Hi Amy,
As an admission consultant and an alumni of Wharton, what is your view of the ethics surrounding the industry/ profession?
I ask because Judith Hodara, a member of the adcom staff at Wharton, has been implicated in a journalistic expose on the questionable practices of Japanese Admission Consultants AGOS. (See original article here https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/01/30/agos)
Judith, when interviewed for the article, had this to say:
"On the question of conflict of interest, Hodara said that there was no problem because she will be advising AGOS, and not counseling individual AGOS clients. However, she said AGOS would provide her with a list of its clients applying to Wharton so she could recuse herself from considering their applications. The arrangement was vetted by Penn lawyers and her supervisor, Hodara said.
“I am an incredibly ethical individual and I made sure none of this would be a conflict,” she said."
Today, barely two days after her confident denial of wrong-doing, her profile has been removed from the list of individuals on AGOS' board.
Apart from AGOS, a quick search on google for "judith hodara consultant" yields a link to Judith's own consultancy for college students. Although this service is for college students, Judith sells herself as follows:
"Judith's insights about the college process extend beyond the first four years of undergraduate education. Recognizing that college choice has influences in later educational and professional choices, her educational advice incorporates her definitive understanding of long term educational and professional goals."
This suggests that she may provide MBA consultancy services too. Today, the Judith's website has also been taken offline. Fortunately, curious folks can still view its original contents because Google has cached them.
Wharton has been incredibly silent about the entire episode. Clarifications sought on its own forum, s2s, have gone unanswered. The website modifications have also occurred without any explanation.
What is your take on the matter? Your compatriot Sandy (www.hbsguru.com), on bweek forums, is leading a crusade against the purported hypocrisy of schools (and particularly Wharton) that rail against admissions consultants. However his is the only voice in the industry that I've heard so far on this, so it might be good to hear from you where you draw the ethical lines, and whether you think Judith has acted entirely within limits.
As an admission consultant and an alumni of Wharton, what is your view of the ethics surrounding the industry/ profession?
I ask because Judith Hodara, a member of the adcom staff at Wharton, has been implicated in a journalistic expose on the questionable practices of Japanese Admission Consultants AGOS. (See original article here https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/01/30/agos)
Judith, when interviewed for the article, had this to say:
"On the question of conflict of interest, Hodara said that there was no problem because she will be advising AGOS, and not counseling individual AGOS clients. However, she said AGOS would provide her with a list of its clients applying to Wharton so she could recuse herself from considering their applications. The arrangement was vetted by Penn lawyers and her supervisor, Hodara said.
“I am an incredibly ethical individual and I made sure none of this would be a conflict,” she said."
Today, barely two days after her confident denial of wrong-doing, her profile has been removed from the list of individuals on AGOS' board.
Apart from AGOS, a quick search on google for "judith hodara consultant" yields a link to Judith's own consultancy for college students. Although this service is for college students, Judith sells herself as follows:
"Judith's insights about the college process extend beyond the first four years of undergraduate education. Recognizing that college choice has influences in later educational and professional choices, her educational advice incorporates her definitive understanding of long term educational and professional goals."
This suggests that she may provide MBA consultancy services too. Today, the Judith's website has also been taken offline. Fortunately, curious folks can still view its original contents because Google has cached them.
Wharton has been incredibly silent about the entire episode. Clarifications sought on its own forum, s2s, have gone unanswered. The website modifications have also occurred without any explanation.
What is your take on the matter? Your compatriot Sandy (www.hbsguru.com), on bweek forums, is leading a crusade against the purported hypocrisy of schools (and particularly Wharton) that rail against admissions consultants. However his is the only voice in the industry that I've heard so far on this, so it might be good to hear from you where you draw the ethical lines, and whether you think Judith has acted entirely within limits.
