UMC suburban college student lied about background to become prestigious Rhodes Scholar

[Anonymous]

from the chronicle of higher ed reporting, anyone who had access to her high school yearbook could be the tipster:

"But after The Philadelphia Inquirer published an article about Fierceton’s scholarship, university officials received an anonymous email raising doubts about her biography. In reality, the email said, Fierceton had grown up in an affluent suburb of St. Louis with her mother, a radiologist, and had attended private schools. A similar email, sent to the Rhodes Trust, accused her of being “blatantly dishonest in the representation of her childhood” and included photos from her high-school yearbook of Fierceton skydiving, riding a horse, and whitewater rafting."

[Anonymous]

Of course she will say it was her evil mother. Canny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just admit the students solely on academic merits.

Why do you have to be poor to get additioanl points while they also take tons of money from rich people/legacy and admit them

It's always only the middle class that suffers.

+1. It's not just the "poor" angle. Why does every single American student have to come up with a "I was a victim but overcame it" story? It's become beyond bizarre in the College Admissions Wars. It's not that way with the British Schools. You get in on grades and test scores. It's a meritocracy. Why is our "meritocracy" now so dependent upon finding kids who have to exaggerate their backgrounds into such tortured tales to gain admission? We have First Generation, Questbridge, Low Income, Single parent, divorced victims, URM, Native American, East Indian, International, and the list of sub-categories goes on and on! Just scrap it all and go back to GPA and test scores and letters of recommendaiton from teachers that actually know the kids. It's clear our system isn't working anymore.

[Anonymous]

14:55 This is absolutely backwards. Yes, rags to riches is absolutely about the rags part. It's the overcoming of obstacles that is celebrated, not just riches. Ending up with riches is not the whole point; starting from rags *is* more impressive; a person who pulls this off *is* more deserving of praise. A self-made man is more impressive specifically because he is self-made, not inheriting a family business. Louis L'amour's heroes were always poor and often also orphans, because the journey to B from A is the actual point of the story. The greater the distance traveled, the more impressive. You keep insisting up is down and black is white because you think that if someone is celebrated for overcoming something you haven't overcome, you are somehow diminished. Being impressed by people for overcoming hardship is framed as a "fetish," simply because that acclaim will never be pointed your way. Boo hoo bubs.

Well said pp. It wreaks of those for whom this woman is a scapegoat because of some perceived threat to their status quo. It justifies why they themselves or their kids didn't gain acceptance to an Ivy. All the "victimhood" bashing is scary and very conspicuous. What's more conspicuous is her personal testimony regarding the student who died in the basement. The same basement that she suffered in while Penn failed to render aid. Penn is notoriously ridiculed about frat row houses and abuses that occur. I believe McKenzie is being victimized again. Like a phoenix from the ashes, I hope she finds the strength to fight the good fight. There is no conclusive evidence to revoke her accomplishments.

[Anonymous]

Winkelstein is the interim provost.

"As part of this bogus 'investigation' of one of its students," the lawsuit states, on Nov. 30, 2020, "Defendant Winkelstein demanded that the unrepresented [Fierceton] submit to her inquisition whereby Winkelstein aggressively, improperly and against Penn’s written policies, interrogated [Fierceton] over Zoom about her past physical, emotional and mental abuse."
According to the lawsuit, Winkelstein's inquisition went so far as to ask, "If we review your medical records from September 2014, are we going to see you had severe facial injuries and broken ribs?"
"Defendant Winkelstein’s relentless line of questioning regarding numerous painful and specific instances of abuse continued unabated until the battered [Fierceton] was sobbing so uncontrollably that she could not physically speak to answer any additional questions," the lawsuit states.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Penn alum here who read the whole (LONG!) story a few days ago. My take is that Fierceton is brilliant and some combination of conniving and/or mentally ill. Some of the same must also be true of the mother, although it's harder to gauge how much. The prosecutor eventually dropped the charges against the mom, but they must have had a toxic relationship - the kid kept a 100+page journal in HS ranting about how awful her mother was. If this was a Law & Order episode, she would have been the character who conspired to get her dumb boyfriend to kill her mother.

