At least one Chinese company even advertises that it will help students gain admission to American colleges in return for a cut of the students' financial aid. In China, high-school students focus for years on a single national examination that determines which students get into which universities. Admissions officers in the United States are on their guard against dishonest shortcuts. Jennifer Caplan, dean of graduate admissions at Columbia University, says that Columbia is especially cautious when evaluating international applicants but acknowledges that it has more problems with students from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan than elsewhere. Sometimes Chinese people even show up at Columbia with fake letters of admission and try to register.
Ghostwritten applications are a more common phenomenon.
Three of the biggest companies in the ghostwriting business, including the New Oriental School, rewrote about 1,000 applications this admissions season. The employees of one company that calls itself the China Educational Service Center say it provides ghostwriting services, although an administrator there says its main business is just to give advice on study abroad. Chinese students usually do need help with their personal statements. Unless instructed otherwise, they typically write detailed autobiographies that may begin with their parents, include mottoes about the value of hard work, and emphasize personal qualities, awards, and class rank. They don't realize that many graduate schools also want to hear about their interests, relevant experience, and goals.