Friend lied on his personal statement... advice?

So, my friend told a lie on his personal statement and is really, really worried about it now. He was in tears yesterday. He has applied for a music degree at Kings, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Goldsmiths and Bristol. Everything, he says, on his personal statement is absolutely correct and the guy really loves his subject. However, he stated that he had already achieved his grade 5 theory and grade 5 piratical in piano when, in reality, he has only achieved grade 4 piratical in piano and is just about to sit his grade 5 theory. He also said that he is preparing for his grade 8 exam and intents to sit it before starting university, but in actually fact he's going to sit his grade 5. I play grade 8 piano though and he's better than me, so I can say with all honesty that he plays at grade 8 standard. He doesn't have an account but I want to tell him it'll be okay. Can anything happen? He has offers from Kings and Newcastle, but Edinburgh is his first choice.

Reply 1

username1221364

5

Original post by oliviaadams

So, my friend told a lie on his personal statement and is really, really worried about it now. He was in tears yesterday. He has applied for a music degree at Kings, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Goldsmiths and Bristol. Everything, he says, on his personal statement is absolutely correct and the guy really loves his subject. However, he stated that he had already achieved his grade 5 theory and grade 5 piratical in piano when, in reality, he has only achieved grade 4 piratical in piano and is just about to sit his grade 5 theory. He also said that he is preparing for his grade 8 exam and intents to sit it before starting university, but in actually fact he's going to sit his grade 5. I play grade 8 piano though and he's better than me, so I can say with all honesty that he plays at grade 8 standard. He doesn't have an account but I want to tell him it'll be okay. Can anything happen? He has offers from Kings and Newcastle, but Edinburgh is his first choice.

I could be wrong, but if he's caught in his lie, his offers could be revoked. I don't know what to say other than it's his own fault for lying in the first place.

Reply 2

Carnationlilyrose

18

If the university ask to see his certificates, which they usually do, he's toast.

Reply 3

username911777

15

Get those certificates quick!

If it's possible...

Reply 4

Plantagenet Crown

20

Wasn't he warned about this? Lying is serious. A girl at my school was banned from UCAS for 3 years for both lying and plagiarising her PS.

Reply 5

elpistolero7

16

Either get those certificates pronto if possible or he's toast. Uni's ask for documented evidence of any relevant qualifications...a kid in my year had his offer from Southampton revoked cause he lied about his Math GCSE by a single grade...

Reply 6

username1039383

21

Original post by Plantagenet Crown

Wasn't he warned about this? Lying is serious. A girl at my school was banned from UCAS for 3 years for both lying and plagiarising her PS.

woah thats crazy!

3 whole years is a bit much though..

Reply 7

455409

17

Original post by Secretnerd123

3 whole years is a bit much though..

Not really.

Reply 8

Plantagenet Crown

20

Original post by Secretnerd123

woah thats crazy!

3 whole years is a bit much though..

It just shows how serious UCAS takes this. She had no excuse though, the amount of talks we were given on plagiarising and lying :dontknow:

Karma's a bitch

I agree with everyone else on him needing to do the exams because they'll probably ask. Though i have to add that whatever happens is hes fault.

Won't they know he's lying anyway when they see the date on the certificate and realise that he did the exam after he applied?

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 11

ThePoster

8

Why is he doing grade 5 if he's better than you? I assume you don't have to do them in order, I skipped grades 3&4.

Reply 12

Kabloomybuzz

19

even if he gets the certificate, if the uni's ask to see them they'll know he's lied because he'll know the date on them is later than his application

Reply 13

sliceofcake

15

The grade 8 lie is quite bad but if they call him up on it, tell him to just say it was a typo he missed. It looks a bit crap to suggest that he didn't read his statement properly but as 8 is directly above 5 on the number pad, it's not an outrageously telling lie. Just keep your fingers crossed he passes his grade 5 tests.

Reply 14

Kabloomybuzz

19

even if he gets the certificate, if the uni's ask to see them they'll know he's lied because he'll know the date on them is later than his application

The best thing he can probably actually do is withdraw the application and reapply next year

Reply 15

L'Evil Fish

18

Well maybe he does intend to do grade 8 before uni. He hasn't said he will have Grade 8 before it but intends to.

The other part is a lie but surely if he gets that quick it'll be okay!

Reply 16

Flauta

9

That was silly of your friend, there's little difference between Grade 4 and 5. Once they see his certificates they'll know and will be annoyed.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 17

decem

Damn.

He needs to see if he can apply for an examination in grade 8 for ABRSM or whatever board it is as soon as possible, like this summer. If he's already at the standard, it shouldn't take him too long to learn the pieces and do what he needs to do to pass the exam, but he should NOT be wasting his time on grade 5 if he's already at grade 8 stage.

I don't know if the universities will want proof of his grade 8 certificate to join the course, it's a possibility. On the other hand they might just require his grade 8 level skills. At any rate, better safe than sorry, he should take that grade 8 exam as soon as possible.

Reply 18

Chief Wiggum

20

Depends if they ask for see his certificates. (Although "preparing for Grade 8" is vague enough that he should be OK because he could theoretically be preparing for a Grade 8 exam; it's the cases where he explicitly says he has a qualification that he doesn't have that are the problem IMO.)

For a Music degree, I guess they might.

I had to show exam certificates for Uni (medicine, not music though), and I definitely never showed them my Grade 8 certificate.

Reply 19

SlowlorisIncognito

16

Unfortunately, universities and UCAS take lying about qualifications very seriously, so it's unlikely that everything will just be ok. As he's applying for music, this is more serious than if he were applying for another subject- and I believe music applicants are often asked for proof of the grades they've achieved.

Has he listed his music grades on the UCAS form or just mentioned them in his PS? Grades 6-8 give UCAS points, so if he's mentioned taking grade 8 in his PS, but not in his qualifications as pending, then the university might suspect something is up. If he's listed qualifications he doesn't hold elsewhere on his form this is fraud, and is very likely to result in offers being withdrawn. If universities can prove the applicant applied fraudulently, the place can be withdrawn at any time, including after enrollment.

If he has only mentioned this in his PS, then it's possible the university will skim over it- but it's unlikely they won't notice this for a music degree. If they contact him to confirm his qualifications, he definately shouldn't lie.

I would suggest that it would be best for him to own up (or at least say that he made a typing error if it's just on the PS). He won't know if he's gotten away with it until enrollment, or possibly even afterwards- this will eat away at him for months, and it is likely he will lose his place anyway. He will have to take the consequences, but at least he will know where he stands for next year.

What's he planning to do if they give him grade 8 as a condition of his offer?

(edited 10 years ago)

Friend lied on his personal statement... advice?

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