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[anonanon2011]

I know someone who is applying to very prestigious educational institutions who has had
an excellent record of success in his/her native country. When s/he came to the US for an
advanced degree, s/he did so poorly that s/he was dismissed from the US academic
institution. This person applied to some of the most prestigious institutions in the
country sans the unfavorable transcript from the US academic institution. S/he was
invited (and completed) interviews for some of the best graduate programs in the country
and is currently awaiting for decision letters. Not only do I see this as deception, it
also denies other deserving candidates of a spot in the program. While I don't think it's
my place to write an anonymous letter to the admissions office of each school, I do think
that it would be fair to the academic institutions involved as well as for other
candidates applying for the position, for the truth to be known . Would it be proper to
somehow alert the admissions offices of this academic deception?

[anonanon2011]

I appreciate that a number of people are reading this post, but I wonder why no one has chimed in yet.

The programs that this person is applying to are graduate research programs in the biological sciences.

I would appreciate any input you might have as this is an issue that is bothering me a lot.

Thanks!

[spyzowin]

Do you like libel suits? It looks like you're itching to be in one.

[anonanon2011]

The candidate lied during the application process and it is unfair that s/he would be rewarded with that lie by getting interviews at some of the most prestigious schools in the country.

Either way, isn't it usually a requirement of a libel suit that the claim be false? I'm not looking just to destroy someone else's reputation, but have justice served where it is due.

Thanks for your reply.

[untenured]

Assuming your read is correct, the candidate will implode at the new institution just as s/he did at the old one. 

I'm not sure what axe you have to grind in all this, but simply do nothing and watch the fireworks.

[mystictechgal]

Out of curiosity, what makes this any of your business?

And, why the need to repeatedly state that these are such prestigious programs? Does that make her actions more wrong than if they were lower-ranked programs? Or, is it because she got interviews you were denied?

This is between them and her. MYOB and stay out of it. Karma has a way of working out, it doesn't need your help.

But, if you decide to go ahead with this folly anyway, at least wo/man up and sign your name to your actions and own the fall-out. WTH should anyone take the word of an anonymous rumor monger seriously?

[untenured]

Out of curiosity, what makes this any of your business?

And, why the need to repeatedly state that these are such prestigious programs? Does that make her actions more wrong than if they were lower-ranked programs? Or, is it because she got interviews you were denied?

This is between them and her. MYOB and stay out of it. Karma has a way of working out, it doesn't need your help.

But, if you decide to go ahead with this folly anyway, at least wo/man up and sign your name to your actions and own the fall-out. WTH should anyone take the word of an anonymous rumor monger seriously?

/thread

http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=308843

[spyzowin]

I'm guessing the OP lost out on a fellowship or a grad school slot to the apparently deficient candidate and what we're seeing now is a first class case of sour grapes.

[hegemony]

My guess is that the admissions committees would not be interested in anonymous "alerts."

Who knows why this person failed to do well in her previous graduate programs? Some people have personal issues and do well the second time around.

On the scale on injustices in this world, this is way, way, way down the list.  The person who would care about this most is not the admissions office, not the departments involved: it's you. For some reason you have an axe to grind (that means a grudge). You're better off figuring out how to adjust your own life to make you less bitter than worrying about someone else possibly having an unfair advantage.

[infopri]

Would it be proper to somehow alert the admissions offices of this academic deception?

No.  Nor would it be effective. 

I appreciate that a number of people are reading this post, but I wonder why no one has chimed in yet.

Impatient, aren't you?  Only 45 minutes had passed from your initial post.  People here work for a living, and responding to someone looking to tear down a rival isn't the top priority for most of us.  As you can see, people eventually respond, when they have the time and inclination.

The candidate lied during the application process and it is unfair that s/he would be rewarded with that lie by getting interviews at some of the most prestigious schools in the country.

I always wonder about motives when I start hearing, "but it's not faaaaiiiirrr!" 

If the candidate truly doesn't belong in these prestigious programs, that fact will probably be revealed during the interviews.  You do not have to shoulder the burden of making sure the entire world knows that s/he is unqualified.

