from inventing their ECs; it seems to me the system has a major flaw.</p>
<p>Colleges can call the school and verify them?</p>
<p>Nothing really.</p>
<p>There was an article about this is the Wall Street Journal today, which actually mentioned CC. It said there wasn't much, but some colleges randomly picked like 100 kids or something and asked them to verify certain EC's. I think I said that correctly, anyway I would read the article.</p>
<p>My kids hs has a system. The guidance office collects all the documentation and sends it all in together - letters of recommendation, transcript, etc. Students can submit the common application on line, but in order to get the stuff sent from the guidance office, they have to give them a paper copy of what was sent. If they are not submitting on line, then they give the application to the guidance office with the other stuff. Thus, the counselor sees what has been written on the application. If the application is not accurate, s/he will not send the other documentation.</p>
<p>Does the GC know everything about each student on their caseload in our large public hs? No. But if the ECs listed are really inaccurate, they are likely to know.</p>
<p>I see that being mandatory in the near future. Hopefully.</p>
<p>You just hear about all these crazy parents who will stop at nothing to get their kids an Ivy League education, primarily for the name. I can't help but think that these parents and students were rationalize cheating to get it.</p>
<p>Even in my small private school, I could have very well put Captain on my application under Track... my college counselor doesn't know I'm not the captain (even though her daughter is on the team)</p>
<p>I'm sure that some ECs are already being embellished... But not falsified necessarily.</p>
<p>shading the truth a little bit (a generous estimate of volunteer hours, for example) probably won't get caught. On the other hand, these aren't going to make a difference in the success of your app.</p>
<p>More significant lies could make a difference in admission, but these are much easier to detect. The same adcom handles a region, and this is one reason why. It's going to look funny when 2 student-body presidents apply from the same HS! Not only that, interviewers are going to ask questions about your ECs and they've been doing this longer than you have; they have a sense of when kids are making things up. One Ivy interviewer who posts on this forum has seen kids try this several times. And don't forget that you have to turn in recs; it's going to be strange if your teachers mention several things that match up with your app but for some reason nobody writes about your most important EC.</p>
<p>In the end, it's like cheating on your taxes. Can you get away with it? Sometimes. But if you get caught, the penalty is pretty steep.</p>
<p>right. basically, if it's small enough, it won't get caught but it won't really make a difference either. if it's big enough to make a difference, you might get caught more easily.</p>
<p>Admissions counselors are able to verify ECs in a variety of ways. For example, some high schools include an activity list with the transcript and have been logging activities for the student over the course of his or her high school career. Others are verified via references. Admissions counselors are not stupid and they get a sense of what is real and what is not. If college admissions counselors have questions or concerns, they will call the high schools or other refs at organizations with which the student was affiliated for ECs.</p>
<p>If fraud is identified, then the student's application is administratively withdrawn and the high school notifies all of the other schools to which the student applied. While an honest resume could mean you do not get accepted at some of the schools to which you apply, falsifying ECs means the risk of losing admission to EVERY school to which you have applied. Just this past week, I went through this process with an applicant to the school for which I work.</p>
<p>Schools also check the Internet. If, for example, you say that you're captain of the track team, they can check your local paper on-line to verify. They also check MySpace and Xanga and LiveJournal and any other Internet diaries/blogs they can. And they select random applicants to check via the Net.</p>
<p>It's a connected world; there are very few secrets any more.</p>
<p>This issue has been a prominent one at my high school this past admissions round. A girl had been recruited for sports, and the coach practically ensured that she would be admitted. However, she then proceeded to lie about her ECs and copy her essay from a fellow student. A parent learned about the issue by word of mouth, and called the college. The student's admission was "under review," but ultimately was accepted anyways. </p>
<p>I also applied to this college (a very respectable one), and I felt like the college's actions were a slap in the face to every applicant to that college, as well as slander to the college's own name. I understand that college have many many applications to review, but when it has been brought to their attention by a specific person, I feel as though it is not at all acceptable for them to admit her after all of this scandal.</p>
<p>Having had some familiarity with athletic recruitment, it is possible that an exception was made for her if she was considered a critical player to the college team. Sad, but true.</p>
<p>^ Shame on this college.</p>
<p>This occurs at many colleges. I am not aware of a situation like this at the school where I am currently working.</p>
<p>In addition to that, that college was very popular as a "first choice" this year at my school. Speaking to students at my school, I have observed at least 8 other students that saw that college as their dream school, but were either waitlisted or rejected. </p>
<p>It infuriates me that students like the one that was accepted can get away with actions such as these. Whatever happened to honesty and values? Also, what does this admission say about the college's honor code? </p>
<p>To be honest, I was accepted to this school, however, as of the moment I do not plan to attend. I also plan to write a strongly worded letter (without mentioning names or specific details), explaining my feelings and my outrage, and how it played a part in my deciding that this college was not the right college for me (in addition to other details). </p>
<p>Has this happened to anyone else?</p>
<p>Anyone have a link to the Wall Street Journal article?</p>
<p>Outright fraudulent ECs I would think get stopped by student verification, face-to-face student interviews, having to provide descriptions of ECs and "how has this impacted your life; name a specific instance where you were a leader" -type questions; supervisor verification. But all in all, I think ECs may start to count for less specifically for that reason.</p>
<p>E.c.'s off-campus are a lot more difficult to verify -- not in themselves, but for example, the length of them, awards won, level of accomplishment or rank in the e.c. if that applies, etc.
However, sometimes admissions interviewers scrutinize e.c.'s in their questioning of the student, so students without an inside knowledge of the e.c. in question can risk being undermined by such scrutiny.</p>
<p>I would think that admissions committees could check on these by insisting on phone numbers of authority figures in the e.c., such as coaches, performing arts teachers, community leaders etc.</p>