Law School Student Expelled

A second-year Harvard Law School student who reported false LSAT scores was expelled from the school, officials announced recently.

In a notice in a Law School administrative newsletter, the school's disciplinary board said the student was expelled in October. The notice appeared on November 5.

"Specifically, the student submitted as part of the application an LSAT which she falsely represented as her own," the Administrative Board said.

Law school students contacted yesterday said they were dismayed by the expulsion. And many said they supported the Ad Board's decision.

"Since I've been here, I've seen a lot of people expelled for falsifying transcripts and things like that," said third-year student John W. Reed. "It says a lot about the environment here, and what people are willing to do to get in."

Reed said competition to enter the Law School--and to find jobs upon graduation--is heated and pressure-ridden. And some students suggested that Harvard's prestige may have driven the student to desperate means.

"Harvard Law School is a pretty prestigious place and competition to get in gets fierce," said Law School Council member John D. Bates, a first-year student.

"I'm not really surprised that the fraud happened because, unfortunately, a lot of people would go to a lot of extremes to get in here," he added.

"It's very important to go a top-tier school, especially in this economy," Reed agreed. "I feel sorry for the young woman who did this, but it's probably better that she was caught now rather than at a time when it could really affect her career."

While Bates and Reed empathized with the student's desperation, several law students said they were surprised--shocked at the discovery, and amazed at the holes in the LSAT scoring system.

"The one surprising thing is that the student got caught at this late date, while she was already beginning her second year," Bates said.

"I thought that the system was pretty foolproof, and I didn't realize that something like this was possible," said first-year student Kevin L. Drumm.

Drumm said he couldn't believe anyone would expect to get away with fraud of this nature and scope.

"It's totally ridiculous, and I certainly don't think that expulsion was too severe of a punishment for anyone," he said.