Everyone's doing it.

Or at least it seems that way.

As it becomes more and more difficult to gain acceptance into elite investment banking firms, law schools and medical schools, some Harvard students are trying to gain an edge--by inflating their resumes.

Others are deterred, in large part by the belief that they may be caught in lies. But is anyone checking?

In many places--from the personnel bunkers of financial firms to the back rooms of overstuffed graduate school admissions offices--the answer is no.

"I have no reason to believe that you would lie, but if you did, we wouldn't bust you on it," says Alec Haverstick, the managing director and head of hiring at Lehman Brothers.

Acceptance

While the vast majority of students interviewed for this article say they are completely honest on their resumes, they also say that resume inflation, like grade inflation, is an accepted part of the Harvard culture.

"I think in general, people inflate their resumes," says Derek C. Araujo '99. "I've been guilty of that myself in the past."

Law school applicant Dan Kalish '97 heads his resume with his presidency of the Arnold Culture Society--a society which serves to promote and discusses the movies of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"It's right at the top of my resume," says Kalish. "Most people don't think it is a serious club but it is.... We give out press releases, lead discussions, and I try to present it in a serious way on my resume."

While many students simply try to inflate existing credentials, others join organizations and acquire titles in order to craft a favorable image of themselves.

Avery W. Gardiner '97, the head of the Institute of Politics student advisory committee, says she is not worried about resume stuffing at the IOP. But she is sure that many students, particularly low-level representatives, use the organization for the title.

"I think there are people who would claim that they put more time into the IOP than they do," says Gardiner. "Anyone can say that they have been a part of the IOP without it ever being found out."

But the problem cuts both ways. Students leaders also claim to have taken on responsibilities they never had, says Eric L. Ha '97, the managing editor of the Harvard College Economist.

He says a former editor-in-chief of the Economist told an interviewer that he had resurrected the Economist from the throes of oblivion, when in fact he had quit shortly after he became editor in chief.