The greatest college admissions blog posting EVER!!!!

Actually, no.

But now that the puffery got your attention, it's probably sensible to examine what happened at/to MIT in fuller detail.

And let me first make a point: in no way am I attempting to impugn the body of work of Marilee Jones, who, until last week, was known as someone who tried to take the pressure off of this college admissions process.

I tend to filter this whole thing more into the Clinton lens than anything. In that I read the bumper stickers that say "When Clinton Lied, Nobody Died," and I do look back and think that we haven't had a cool president in 6-plus years, and the economy was in good shape and all that. But he did perjure himself, and was impeached. But he stayed in office.

Back to Ms. Jones. Her body of work was great. She asked for parents to take a collective chill pill, and kids to not worry too much. Both concepts are good ones.

But so is honesty. Coming clean. Looking yourself in the mirror and being able to fess up and believe that you are being true to yourself and others and the world in which you live.

We subscribe to a variety of codes of conduct, of ethics, of ways of doing things. I'm not talking about MIT's code of conduct, or the National Association's code of standards or guidelines. I'm talking about the generally accepted principles of why in the world it's not okay to give someone the finger or buy crack on the street or make crank phone calls. I'm talking about not making up your resume -- YES, I REALLY WAS A VP -- or being able to hold up a diploma that is real and was not ordered online and actually has a transcript behind it.

So the body of work is still there -- just like Clinton was still president from 93 through January of 01. I can't argue with it, nor can I pretend that Ms. Jones didn't have a little something to do with making this admissions world a little more open to guys like me (thus able to run a business that hopes to add transparency to this process, and doing so from the local Starbucks, natch).

But claiming to be something you aren't, a couple times over -- when that something (a degree) forms the very basis for what you are trying to help people do (get a degree) is, well, inexcusable.

She didn't use steroids, nor did she bet on baseball

It's been interesting to watch the commentary from many in the college admissions profession, lamenting the departure of Marilee Jones, the now ex-Dean of Admissions at MIT.

Facts are these: She claimed to have a couple degrees, 28 years ago, and didn't "have the courage" to come forward with a correct resume - til now, when an anonymous tipster forced the University's hand.

Ooops.

Those of us in this college admissions universe -- I put myself in this camp -- have a mission to promote honesty, fairness, integrity, all that is right and good and Mom and apple pie. Dean Jones wrote books and made speeches and advocated honesty and fairness and all that blah blah blah -- but I can't help but feel like I feel looking back at all those home runs that were obviously steriod-enchanced, or reading Pete Rose's records and knowing that he bet on every singe game he managed.

28 YEARS? Can you imagine living with a lie -- or in this case, several lies -- for 28 years? And it now looks like an anonymous tipster was the only one keeping it from being 29, 30, 40 years?

And we want kids to trust US in this college admissions thing?

Oh yeah, we claim our blog NOW

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Further Clarification from U Sphere - Avoiding the MIT Thing

I wanted to let all readers of this blog know the following:

I only have a bachelor's degree. Of course, I never claimed to have a Master's Degree, but that's beside the point.

My bachelor's is from Syracuse University.

And, during college, get this, I took a course called Art 300: MTV Mirror Image. I passed it.

That's all I need to get off my chest right now.

Hopefully the trust you've earned from me over the past couple years has not been shaken by these confessions.

My best to you,

Dave

Be Careful With Your Profile...A Lesson from MIT

At the intersection of "getting into college" and "what you say about yourself" comes this story that is sending shockwaves through the college admissions universe:

The Dean of Admissions at MIT has resigned, effective immediately, for claiming to have degrees that she didn't have. Story here.

What's perhaps most interesting is that this school is highly competitive, and this dean had, among other things, advocated transparency in the admissions process.

Remember this, students, as you think about what you say about yourselves online.

On Wearing Maroon and Orange, and Keeping the Faith

First of all, our deepest sympathies to the families touched by the Virginia Tech tragedy.

It's beyond comprehension what happened -- and it has left more than a few of our college-bound students with the question: what should I do differently this Fall?

Rather than give you any sort of pat answer or blanket statement, here are some nuggets of info that might be helpful.

(1) Any campus community is a close-knit one. Not just in Blacksburg, but all across the country, students are holding vigils and remembering those lost. Wherever you are going this fall, you're going to joining a new family. Big or small, extended or not, families tend to pull together when times are tough.

(2) Safety was, is, and will always be a primary concern. The administration at VT is to be commended for their actions and the lives that were saved, not chided for not doing enough. Other campuses across the country will of course have to double- and triple-check their own security planning. But bear in mind that entire administrations exist because of students -- and their missions are, first and foremost, to put students at the top of their list.

(3) What we learned after Pan Am 103. I was a Freshman at Syracuse, in 1988, when terrorists blew up Pan Am Flight 103, killing 35 classmates -- students, returning from a semester abroad, that I had never met. I received words of condolence from all sorts of people from all sorts of places. These words meant a lot to me and the whole community. Keep that in mind as you approach Friday, April 20...

(4) Wear Maroon and Orange on Friday. Word has spread that it's our chance to show support for the Virginia Tech family -- extended throughout the world -- by wearing their school colors on Friday the 20th.

As for your college decision-making process and whether or not you should do anything different? Keep the faith.

Following the Student Loan Hubub

A front-page story in today's Chicago Tribune brings the Student Loan Hubub to a new spot: Chicago State University.

Long-story short: Chicago State's President is a board member at a bank that is on CSU's preferred lender list. CSU saw an increase in loans from that bank, Seaway, for its students. And the question is whether this is coincidental.

For the college-bound student/parent: know your partners and choose them wisely.

Deadlines, shmedlines -- here are some schools still accepting applications!

University of Western Ontario (May 15 for US students)

Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar. Apply by April 15.

Montana State University which, it should be noted, is at www.montana.edu. Best we can tell, the APPLY NOW button still works.

Many, many, many more have rolling admissions deadlines....places like Valparaiso, Saint Leo, Illinois Wesleyan...too numerous to mention here -- but this will give you an idea that all is not lost -- the right school is out there.

Hey Parents, Grandparents, Uncles, Aunts

U Sphere has launched a new site -- 529sphere -- that aims to help you figure out these 529 plans, and how they can help you pay for a kid's college.

You can, of course, see more at www.529sphere.com -- and we invite your feedback!