It's clear from the story that Fierceton really misrepresented herself on her application and during her time at Penn. She wasn't first generation, she wasn't low income, she was only briefly in the foster system. But the story also read like she really believed her own fake, kind of like that NAACP woman who faked being Black for years.

I was struck by the notation in the piece that Penn's first generation/low income student advocacy group has taken to defining that status as "first generation to elite schools." Which is completely ridiculous and only slightly less obnoxious than what Fierceton did. I would have fit that definition, and yes going to a school like Penn was a culture shock. But it sure as hell isn't the same as coming from a truly disadvantaged or first-gen background. Redefining FGLI as someone from a 'non-elite' family is just another example of how the UMC tries to hoard privilege for itself.

The other thing that stood out to me was the professors defending Fierceton. I get it on some level - she is clearly bright and impressive even if her bootstraps tale is mostly bogus. But there's something warped about academics endorsing her deception. Affirming a kid's chosen identity is all well and good but at some point honesty and truth should matter more.

+1. And well said. I, too, was first-generation to a blah LAC back when first-generation wasn't a "thing". I sitll don't understand how applicants get a major push up the admissions chain simply by virtue of the fact that their parents, like mine, didn't finish college. Oh, yes, you reminded me - First Generation doesn't work for MC and UMC. It only applies when the university is trying to increase diversity but can't under normal avenues of intake or overall achievement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Winkelstein is the interim provost.

"As part of this bogus 'investigation' of one of its students," the lawsuit states, on Nov. 30, 2020, "Defendant Winkelstein demanded that the unrepresented [Fierceton] submit to her inquisition whereby Winkelstein aggressively, improperly and against Penn’s written policies, interrogated [Fierceton] over Zoom about her past physical, emotional and mental abuse."
According to the lawsuit, Winkelstein's inquisition went so far as to ask, "If we review your medical records from September 2014, are we going to see you had severe facial injuries and broken ribs?"
"Defendant Winkelstein’s relentless line of questioning regarding numerous painful and specific instances of abuse continued unabated until the battered [Fierceton] was sobbing so uncontrollably that she could not physically speak to answer any additional questions," the lawsuit states.

This is from the plaintiff's filing. Why would you believe it? That's the lawyers arguing. They make stuff up to make the filing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t doubt that her mom is a total piece of work. But there is a big difference between being the child of a radiologist snd attending private school - making her someone who had multiple examples of academic and financial success in her peer group, school and family during her entire childhood — and someone who was plucked out of foster care by Penn after a lifetime surrounded by people with GEDs and a crap high school. Come on now.

There is a really well known college consultant who encourages applicants to shade the truth. I.e. Don't ay that your mom is the head of cardiology at Mass General. Say she is a "hospital worker" so the admissions people will think she works in the cafeteria for minimum wage, etc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:from the chronicle of higher ed reporting, anyone who had access to her high school yearbook could be the tipster:

"But after The Philadelphia Inquirer published an article about Fierceton’s scholarship, university officials received an anonymous email raising doubts about her biography. In reality, the email said, Fierceton had grown up in an affluent suburb of St. Louis with her mother, a radiologist, and had attended private schools. A similar email, sent to the Rhodes Trust, accused her of being “blatantly dishonest in the representation of her childhood” and included photos from her high-school yearbook of Fierceton skydiving, riding a horse, and whitewater rafting."

From those facts it seems highly unlikely it was the mother. Why the PP so adamant it was the mother? Is there proof elsewhere?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Winkelstein is the interim provost.

