False Advertising

I had one question while reading the article it was, “How do people actually fall for these ads?” I understand how you will get linked to the various websites, but for the most part the people online have been using computers for years. Shouldn’t these people also be able to scout out the credible from non-credible websites? As the end of the article says it’s the lazy people that don’t do the research that fall for these fake websites. That isn’t to say that people who are doing research won’t fall for them though.

What I found most disturbing about this article is the part about how the Department of Education made limits to which circumstances colleges are able to buy information about prospective students. I want to know which circumstances these are. I know I got a lot of mail and emails from colleges I’ve never heard of, Champlain being one of them. Although, I did ultimately pick Champlain it does make me feel a little uneasy that my information can be so easily handed out without my knowledge.

I also got a little confused when the article talked about $25 per lead. Do they mean that students pay the money or the colleges? Regardless of who pays though, I don’t understand why anyone would pay? Students should know better than to pay for anything aside from the application if there is a fee for that. Colleges would be better off using this money to sustain the school.

I do get where UCLA is coming from though. The school doesn’t want this false advertising to ruin the reputation of the school. Although, I highly doubt that will happen since UCLA is one of California’s elite UCs. Except going back to my original argument students should be able to distinguish between what the real UCLA website looks like and whatever link appears when you google something. I feel like all parties could ease this situation. Students should become more aware of what they’re looking up, these websites should stop trying to confuse students, and colleges should be more aware of what’s happening online. There is no easy solution to this because the internet is so vast and quickly moving.