Great college applications allow students to share accomplishments, aspirations and extracurricular activities. Yet with the number of college and university applicants rising nationwide, higher education institutions are now putting more effort and resources into validating the accuracy of student applications.
"We are in a world where people can distort information -- the enhanced resume," said Marlyn McGrath Lewis, admission director at Harvard College.
Harvard most recently added a former professional background checker to its undergraduate admission staff in an effort to curb the inclusion of fraudulent information on applications. Similarly, the University of California system now randomly "spot checks" about 10 percent of the applications it receives to ensure that activities listed on the applications are accurate.
While Harvard does not have an established procedure for validating application facts, "getting more information is the key," according to McGrath Lewis.
McGrath Lewis added that Harvard particularly looks for inconsistencies between the quality of an applicant's grades and essays.
The University does not currently have a similar process of admissions review; however, Dean of Admissions John Blackburn noted that procedures are in place if an applicant's information is found to be false.
"If [students] knowingly falsify information they are subjected to removal from the University," Blackburn said. "Sometimes, quite rarely, we come across false information."
Blackburn noted that most applicants know about the honor code which helps to prevent the submission of false information but added, "We are not like magazines and newspapers, we don't have fact checkers."
While neither Blackburn nor McGrath Lewis indicated that the popular option of applying online has led to an increase in falsification of information, McGrath Lewis said the more impersonal the process, the greater the student's perception of his anonymity in a pool of applicants.
"I also can imagine that if there's a bigger distance between you and the admissions office, you might be more willing to falsify information," she said.
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