Admissions Scam

“Psst” says the impeccably dressed gentleman at the reception. “I can get your son admitted to Princeton. Guaranteed.”

Horrified, yet fascinated, you cannot help but respond: “No one can do that,” you begin. “Princeton routinely rejects 90% of their applicants. They turn down valedictorians with perfect SATs, captains of the football team, students who speak five languages, students who have patented inventions…”

“I have an in,” he interrupts. “I know someone on the inside. $50,000–less than the cost of a year in New Jersey–and your son gets in, no questions asked.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Understood,” he says. “Something this good does sound hard to believe. Tell you what. I know I can get your son in. You don’t have to pay me a dime up front. I trust you. Once he gets his acceptance letter in April… You can give me the 50K then.”

Can you spot the scam? It’s been around for generations.

What you know about admissions is true. Princeton does reject student body presidents, first chair violinists and all manner of exceptionally talented, accomplished students. But they do admit somebody, a few thousand somebodies each year. All the dishonest man in our example has to do is make this same slimy offer to enough gullible folks. Some of the students get in. Of course, he didn’t have anything to do with it; he doesn’t have an ‘in’. And if he wants to keep the same swindle going year after year, he can. He only collects from the families whose children are lucky enough to be admitted.

No one would use this scam or a variation of it today, though. Or would they? What about the admissions counselor helping students choose and apply to college? What about the counselor in a high school bragging about her relationship with the office of admissions where she went to college and used to work? “My old colleagues at Stanford trust me,” she intones. “We have a good relationship.”

I have a good relationship with my landlord. She’s fond of me, always asks after my children, is genuinely happy to see me.

But I wouldn’t want to be late with the rent.

As long as families understand that a “good relationship” means that a collegial colleague will return a call, no ethical line has been crossed. But if the high school counselor implies that his “relationship” will translate into favorable admissions decisions, she’s using a modified version of the con described above.

Just as gossip is currency in some cultures, the perception of conveying an unfair advantage has value in the world of admissions. Don’t let anyone working on the high school side tell you they can add value to a students’ application to a hyper-competitive school; they can’t.

And besides, what kind of parents would want to communicate to their children that they care more about where the kids go to college than about modeling appropriate ethical behavior for their children?