<p>I'm only a junior right now so pardon my lack of knowledge. When applying to Yale, assume you put in an internship on the summer activities section of the College App. How does one prove that they have done this internship? I mean do you need a certificate from your employer or something? In a similar vein, if you do real research, how do you prove it? Do you need a letter from your professor or something. I mean if you don't need all of this evidence, then any normal Joe can put all of this amazing but fallacious stuff even if they have never engaged in it before while the rest of the assiduous people simple are at a loss. Thanks in advance for helping me out.</p>
<p>But there’s still a loophole right? What if a person with a above a 2300 SAT score, above 40 IB score puts internship, research, etc. on his app but never actually did it as compared to another candidate with the same score really did? I mean that would be really unfair. There has to be some sort of mechanism colleges use. Ah, I don’t know. Pardon my meandering.</p>
<p>The only parts of your application which require 3rd party verification are your coursework and grades (by your transcript) and your admission test scores (by the official reports sent from the College Board or ACT). Of course you do sign your application and thereby testify to its accuracy, but in the end most its usefulness of it depends on honesty. Schools with tens of thousands of application and who spend about 10 minutes evaluating each application have neither the time nor the resources to investigate all the claims, or even any of the claims, on each application. If they do have suspicions the most they are likely to do is follow-up with a caller to your counselor.</p>
<p>So, yes, it is possible to lie on your application, and it is a more than even chance that you can get away with it. The same is basically true of financial aid forms, too, although here exposure risks fraud charges, which can have more consequence than just a rejection. Still, I’m sure there are people who do lie, who do get away with it, and who even succeed as a result of their lies. If you’re willing to live with the non-trivial risk that your dishonesty will be exposed–not only during the admission process but throughout your entire college experience and possibly for the rest of your life–then the only thing that can keep you from it is your integrity.</p>
<p>This is not to say that it can’t be helpful to provide your own validation even if it’s not rquired. You can, for example, send the paper that you helped to write as a result of your research or have one of your letter-writers mention your activities, too. (It is possible to go overboard with this, soThis not strengthens the impression of your veracity but also enhances insight into who you are and provides a subtle reinforcement to the integration of your application, suggesting that the pieces of your life support each other and are not just a kind of decoration for the benefit of your admission goal.</p>
<p>Hey, thanks for your response,s both of you. But it just saddens me to think about a person, who has put in so much sweat, effort, tears, etc into every activity while a lackadaisical person with similar stats that lists the same activities gets in. Wow, just wow. Forgive me for my impetuosity but I don’t know, this is an obvious flaw in the American education system. I know it can be said that if you put so much sweat and passion, you still benefit even if you don’t get into your college of choice because your fulfilling your own happiness but I don’t see anything wrong with doing it for college and its just a real downer when you hear this. Aah, how this world functions…</p>
<p>I wouldn’t go that far. It happens everyday in almost every job situation. How many people far up in their careers get derailed b/c they fudged some degree or something and it comes out? Plenty.</p>
<p>What you need to do is not worry about the others and focus on your own. The alternative (verification of every darn line) is too onerous to consider.</p>
<p>Finally this: if it’s big enough to matter, it’s easily checked (Siemens winner, journal publication, stage actor). If it’s difficult to verify, it also matters very little (15 versus 200 volunteer hours at hospital, 4 week internship vs 3 month long one, Treasurer of Club X versus President of club X) in the eyes of Yale file readers.</p>
<p>It could be that Yale is more likely to check up on impressive EC achievements if it’s something that might get you in despite somewhat weaker grades and scores. But this is something that’s just a fact of life.</p>
<p>Just wanted to add this: it’s true that some people probably do lie on their applications, get in, and never get caught.</p>
<p>But not YOU. If YOU do this, you’ll be caught, exposed, and disgraced, and end up in the gutter drinking cheap wine out of a paper bag. So don’t try it.</p>
Vulnerability, yes. Flaw? That would depend on the upside. By and large what can be easily documented is small, neat, and formally realized, like test scores. By not insisting on only documentable evidence, American schools are free of this narrow dependency and are able to examine a whole range of life experiences which, if considered, not only could mean admitting a stronger student but a better contributor to the school’s community. This approach bets that most applicants will be truthful on their application–and I believe American schools are winning this bet.</p>
<p>The other thing to keep in mind is that the non-quantitative parts of your application have to support an overall picture that is … reasonable. And at least somewhat linked to the quantifiable parts. Those parts - the essay, EC list, awards & honors, recommendations - have to paint a consistent picture. </p>
<p>Appications readers take the stuff kids say about themselves that are not supported by anything else in the application with a grain or three of salt. I don’t think lying about EC accomplishments is likely to make much of a positive difference. </p>
<p>Lastly, many kids inflate their EC achievements, or (shock!) participate in EC’s mostly for the sake of listing them. I don’t think this is news to application readers. I think they are far more impressed by acheivements of all sorts that have some sort of external referrent than ones that don’t.</p>
<p>Sometimes they give the interviewers instructions to look into things they find suspicious. I know at a Yale prospective student event, we talked to an interviewer who said he was the guy they sent out to double-check suspicious applicants, and that they get one every so often that they bust for being fake.</p>
<p>I think its a lot harder to fake stuff than it seems at first.</p>
<p>Hey guys thanks for your insights. On a divergent path, can you please answer some questions for me? I, as I have rehashed, am a junior and will finish the IB in May 2012. Thus, when is the first day I should apply for Yale SCEA if I want to start my first semester as a freshman in 2012 after my exams? Also, I heard that you can apply to another college and Yale SCEA as long as that other university is public. Thus, can I apply to UBerkley at the same time as Yale SCEA? Also, what date do I apply for regular decision at other universities such as HYPS, Columbia, UChicago, etc? Will the application dates for SCEA and regular decision overlap? Thanks in advance for your advice.</p>
<p>It strikes me that if you are planning to graduate in 2012 you would be considered a sophomore (2nd year) by U.S. conventions. You might want to look into that further so potential confusion is avoided.</p>
<p>When is the first day I should apply for Yale SCEA if I want to start my first semester as a freshman in 2012 after my exams?
The SCEA application deadline for the Fall 2012 term will be Nov. 1, 2011 (11:59 PM New Haven time). The first day you could apply presumably would be when that cycle’s Common App is available, probably in August, 2011. There is, however, no advantage to be gained by applying very early.</p>
<p>**Also, I heard that you can apply to another college and Yale SCEA as long as that other university is public. Thus, can I apply to UBerkley at the same time as Yale SCEA?**You can apply to any non-early program and any public U’s rolling admission program contemporaneously with a Yale SCEA application. UC-Berkeley does not appear to use rolling admissions but it doesn’t appear to have an early program either, so I think this would be OK. (Contact Yale admissions to verify.)</p>
<p>What date do I apply for regular decision at other universities such as HYPS, Columbia, UChicago, etc? Will the application dates for SCEA and regular decision overlap? You will be applying for regular decision (RD) programs in the fall of 2011, too. Typically the date for regular decisions is Jan. 1 (2012 for this cycle) but this varies by school, so verify RD dates with each school of interest. If you wish you can send in your application well before the deadline, even while you are applying to Yale SCEA, because RD programs are not early programs and are therefore allowed under SCEA rules. You could also wait to apply to these programs until after your Yale SCEA decision has been released (on or about Dec. 15, 2011) so long as, of course, you meet the RD deadlines.</p>
<p>Since you mention HYPS RD programs, you should be aware that you cannot apply to both Yale SCEA and Yale RD in the same admission cycle.</p>