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<p>I disagree. I applied for travel grants via the invitation, although only for one school (the others were straight up offers). I had to send my transcript to Scripps and explain my financial situation. The other trip I took with no interest (Carnegie Mellon) was via invite. I am not “justifying” my behavior (I have stated numerous times that I have already said some would find this unethical), but I am explaining why I personally do not feel that my actions were unethical.</p>
<p>Yes, I said that those trips were a free vacation. That was in response to the question</p>
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<p>Which I assumed to mean “what was the purpose of going on these trips if you were not originally looking at the schools,” i.e., why bother going on the trips? The trips are designed to pique the interest of students who would not have previously had significant interest in the school (or else they would be a poor recruiting tool). Therefore, it is fair to assume that the trips would be fun ( = vacation-like) rather than droll. So yes, I took them to be a free vacation.</p>
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<p>My goal is to clarify. I understand that not everyone will find my actions ethical (I did, for instance, state the my actions could be considered ethically questionable). I’m 100% okay with that. Ethics and morality are debatable. I’m not okay with having my words twisted. So, I have chosen to clarify my original position.</p>