The Admissions Police

An article was recently published in WSJ.com about fraud on applications (undergrad as well as all types of graduate school). It’s an unfortunate reality that applicants are going to great lengths to fabricate stories in order to gain admittance to programs at which they do not necessarily belong. Dishonesty on your applications is not only likely to be uncovered, but it also defeats the purpose of this whole process, which is to reveal yourself and end up at a school that is a truly good fit for you. If you portray yourself as something that you are not, you may end up in the wrong environment.

The article talks about the background checks that a lot of schools are using now to verify facts on your application. Concern over these background checks, often prompts my clients to feel concerned about statements they are making. What if something is misinterpreted? What if the admissions committee is not familiar with the grading requirements at my particular school? Rest assured that an admissions commitee is looking to uncover blatant lies – fabricated jobs, completely false activities and awards. If something needs an explanation, and you can reasonably explain it, you will be just fine. They are hoping that they will not uncover anything! They are not going to be nit picking and manipulating your statements so that they are untrue. Making your application sparkle, marketing yourself, putting your best foot forward – these are expected parts of selling yourself. But making up facts is *obviously* not allowed. You will know if you are doing something that can get picked up by a private investigator and when that internal red light goes off – stay far away!

View the whole article here.

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