A couple’s reaction to their sons’ Harvard rejection was fairly simple: take the man who promised to get their boys into the Ivy League school to court. According to the Associated Press , Gerald and Lily Chow, a couple from Hong Kong, were none too pleased about the fact that both of their sons’ failed to make the Harvard cut. In their opinion, the consultant who made these promises should pay.
Since their sons’ Harvard rejection wasn’t part of the deal, the Hong Kong couple are taking college admissions consultant Mark Zimny to court. The Chows explained that they paid the guy nearly $2 million in order to help their sons get into the school. When an acceptance letter never arrived, the couple decided they wanted their money back.
According to the Boston Globe , most colleges don’t think too highly of so-called admissions consultants. Harvard spokesman Jeff Neal explained that, in most cases, the employment of such an individual during the application process isn’t necessarily.
“While it is certainly possible that in individual cases an admissions consultant can be helpful to an applicant, we have encountered no evidence to indicate that is the case generally,” Neal explained.
According to the Chows, Zimny explained to the couple that getting into Harvard was a cutthroat experience, a practice which the university bars. In order to assure their sons made it safely into the Ivy League school, the parents began wiring the US-based admissions consultant around $8,000 per month for both boys. However, before long, the Chows had placed Zimny on a $2 million retainer.
Zimny reportedly explained that he had the right contacts to make the boys’ acceptance into Harvard a reality. Sadly, his resources never came through. In addition to not making donations to several elite colleges on their behalf, the Chows learned that Zimny was overcharging for their sons’ activities.
Do you think the couple has the right to sue the admissions consultant over their sons’ Harvard rejection?
