Daily Beast: Ivy League freshman says rich classmates are frauds, faking first-gen and poverty

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been teaching in top private schools in the US, UK, and Europe for almost 20 years. I give advice on letters of rec/application packages each year for many students, and yes, it has become increasingly common for students to lie. My privileged students have been trained to identify a financial or psychological obstacle, then embellish, embellish, embellish. Or just make something up.

It is very disheartening. Admin know and will not listen to or support teachers who try to bring this up.

At this point, I consider the letter of rec process to be a creative writing contest.

One of the ironic things about UPenn’s investigation and punishment of MF is that one of their own staff members told her that if it is uncertain, they generally advise students to use the designation that will get them the most financial aid. But Penn took no responsibility for their own staff. Pretty hypocritical of them.

Convenient hearsay. These rich ruthless frauds all put on the innocent babe in the woods routine, play dumb and claim someone told them to do it. Yeah, sure. It is totally normal for a rich kid to seek out first-generation, minority, and low-income student orgs as soon as they step on campus. It is totally not something a rich conniving sociopath would do to get the inside edge on internships, fellowships, and grad school.

The problem with your comment is that Mackenzie Fierceton isn’t rich and that she was was driven into poverty after years of abuse by her pathological mother. Not exactly the life anyone would trade theirs for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been teaching in top private schools in the US, UK, and Europe for almost 20 years. I give advice on letters of rec/application packages each year for many students, and yes, it has become increasingly common for students to lie. My privileged students have been trained to identify a financial or psychological obstacle, then embellish, embellish, embellish. Or just make something up.

It is very disheartening. Admin know and will not listen to or support teachers who try to bring this up.

At this point, I consider the letter of rec process to be a creative writing contest.

One of the ironic things about UPenn’s investigation and punishment of MF is that one of their own staff members told her that if it is uncertain, they generally advise students to use the designation that will get them the most financial aid. But Penn took no responsibility for their own staff. Pretty hypocritical of them.

Convenient hearsay. These rich ruthless frauds all put on the innocent babe in the woods routine, play dumb and claim someone told them to do it. Yeah, sure. It is totally normal for a rich kid to seek out first-generation, minority, and low-income student orgs as soon as they step on campus. It is totally not something a rich conniving sociopath would do to get the inside edge on internships, fellowships, and grad school.

The problem with your comment is that Mackenzie Fierceton isn’t rich and that she was was driven into poverty after years of abuse by her pathological mother. Not exactly the life anyone would trade theirs for.

I'm sure most rich kids would do a few years in foster care to get into an Ivy League school. /s

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been teaching in top private schools in the US, UK, and Europe for almost 20 years. I give advice on letters of rec/application packages each year for many students, and yes, it has become increasingly common for students to lie. My privileged students have been trained to identify a financial or psychological obstacle, then embellish, embellish, embellish. Or just make something up.

It is very disheartening. Admin know and will not listen to or support teachers who try to bring this up.

At this point, I consider the letter of rec process to be a creative writing contest.

One of the ironic things about UPenn’s investigation and punishment of MF is that one of their own staff members told her that if it is uncertain, they generally advise students to use the designation that will get them the most financial aid. But Penn took no responsibility for their own staff. Pretty hypocritical of them.

Convenient hearsay. These rich ruthless frauds all put on the innocent babe in the woods routine, play dumb and claim someone told them to do it. Yeah, sure. It is totally normal for a rich kid to seek out first-generation, minority, and low-income student orgs as soon as they step on campus. It is totally not something a rich conniving sociopath would do to get the inside edge on internships, fellowships, and grad school.

The problem with your comment is that Mackenzie Fierceton isn’t rich and that she was was driven into poverty after years of abuse by her pathological mother. Not exactly the life anyone would trade theirs for.

I'm sure most rich kids would do a few years in foster care to get into an Ivy League school. /s

That’s nuts. Sounds good until you actually have to do it. More important is that’s NOT what she did regardless of how attractive it sounds to you. The facts are now out. You’re simply not dealing with the facts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ve been teaching in top private schools in the US, UK, and Europe for almost 20 years. I give advice on letters of rec/application packages each year for many students, and yes, it has become increasingly common for students to lie. My privileged students have been trained to identify a financial or psychological obstacle, then embellish, embellish, embellish. Or just make something up.

It is very disheartening. Admin know and will not listen to or support teachers who try to bring this up.

At this point, I consider the letter of rec process to be a creative writing contest.

One of the ironic things about UPenn’s investigation and punishment of MF is that one of their own staff members told her that if it is uncertain, they generally advise students to use the designation that will get them the most financial aid. But Penn took no responsibility for their own staff. Pretty hypocritical of them.

Convenient hearsay. These rich ruthless frauds all put on the innocent babe in the woods routine, play dumb and claim someone told them to do it. Yeah, sure. It is totally normal for a rich kid to seek out first-generation, minority, and low-income student orgs as soon as they step on campus. It is totally not something a rich conniving sociopath would do to get the inside edge on internships, fellowships, and grad school.

