<p>Both of my parents have post-highschool education but I am afraid that it is going to hurt my chances. Is there any way colleges can find out whether parents attended college or not if I will say that they went through just high school? Someone told me that social security number might be used to detect it, but when my parents graduated they did not have SS and it was outside the US.</p>
<p>Any ideas?</p>
<p>I dont think itâs a good idea to lie⊠
that could hurt people who really have that circumstanceâŠI mean my mom JUST got her degree a few months ago, so it hasnât really been able to be used yet, but Iâm still putting bachelors.</p>
<p>lying is bad. enough said.</p>
<p>well, I suppose if you were really desperate, you could leave the whole area blank. that would be simply declining to mention your family at all, which is acceptable</p>
<p>uh, from an ethical standpoint, i am advising you to not do that.</p>
<p>Polsci, between this and the question about forged letters or recommendation, I take it youâre hoping to eventually go to law school?</p>
<p>As a lawyer, I appreciate the humor in the prior post. As a human, I am repulsed by the original question. I truly hope you donât apply to Columbia.</p>
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<p>Because people who go to business school or into banking are uniformly upstanding citizens? A hedge fund trader friend of mine is frigginâ shady, and all of his work friends Iâve met are as well.</p>
<p>Haha, Columbia2002, I was just being funny (albeit hackneyed). Iâm actually planning on going the law school route myself. ;)</p>
<p>In all seriousness, though, Iâd be doing some serious introspection if I were you, polsci, as it seems youâre on your way toward selling your principles for the sake of convenience. I hope you donât intend to let that degree serve as a contract for your soul.</p>
<p>Iâm actually intrigued by the original post. While misrepresenting things on your app is certainly bad, I can imagine situations where it might be morally rationalized. Suppose a substantial number of white and asian applicants felt like affirmative action was morally wrong, and all decided to self-identify as URMs. That would throw off the adcoms and make it difficult for them to invoke affirmative action because tons of applicants (both URMs and non-URMs) will be listed as URMs. Thereby, by lying about your race, youâd be contributing to what you perceive is a morally justified outcome.</p>
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<p>got a feeling he/she is already on their way⊠polisci posted a thread earlier asking about a âfriendâ who was forging recommendations and inquiring to see if columbia had any methods to verify the authenticity of a recommendation. i mean, innocent until proven guilty but still pretty suspicious if you ask me.</p>
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<p>Thatâs interesting. However, I believe that itâs easy for humans to come up with eloquent rationalizations for dishonesty when the stakes are high. Instead of convincing yourself that youâre at a superior stage of moral development and that youâre protesting on the basis of a larger set of principles and ideals rather than simply committing a dishonest act, itâs better to face the reality, realize that your motivations are probably, in the end, selfish, and do the right thing by being honest and following the rules like everyone else. </p>
<p>Really feel passionate about the moral injustice of affirmative action? Write an article on it and get it published. Send a letter to the school. Educate yourself further on the topic and try and come up with solutions. Or just apply to UC Berkeley.</p>
<p>As somebody who is Hispanic and against affirmative action in urban centers where racial preference obviously has no impact on an organizationâs preference, Iâve found that the easiest way to protest affirmative action is to just not list your minority status.</p>
<p>I donât think under these circumstances that polsci is asking their question based on the moral ramifications of their action so much as it is them wanting to âsweeten the pot,â so to speak â and I think itâs dangerous for us to discuss the merits of a hypothetical situation in this thread insofar that we may be giving them a sense of justification in the process of our unrelated discussion.</p>
<p>âgot a feeling he/she is already on their way⊠polisci posted a thread earlier asking about a âfriendâ who was forging recommendations and inquiring to see if columbia had any methods to verify the authenticity of a recommendation. i mean, innocent until proven guilty but still pretty suspicious if you ask me.â</p>
<p>Agreed, thebeef, though Iâm disappointed you didnât catch my earlier joke referencing this. :D</p>
<p>Edited to add that the final sentence in your last post could be the makings of something pretty clever in itself. That optional essay could be used as a particularly unique chance to note your feelings on affirmative action and mention that your âvanillaâ lifestyle does not limit your passion to achieve. There are so many ways to stand out, Iâm amazed that anybodyâs first consideration would be to fabricate their own life story.</p>
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<p>This is a straw man with respect to what I said. While that may be an âeasyâ way to protest affirmative action, itâs not effective whatsoever. My hypothetical situation would likely make it difficult for a university to practice it.</p>
<p>âBecause people who go to business school or into banking are uniformly upstanding citizens? A hedge fund trader friend of mine is frigginâ shady, and all of his work friends Iâve met are as well.â</p>
<p>Yes, and theyâre getting beaten over the head with the crumbling credit markets. and banker shadyness doesnât justify what the OP wants to do.</p>
<p>In any case, Iâd imagine that being a first generation college student would help rather than hurt your chances, so why lie about it from that standpoint?</p>
<p>Thatâs what the OP means, cerberus. They arenât first-generation and would like to lie that they are.</p>
<p>^^ Ohh whoops, i misread the post. </p>
<p>In that caseâŠ
âBoth of my parents have post-highschool education but I am afraid that it is going to hurt my chances. Is there any way colleges can find out whether parents attended college or not if I will say that they went through just high school? Someone told me that social security number might be used to detect it, but when my parents graduated they did not have SS and it was outside the US.â</p>
<p>Just make up the whole application. why do a half-assed job and fake half of it? Are you that desperate to get into Columbia?</p>
<p>Thatâs pretty sad. Almost as sad as those Credit-Suisse bankers who sold mortgage-backed securities saying they were federally-backed student loans.</p>
<p>Jesus Christ.</p>
<p>A lot of economic-related anecdotes from you in this thread, cerberus. I take it youâre an English major? ;)</p>
<p>Neuroscience. Now a consultant :D</p>
<p>polisci, holy crap, having college educated parents isnât going to âhurt your chancesâ. Most applicants have them.</p>
<p>Wow</p>
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<p>Dude, your reading comp on this thread is totally lacking. Youâve twisted around what I said and put it in a totally different context.</p>