I'm not looking just to destroy someone else's reputation,

Yes, actually, I think you are.

but have justice served where it is due.

If you were truly looking for justice, you would not be serving as her accuser, jury, and executioner, all rolled into one.  Mind your own business.

[polly_mer]

I know someone who is applying to very prestigious educational institutions who has had
an excellent record of success in his/her native country. When s/he came to the US for an
advanced degree, s/he did so poorly that s/he was dismissed from the US academic
institution. This person applied to some of the most prestigious institutions in the
country sans the unfavorable transcript from the US academic institution. S/he was
invited (and completed) interviews for some of the best graduate programs in the country
and is currently awaiting for decision letters.

If these prestigious programs are anything like the programs with which I am familiar, word will get around without your help and the people who are doing the interviewing know what they are doing.

Unless you were the advisor who dismissed the student for doing poorly, then MYOB.

If you were the advisor who dismissed the student for doing poorly, then MYOB.

Doing poorly and getting another chance is not at all the same as something like:

• dismissed from the program for falsifying data
• dismissed from the program for maliciously destroying equipment or committing other criminal acts

These are things that people need to know and for which one should not MYOB.

Merely doing poorly in one venue after success in other venues is not all that relevant.  MYOB.

[infopri]

By the way, OP, how do you know that the student has surreptitiously omitted the poor transcript?  Did s/he tell you so?  Did you see the actual application packets?  Do you work at one of these schools and therefore received one?

Even if it was omitted, this transcript obviously is not necessarily a good indicator of this student's abilities.  Even you admit that s/he had "an excellent record of success in his/her native country."  There may have been extenuating circumstances accounting for the poor performance at the first U.S. institution, reasons that may no longer pertain and would not affect his or her performance this time around.  Here are just a few possibilities:

• His or her English wasn't very good.  Perhaps it's vastly improved by now.
• The student may have been overwhelmed by the experience of moving to another country for the first time.
• Someone in his or her family may have been very ill, even dying.
• The student him- or herself may have been ill.
• The program and the student may not have been a good fit.
• Someone at that school may have deliberately sabotaged this student.
• Etc.

I could keep going, but my point is that just because the student did poorly at the previous institution does not mean that s/he will do poorly this time.  As to the omission itself, I'll admit that--if it occurred--it sounds on its face like a deception, but, again, we don't know the circumstances.  Depending on the reason for the poor performance, the institution may have flagged these courses as non-representative of the student's capabilities, making the student think inclusion of the corresponding transcript was unnecessary.  Or maybe the student contacted each school and was advised not to include it.  Or...

Or maybe not.  Maybe s/he's a dirty rotten liar.  But (a) we don't know.  And (b) it's none of your business.  Get on with your own life.

[lottie]

The repetition of "prestigious" suggests, to me, that jealousy is the motivation here. Butt out.

[torshi]

If karma exists, the chances are slim that you will be able to see its effects.  You want, instead, another type of satisfaction.  I like your use of the word "shoddy," but your moral aspirations are too big for this piddling matter.  The whole academic world, in all its decadent decay, should be your windmill.  Your placing of this question within this forum begins your adventure on just the right note.

[anonanon2011]

Thank you all for your time. I sincerely appreciate the input and I understand that as outsiders, it might seem like just another case of sour grapes. Just an FYI, no, this is not a case of sour grapes; this is a case of trying to defend my own institution’s reputation. This person’s previous school here in the US was a state school and s/he did not work hard there because it was, as s/he put it, “just a state school.” I am affiliated with that state school as well, which makes me a bit upset that s/he used that school as a way to get a visa into the country, didn’t work hard there because he/she never intended on staying in that school, and now is hiding that state school history to get into the school that is well-ranked nationally. S/he only wants to attend the well-ranked school because of the name and the weight that it holds in his/her native country.

Without the details, many of you seem to have such a negative impression of my motives, and understandably so. S/he is not taking anything away from my personal academic achievements, but I care a lot about my academic institution and the researchers who s/he will be working with. I would hate to see this pattern of academic dishonesty repeated under my own roof with other people whose work and research might be affected if this is repeated again in house.
Thank you all for your time and input.