Who’s Sabotaging College Admissions at This Elite NYC School?
Horace Mann School in New York City is well-known for its cut-throat, student-eat-student culture. According to Joe Coscarelli at Daily Intelligencer, one very enterprising (and very evil) student there kicked it up a notch by sending a letter to several colleges where one of his or her Horace Mann classmates is planning to apply, intending to torpedo the classmate’s chance of being accepted. (If you have a copy of this letter, or know what it contained, email us immediately.)
According to a letter from the prep school’s director of college counseling, “Someone in our community sent a letter about a current senior to a number of colleges with the goal of damaging that student's prospects for admission.” Parents can rest assured, an investigation — and “an effort to minimize the damage” — is underway.
Canh Oxelson, the director of college counseling, met with Horace Mann seniors this morning, where he explained that the letter contained a number of lies about the targeted student, and that the colleges who received the letter have pressed him to explain why someone at Horace Mann would write the letter. (The answer to which is beyond obvious.)
It’s not clear what was actually in the letter, and it’s honestly a bit difficult to imagine what it would contain. Allegations of cheating, maybe?
The twin hive minds of New York City parenting, UrbanBaby and College Confidential, have not yet turned up the letter’s contents, or the schools where it was sent. When asked about the correspondence, an employee at Horace Mann’s college counseling office directed us to leave Oxelson a voicemail, which he has yet to return.