<p>(I agree with NSM's views almost all the time and appreciate her efforts to help kids like myself here. This is one instance I disagree with her.)</p>
<p>I believe in looking after myself. If another kid asks me where I am applying, since it is none of his or her business, I am going to give the answer that will give me competitive advantage. It may involve a telling lie to the other kid, but I don't think it reflects on my character. I have rational basis for doing what I do (=Art of War is right). Absolute morals are good for preaching and in practice we need to judge for ourselves what is right or what is wrong. I don't lie on my application to gain an advantage (because I may be caught and I hope others also don't lie on their applications), but I want to maximize my chances for succeess, which requires that I take care of the competition. I think it is <em>pathetic</em> that some kids in class will want to know where others are applying. </p>
<p>(NSM seems to be implying that top colleges are looking for highly moral kids playing by the rules. I am sceptical about this because I have read the book "Price of Admission". Actually it is <em>pathetic</em> these top colleges are worshipped by the public.)</p>
<p>A girl in my daughter's class year created a whole imaginary list of where she was applying and terrorized my daughter with stories of how well she was doing with it all year. Stories about interviews and functions she was invited to and my daughter was not etc. She even went to the extreme of giving an interview to the paper that included those schools and some more as ones to which she had been accepted, but was turning down. We later found out quite by chance that it was unlikely she had even applied to most of the schools and the whole thing was a fabrication. Kind of a Twilight Zone experience.</p>
<p>"I believe in looking after myself. If another kid asks me where I am applying, since it is none of his or her business, I am going to give the answer that will give me competitive advantage. It may involve a telling lie to the other kid, but I don't think it reflects on my character."</p>
<p>People can make the same excuse -- "looking after myself" -- to justify anything including murder. (Just think about that Texas situation a few years ago in which a mom tried to have a girl killed because the girl was competing with the mom's daughter for a cheerleading spot." </p>
<p>When it comes to getting into college, where would a student who believes in "looking after myself" draw the line? For example, would such a student think it's OK to have a professional write their essay? To cheat on their SATs? To hack school computers to change their or other students' grades? To fabricate ECs or community service?</p>
<p>And, yes, I do believe that the top colleges are looking for people with ethics and morals. I also know that admissions officers have called GCs in my area and grilled the GCs on the ethics and characters of EA applicants before those students were admitted.</p>
<p>I sure know that if I were interviewing a student who told me that he or she thought it was fine to lie in order to get into Harvard, that would go into my interview report, and I would not be supporting such a student for entrance into my alma mater.</p>