The problem with your comment is that Mackenzie Fierceton isn’t rich and that she was was driven into poverty after years of abuse by her pathological mother. Not exactly the life anyone would trade theirs for.

I'm sure most rich kids would do a few years in foster care to get into an Ivy League school. /s

That’s nuts. Sounds good until you actually have to do it. More important is that’s NOT what she did regardless of how attractive it sounds to you. The facts are now out. You’re simply not dealing with the facts.

PP indicated they were being sarcastic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's no checking on ANYTHING. Students could put anything on the app; unless a counselor or teacher rec writes something that rats them out.

I'm not bitter, DS got in to some great schools and is happy with his final choice. But it is interesting that you could put most anything on the app.

+1. Clubs, awards, captain of ___, president of ___, founded ___... first-generation, bi-racial, grew up poor... none of that is verified.

I don't think it would be easy to get away with lying at many schools. At my kids' DC private, the college counselors go over the kids' Common App with them and they literally hit "submit" in the counselors office. If a kid claimed some obviously false status or achievements, the counselor would stop them in their tracks.

That is unusual

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A friend told me that they are multimillionaires, but somehow their DC is on “full scholarship” at a non-merit granting T10 institution. I was like, “they gave merit?” And their answer was vaguely not saying anything. Not sure how they did it.

Sounds to me like they were making up the "scholarship" part, an exaggeration as part of their bragging, and simply weren't aware that most T10s do not offer any merit. My guess would be that they didn't even apply for financial aid.

I know plenty of full pay families and they are not the defrauders and scammers presented in this thread. They are the ones who later end up fielding calls from the development office at their kids' colleges.

To the extent that some of the posters here are teenagers, please be aware that among teenagers more generally, it is not unusual for some to lie about many things related to college admissions and income.

[Anonymous]

I know a second generation college student who claims she is first generation because only one parent graduated from college. She is involved in “outreach” at her college and very publicly has this fact highlighted. That and that the parent who didn’t go to college is paying due to a divorce.

[Anonymous]

I knew QB students who are immigrants whose parents keep their assets over sea and buy 1-3M dollar house with cash and drive MB, BMV or other fancy cars. They have no income in the US. Kids qualify for free lunch. Since parents have no degree from colleges in the state, kids claim they are 1st gen. QB doesn't care, as long as they sent x number of students to ivy leagues or other top school each year.

[Anonymous]

Rich people game the system to benefit themselves. In other news, water is wet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Pathological liars playing the system. Wow just wow. Insightful read.

It’s Way Too Easy for Privileged Kids to Fake Being Working Class

Being a first-generation, low-income student has been an eye-opening experience—not least in finding out how many of my FGLI peers are actually children of privilege.

I am a first-generation, low-income student at Brown University. Like, actually first-generation and low-income. Not in the appropriated “Let me check off a box indicating a minority status that doesn’t describe me so that I’ll get special consideration in admissions” way, but in the “My school’s annual tuition is over seven times what my mother makes in a year” way. Far less glamorous, I know, but at least it’s real.

During my college application cycle, I watched classmates “joke” about lying to admissions officers about how their parents never received a college education while writing from the comfort of their $1.5 million dollar homes about their “experiences” with financial troubles. If anything was poor here, it wasn’t their financial status.

While a suspicious number of self-proclaimed first-generation, low-income students spent time horseback riding in high school...

https://www.thedailybeast.com/enough-with-other-college-students-fraudulently-claiming-my-identity

I'm going to be critical of the author and this clickbait article. The article is based on "jokes." The author has no evidence that these kids were actually lying in their apps. The article refers to definitions of FGLI status at these institutions, but that reference doesn't make sense - there is no "low income" or "first gen" box on these colleges' applications. There is only the Common App parent section, which asks details about education and employment.

(On another note, her high school, as an institution, wasn't exactly a bad one if her high school classmates were rich kids)

[Anonymous]

^In other words, making up facts to write in the parent section is the only possible way to "claim" low income or first gen status. There is no "I'm first gen because..." No checkbox. Not how it works.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rich people game the system to benefit themselves. In other news, water is wet.

This.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I knew QB students who are immigrants whose parents keep their assets over sea and buy 1-3M dollar house with cash and drive MB, BMV or other fancy cars. They have no income in the US. Kids qualify for free lunch. Since parents have no degree from colleges in the state, kids claim they are 1st gen. QB doesn't care, as long as they sent x number of students to ivy leagues or other top school each year.

I think we know the same people, this is indeed happening

other big international scholarships too

[Anonymous]

I don't want to be a terrible person and link their youtube accounts but there are at least two female YouTubers who claim to have been Questbridge/FGLI admits. Both are at top schools. They live in massive houses in wealthy areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rich people game the system to benefit themselves. In other news, water is wet.

I guess the easiest way to get into an Ivy is to claim poor, first generation, minority etc.. you can probably make claims about sports and awards… as clearly no one is checking or verifying the info. Geez.. too late for my kid but hopefully this will help others!!!