"Gaming" The College Application Process
In 2006, the Boston Globe reported that business schools were concerned about a growing problem with applications prepared with the help of consultants. The consultants, for fees of $50 to $3000, promise to increase an applicant's chances of acceptance by coaching or assisting with the writing of applications. One consultant was quoted as saying "The schools refuse to admit but the fact is, if you know the schools, there's a real formula..." The consultant went on to say that admissions officers at Harvard look for applicants' leadership experience and ability to work through others, Stanford is keen on personal revelations, family dynamics, and identity politics, while Wharton rewards applicants who tell admissions committees in personal terms why Wharton—and not the other schools—is the perfect fit for them.
The Globe characterized admissions officials as "rankled" by such statements, and director of MBA admissions at Wharton indicate that coaching can work against an applicant: "Sometimes you read an essay and you lose a sense of who the individual is because the essay is overpolished." Harvard has responded by requiring all applicants to sign a pledge attesting that their application is "my own, honest statement," and requiring applicants to give permission to Harvard to contact all persons named in the application for verification purposes. The article says that the three business schools recently began using private investigators to verify the work experience listed in all their candidates' applications.
Read more about this topic: College Application
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—Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
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—Joan Sheingold Ditzion, Dennie, and Palmer Wolf. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 2 (1978)