Samford or Stanford? Agent or Con Artist?

HONG KONG - The first question some Chinese students ask when they see a sign for Samford University is, “Is it in the top 10? Why is its mascot not the Stanford tree?”

The mix-up is between a Baptist college in Birmingham, Alabama, and the world-renowned research university in Silicon Valley. (Arguably, students who can't spot the difference probably aren't going to Stanford anyway).

Hunter Denson, a Samford representative, laughed it off during an interview with my colleague Lara Farrar. “It's a good conversation starter,” he said.

Lara traveled to college fairs in Beijing, Shanghai and Nanjing to check out some of the booths run by lesser-known American schools trying to recruit students in China.

The reality is that the grand majority of students, both domestic and foreign, are not going to get into the elite universities that everyone has heard of. Community colleges and small-town Christian schools, in particular, are appealing to ordi nary students who still want an overseas experience. Their efforts to reach out in countries like China are fueled partly by a desire to develop more culturally diverse campuses, and partly by a desire to fill their coffers. Lara's full report is here.

Warning signs that your agent is a con artist

Telling the difference between Samford and Stanford is relatively easy. But it can be difficult for foreign students to judge whom to trust for information on Western universities. The most spectacular recent case is that of a Hong Kong-based couple who sued a U.S. education agent after they paid him $2.2 million in an attempt to get their sons into Harvard.

Charles Anderson reports on the growing industry of counselors and agents who charge students and parents for education advice.

Here are a few warning signs that your agent is not to be trusted, according to the Independent Educational Consultants Association:

* They guarantee acceptance at a chosen school.
* They do not detail what services will be provided for a certain fee.
* They do not provide details about their background, training or experience.
* They offer to write an admissions essay or significantly alter an admissions essay.
* They have not been vetted by any outside association.

For the Chinese-language versions of these articles, go to cn.nytimes.com