"As part of this bogus 'investigation' of one of its students," the lawsuit states, on Nov. 30, 2020, "Defendant Winkelstein demanded that the unrepresented [Fierceton] submit to her inquisition whereby Winkelstein aggressively, improperly and against Penn’s written policies, interrogated [Fierceton] over Zoom about her past physical, emotional and mental abuse."
According to the lawsuit, Winkelstein's inquisition went so far as to ask, "If we review your medical records from September 2014, are we going to see you had severe facial injuries and broken ribs?"
"Defendant Winkelstein’s relentless line of questioning regarding numerous painful and specific instances of abuse continued unabated until the battered [Fierceton] was sobbing so uncontrollably that she could not physically speak to answer any additional questions," the lawsuit states.

This is from the plaintiff's filing. Why would you believe it? That's the lawyers arguing. They make stuff up to make the filing.

I believe it. It's exactly how they handle the multitude of sexual assault filings. Coerce, bully, and scare victims into submission and retraction. I know enough Penn alumn to make that statement.

[Anonymous]

Well, I imagine the facts will come out because now Penn can subpoena the hospital for its records if they hadn’t before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

14:55 This is absolutely backwards. Yes, rags to riches is absolutely about the rags part. It's the overcoming of obstacles that is celebrated, not just riches. Ending up with riches is not the whole point; starting from rags *is* more impressive; a person who pulls this off *is* more deserving of praise. A self-made man is more impressive specifically because he is self-made, not inheriting a family business. Louis L'amour's heroes were always poor and often also orphans, because the journey to B from A is the actual point of the story. The greater the distance traveled, the more impressive. You keep insisting up is down and black is white because you think that if someone is celebrated for overcoming something you haven't overcome, you are somehow diminished. Being impressed by people for overcoming hardship is framed as a "fetish," simply because that acclaim will never be pointed your way. Boo hoo bubs.

Well said pp. It wreaks of those for whom this woman is a scapegoat because of some perceived threat to their status quo. It justifies why they themselves or their kids didn't gain acceptance to an Ivy. All the "victimhood" bashing is scary and very conspicuous. What's more conspicuous is her personal testimony regarding the student who died in the basement. The same basement that she suffered in while Penn failed to render aid. Penn is notoriously ridiculed about frat row houses and abuses that occur. I believe McKenzie is being victimized again. Like a phoenix from the ashes, I hope she finds the strength to fight the good fight. There is no conclusive evidence to revoke her accomplishments.

She lied on her application. Everyone agrees with that. The Rhodes Committee doesn't want known liars to be Rhodes Scholars. And once it became public, well they'd look pretty feckless if they just let it slide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:from the chronicle of higher ed reporting, anyone who had access to her high school yearbook could be the tipster:

"But after The Philadelphia Inquirer published an article about Fierceton’s scholarship, university officials received an anonymous email raising doubts about her biography. In reality, the email said, Fierceton had grown up in an affluent suburb of St. Louis with her mother, a radiologist, and had attended private schools. A similar email, sent to the Rhodes Trust, accused her of being “blatantly dishonest in the representation of her childhood” and included photos from her high-school yearbook of Fierceton skydiving, riding a horse, and whitewater rafting."

Hello! Penn knows what HS she graduated from. Kids on scholarship still get to do those things with the school, do you think they have the poor kids sit at home.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone wonder why she voluntary withdrew from the scholarship if she felt so strongly she was being treated unfairly?
She and her lawyer were presented with the discrepancies and given a chance to respond, and then she withdrew from participating in the program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t doubt that her mom is a total piece of work. But there is a big difference between being the child of a radiologist snd attending private school - making her someone who had multiple examples of academic and financial success in her peer group, school and family during her entire childhood — and someone who was plucked out of foster care by Penn after a lifetime surrounded by people with GEDs and a crap high school. Come on now.

There is a really well known college consultant who encourages applicants to shade the truth. I.e. Don't ay that your mom is the head of cardiology at Mass General. Say she is a "hospital worker" so the admissions people will think she works in the cafeteria for minimum wage, etc

Yeah, sure, but all of the financials come out when you file the CSS as a needy child of said hospital worker. I don’t see how a huge discrepancy in job title and salary could be spun.