We are all born with one mutual, inherent trait; the desire to achieve.  Life however, presents itself in such a way that tempts us to take ‘shortcuts’ during the long, arduous journey that is life.

Essentially, the harsh reality is that there are two possible roads we can take in life; the honest, bumpy road that seems the least pleasant until you reach your destination, and the dishonest road that seems smooth until you reach the end.

The temptation to switch roads is understandably high for seniors, whom are nearing the end of high school and initiating the rest of their lives.  Their first step toward their adult live is decided through how well their college applications represent them.  Thus, three years ago, seniors from schools all over Thailand, including a few from ISB decided to make their college applications ‘better’ in order to ensure what they though would be a better adult life.

“The students that participated in this would have gotten in their desired colleges,” said counselor Mr. Weiser, “but they wanted to make sure that they did everything they could to ensure their spot, which included being dishonest”.

The basic happenings of this ‘scandal’ were that students got outside help to falsify information on their college applications.  The falsifications ranged from stating that they were the president of clubs like Habitat For Humanity or the MVP of the Varsity basketball team, etc.

The scandal occurred in many different schools all over Thailand, thus inevitably creating a temporary negative and untrusting image of students graduating from Thailand.  The scandal was to such an extreme scale that it resulted in most colleges not accepting applications from Thailand high schools.

Being one of the primary role-model schools in Thailand, ISB decided to take charge and lead the way towards the reformation of the authenticity of high schools in Thailand.

After partaking in several International conferences, ISB has now assured colleges and high schools of its new policies and guarantees of truthful applications.  The primary change being that ISB seniors must only submit their applications online and when beside their counselor.

The new policies have proven helpful, seeing as there have not been any concerns or doubts regarding applications sent from ISB students.

Seniors now get insightful help from their counselors for their applications and receive the guarantee that universities will feel more confident in accepting their applications.

The way ISB handled the scandal has served as a reassurance of ISB’s desire to ensure the success of its students.  Although this scandal has proved better for the future generations, switching roads can cause consequences, just ask the few students whom were involved.

Carol Zeitune (10)