College Times

Issue date: 10/23/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Photos.com

In the competition to get into the most selective colleges, some students and their parents are resorting to a tasteless tactic: bashing other applicants.

The letters, mailed to college admissions offices, typically arrive without a signature. They say that rival applicants cheated on exams or got suspended for underage drinking. Sometimes, they include an unflattering newspaper clipping or a sly suggestion to check out pictures on a student's Facebook page.

At Northwestern University, one letter was written in crayon.

"I guess they thought we couldn't trace it if it were in crayon," said Christopher Watson, Northwestern's dean of undergraduate admission. "The grammar was too good to be a little kid. ... We see everything. Nothing shocks us anymore."

This year's high school seniors should plan for another year of fierce competition to get into the most elite colleges and universities. The number of high school graduates is expected to peak at about 3.3 million this year, with more of them choosing to attend college.

And if a recent discussion on a listserv for college admissions professionals and high school counselors is any indication, the competition could lead to some shocking behavior.

The e-mail exchange began with a simple query: "I just heard a horrific story from one of my students, and I wanted to see if there is any validity in it," Sue Moller, a high school guidance counselor on Long Island, New York, posted on a message board for the National Association for College Admission Counseling. She wrote that a student told her that parents were writing letters about the "bad" conduct of other students "to help the chances of their student gaining admission."

She asked whether any of the college officials had received such letters. She wasn't expecting much of a response, but got more than a dozen replies.

"This is a lot deeper than I thought it was when I posted this silly question. You should have seen me running around the office saying, 'You won't believe this one,'" Moller said. "I can't believe how widespread it is."

College admissions officials said they do not track how many of these letters, calls or e-mails they receive, and said they are unsure whether they're getting more of them. But with competition fiercer than ever, and technology making it easier to communicate, several experts said they wouldn't be surprised to see more of this behavior.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools