--- description: A 17-year-old Korean "math prodigy" is caught in the middle of a big problem that even she can’t solve. The high school senior faked her... title: Student Fakes Admission to Harvard and Stanford in Effort to Impress Parents image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltba48b8ea1e748142/698857e28e06017110461196/94953697.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Education](/tag/education/) ## Education Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Student Fakes Admission to Harvard and Stanford in Effort to Impress Parents by [Christina Dugan / People](/author/people/) ## Christina Dugan / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2015 5:58 AM CUT  Banners hang outside Memorial Church on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Mass., on Sept. 4, 2009 Banners hang outside Memorial Church on the Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Mass., on Sept. 4, 2009Michael Fein—Bloomberg/Getty Images by [Christina Dugan / People](/author/people/) ## Christina Dugan / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 23, 2015 5:58 AM CUT A 17-year-old Korean “math prodigy” is caught in the middle of a big problem that even she can’t solve. The high school senior faked her acceptance to both Harvard University and Stanford University as a plan to impress her parents, according to [_The Washington Post_](http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/harvard-stanford-admissions-hoax-becomes-international-scandal/2015/06/18/4abac970-156a-11e5-89f3-61410da94eb1%5Fstory.html "undefined"). The senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, not only claimed to have received acceptance letters from both universities, she also said she was offered five-figure scholarships to both schools. And because both Harvard and Stanford were determined to have her, the teen said that the universities created a special dual-program that would allow her to attend both prestigious schools. According to the _Post_, news of her supposed achievements caught the attention of media outlets everywhere, including the Korean media, who quickly named her the “Genius Girl.” The high school senior even went so far as to claim that Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg personally called her, insisting that she attend Harvard. ### See Photos of Barack Obama in College  Chance Encounter In 1980, when Obama was a freshman at Occidental College in Los Angeles, he was approached by an aspiring photographer named Lisa Jack, who asked him if he would be willing to pose for some black and white photographs that she could use in her portfolio. Lisa Jack  Handsome Of her first meeting (in a campus eatery) with Obama, Jack remembers only that "He was really cute. But what else does a 20-year-old girl remember?" Lisa Jack  Styled In the photos, Jack says, "You can see he is just posing, initially, but as the shoot goes on, he starts to come out. He was very charismatic even then." Lisa Jack  Prop Jack never realized her dream of becoming a photographer and is now a psychologist. Lisa Jack  Pose Jack and Obama would see each other only a few more times while students. But in 2005, while on a tour, she spotted Obama on Capitol Hill and yelled hello. "He knew exactly who I was after all this time," Jack says. "I was amazed." Lisa Jack  Doubt On a dare from a skeptical friend, Jack decided to track down her negatives from the shoot. Lisa Jack  Searcher Initially, before she dug the film out from her basement, Jack never thought her pictures would have much life beyond her own darkroom. Lisa Jack  Smile When she found them, the images of Obama "blew me away," she says. "I had no idea I'd taken a whole roll of film." Lisa Jack  Charm For a while, Jack put the negatives in a safety-deposit box, so that they could not be used until after the election, when there would be no chance they could be used for a political purpose.  Thoughtful Today, Jack says, she hopes the photos reveal a "spirit of fun and thoughtfulness." Lisa Jack  The Man Who Would Be President "I'm not political," Jack says, "(But) these are historic photos and they should be shared." Lisa Jack Harvard University Communications Director Anna Cowenhoven dispelled the teen’s claims, writing in an email to [Yonhap](http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2015/06/10/67/0302000000AEN20150610005900315F.html "undefined"), a South Korean news agency: “We have been made aware of an alleged admissions letter sent to \[the student\] by Harvard University. We can confirm that this letter is a forgery…Despite recent media reports, there is no program in existence through which a student is admitted to spend two years at Harvard College and two years at Stanford University.” Although the teen’s parents initially believed their daughter, they soon realized it was a hoax and apologized on her behalf. “I am sincerely sorry for causing trouble with what is not true,” the student’s father wrote to [Yonhap](http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/international/2015/06/12/0608000000AKR20150612005700071.HTML?template=2087 "undefined"). “I am deeply repentant that I failed to watch properly over how painful and difficult a situation the child has been in so far and that I even aggravated and enlarged her suffering.” He continued, “From now on, the whole family will live a quiet life, devoting ourselves to getting the child cured well and taking good care of her. Please forgive me for being unable to offer detailed explanation as the situation has not been completely figured out yet.” It has not been confirmed whether Kim has been accepted to either school. [_This article originally appeared on PEOPLE.com_](http://www.people.com/article/student-fakes-admission-harvard-stanford "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3931477/harvard-stanford-admissions-student-fake/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3931477/harvard-stanford-admissions-student-fake/"},"headline":"Student Fakes Admission to Harvard and Stanford in Effort to Impress Parents","datePublished":"2015-06-23T05:58:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:53.422Z","description":"A 17-year-old Korean \"math prodigy\" is caught in the middle of a big problem that even she can’t solve. 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