Report Says Lying On College Applications Rampant in Korea

How come I am not surprised by this news?:

Two years ago, when Mrs. Lee’s 20-year-old son was found to have lied on his college application papers and later got expelled from his university, she was furious. But she wasn’t angry because he had acted immorally; rather, she was more upset because, in her mind, it was useless to blame him for something everyone else did, too.

“In Gangnam, everyone does this,” Lee reportedly told police. “Why is he the only one getting in trouble?”

Further investigation proved that her son, surnamed Sohn, also had an accomplice – his teacher.

When authorities looked into the case, they found that Sohn had received an undeserved award in an art competition for a piece he hadn’t created. His teacher switched the boy’s name with another student and submitted the work on Sohn’s behalf.

His teacher recommendation letter also included details of volunteer work he had never completed.

Sohn applied to college in the early admissions process, which assesses an applicant’s transcripts, extracurricular activities, academic awards, volunteer work, recommendation letters and grades.

In Korea, regular admissions normally evaluate applicants’ scores on the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), a standardized exam held every November. Thirty-five percent of the seats available at local colleges next year will be chosen via regular admissions, while the remaining 65 percent will be selected through early admissions.

One in every four early admissions slots will be determined through criteria similar to that which determined Sohn’s admission. But if Sohn’s case is any indication, university officials are mostly helpless to verify certain information, and similar fabrications often fly under the radar.

“There’s really not much we can do but believe whatever documents were authorized by the high school,” said one university admissions officer, who asked for anonymity. “It’s hard to tell which paper was fabricated when you have students and teachers collaborating in the scheme.”  [Joong Ang Ilbo]

You can read more at the link, but probably most disturbing about this is that the teachers are helping the students to lie on the applications.