George Santos under scrutiny for lying about his education, claim reports

George Santos, who was elected in November to represent New York’s 3rd congressional district, had claimed to earn degrees from Baruch College and New York University in New York City. Later school officials told the New York Times they had no record of Santos graduating. The lawmaker later clarified and told, New York Post that the truth is he had not earned the degrees at all, according to reports.

According to data from Pew Research Center only two in five Americans over the age of 25 have a college degree which indicates that Santos is not the first high-profile figure to falsely improve his academic credentials.

However, as per the Congressional Research Service, the figure of candidates holding a college degree is much higher in congress where 96% of members have a college education.



In the past, many famous personalities have come under scrutiny for misrepresenting their achievements including high profile business leaders, academics, and even politicians. For instance, in 2012, Scott Thompson resigned from his post as CEO of Yahoo when the public found out that he had not earned a degree in computer science despite mentioning the same on his resume. David Tovar, a former vice president of communications at Walmart, was also let go in 2014 despite being with the company for almost a decade after he declared that he had not earned the degree he mentioned in his resume.

In the recent past, Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker was in the news for claiming that he had earned a degree from the University of Georgia even though he never graduated from the institution, according to Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

FAQs:

1. How do employers verify what job applicants say on resumes?
   Employers can use tools like National Student Clearinghouse, or they could hire a company that vets applicants' backgrounds.
2. How many Americans have a College Degree?
   According to the Pew Research center, only about two out of every 5 Americans over the age of 25 have a college degree.