While we are gathering info on U.S. colleges for international students, we found some disturbing facts and would like to share our findings with you.
A Top School Would Not Compromise Its Integrity
Many top-ranked schools have so-called “Message Regarding Agents and Consultants” in their description of admission policies for international applicants. Let’s take a look what UCLA has to say about your using an agent or a consultant in your country to help you with the application.
UCLA Undergraduate Admission does not partner with agents to represent the University or to administer any part of the application process. The engagement of agents or private organizations for the purpose of recruiting or enrolling international students is not endorsed by UCLA. UCLA expects an application to be the work of the student and any deviation violates University policy which may lead to rejection of application materials, revocation of an admission offer, cancellation of admission, or involuntary withdrawal from the University. There is no formula for gaining admission to UCLA. Students with vastly different credentials come from thousands of secondary schools across the country and around the world. What unifies our students are the talents they bring to UCLA and their passion to explore all that UCLA has to offer.
We believe that academic integrity is the soul of an education. If it is your homework, you should complete it by yourself. Don’t rely on others doing everything for you.
Do Not Use an Agent for Your Admission
UCLA expects its applicants to prepare their own documents required for the applications. However, the fact is many Asian students use study-abroad agents or consultants to write their recommendation letters, goal statement, personal statement, resume, and essays.
Using an agent or consultant is where things could go wrong, especially in China. The same situation may also happen in other parts of the world. When you do not prepare your own application materials or participate in the application process and let the agent does everything for you, you are (from an American’s point of view) committing an application fraud.
How USAcollegeX.com help our clients with the application process?
We provide services to our clients for their application forms and writing/editing assistance. Our clients participate in every step of their application process. Transparency and integrity is what we value in our services.
Chinese Students Think Cheating is the Shortcut to American Colleges
An article titled “How Chinese Students are Cheating to Get Into U.S. Colleges,” published by Forbes.com in July 2015 indicated “many Chinese students think that cheating is the only way to get into American universities.”
Once a Chinese student hires an agent or consultant to do the application work, frauds come so naturally. These frauds include but not limited to:
1.) Fake transcript, diploma, or degree certificate: if an applicant’s grades are not good enough or an applicant’s school are not recognized by the U.S. higher education system.
2.) Fake personal statement, recommendation letters, resume, and essays: if an applicant’s English writing skill is not fluent, an agent comes handy to get the job done. An agent or consultant can make an applicant’s sound like a superman. (Many professors in China let their students prepare their own recommendation letters. Once the letters are finished, the professors or the agents will sign them. To Chinese, it doesn’t matter who signs a recommendation as long as there is a signature.)
3.) Misleading or deceptive admission offers: many agents or consultants are also recruiters for some U.S. schools and get commissions from those schools once their students enroll in language or degree programs. For example, a student got accepted by three U.S. schools but his agent told him that he only got accepted by one college. This student has no choice but chooses the “only one” to attend. He did not know that his agent would get paid by the “only one” college after his enrollment. His agent got paid by the student and the “only-one” college.
4.) Legal admission offer from blacklisted colleges or universities: there are about 150 “pay-to-stay” colleges and universities in the U.S. and many of them are the blacklisted schools. Those schools have low entrance requirements so it is fairly easy to get into. What you should watch out for is those blacklisted schools may also use study-abroad agents or consultants in your countries. At the end of 2015, 14 new Indian students were jailed in the U.S. before they got deported. You don’t want to end up like them.
Top Schools Don’t Work With Agents
If top U.S. schools are against working with study-abroad agents because of possible application frauds, why should you trust one to do your application for you? It is you who will face the legal issue with frauds, not the agent or consultant hired by you in your country. Honesty is indeed the best policy!
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