Marilee Jones is an American author, college admissions consultant, and former college administrator. Jones is the co-author of ''Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond'' (2006). In 2007, Jones resigned her position as director of admissions at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

after it became known that she had fabricated her academic background. She later opened a consulting firm.

Career

Jones was first hired by the

(MIT) as an entry-level admissions officer in 1979; she was later promoted to associate director of admissions. She then served as interim dean of admissions from May 1997 until January 1998, when she was appointed to the position of

dean of admissions University admission or college admission is the process through which students enter tertiary education at universities and colleges. Systems vary widely from country to country, and sometimes from institution to institution. In many countries ...

. In 2006, Jones and Kenneth R. Ginsburg published ''Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond'', a guide to the college admissions process. The book received critical acclaim, and Jones was featured on CBS,

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

, ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', and ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

''. Jones resigned from her position at MIT on April 23, 2007 after it was revealed that she had falsely claimed that she held academic degrees from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

and

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

on a 1979 job application and had added a fabricated degree from

Albany Medical College Albany Medical College (AMC) is a private medical school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1839 by Alden March and James H. Armsby and is one of the oldest medical schools in the nation. The college is part of the Albany Medical Center, which ...

to her resume sometime thereafter. Jones issued a statement on the MIT website admitting that she had falsified her academic background. ''The Times'' characterized Jones's earlier prestige as "the guru of the movement to tame the college-admissions frenzy". ''The Boston Globe'' called her "the most celebrated and outspoken admissions dean in America". After her resignation, Jones became the number two newsmaker of the day on ''COUNTDOWN with Keith Olbermann'' for "begging college applicants not to pad their resumes" while having done so herself. On May 2, 2007, it was reported that she had actually earned a bachelor's degree in biology from

The College of Saint Rose The College of Saint Rose is a private Roman Catholic college in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1920 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet as a women's college. It became fully co-educational in 1969; the following year, the college a ...

in 1973, though she did not list that degree when applying for her first job at MIT or when being considered for subsequent promotions. After her departure from MIT, Jones created a consulting firm that provides college admissions advice to institutions and applicants.

Personal

Jones has a daughter, Nora.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Marilee 1951 births Living people Massachusetts Institute of Technology people College of Saint Rose alumni American instructional writers Writers from Massachusetts Writers from Albany, New York Academic scandals American university and college faculty deans Women deans (academic) People who fabricated academic degrees