Two Years Later, Former Head of Admissions Is a Freelance College Advisor
Marilee Jones, who resigned as dean of admissions in April 2007 after admitting she had lied about her academic credentials on her resume, has forged a new life for herself after MIT.
She now lives in New York City and has started a consulting business, called Marilee Jones Consulting. She said she is “very, very happy.”
Through her business, Jones said she has been advising parents on how to support their children in their college application processes.
“I am not an independent counselor,” said Jones. “I don’t help kids get into college, but I show parents how to behave around their children … I support parents so they don’t screw up their kids.”
Jones said that about 50 people contact her for advice each month and that most of her work is pro bono, but some customers pay her by the hour.
She is trying to restart her public speaking career and is writing a second book. (Her first one, titled Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond, was published in 2006.)
Jones said she is volunteering at the Columbia Presbyterian Hospital to help young cancer survivors apply to college. “When someone has reached the top of their career, it’s time to give back. I’m in the wise elder era,” she said.
Jones said she is also taking more time to relax these days: Last week, for example, she visited a friend’s ranch in Montana. “Montana is so beautiful,” she said. “I spent my life as a workaholic. Now I am taking time, appreciating time.”
Jones began working at the MIT admissions office in 1979 and in 1998 became dean of admissions.
She led the admissions office’s efforts to increase the percentage of female undergraduates at MIT, which grew from 28 percent in 1985 to 42 percent in 1996, The Tech reported in February 2008.
Jones drew national attention for her attempts to reduce stress in the college application process.
Jones was publicly asked to resign after MIT administrators discovered that her claims to three degrees on her resume from her initial application to MIT were false.