Reality show not reality at all.

ADMISSIONS FOLKS ARE IN AGREEMENT: THE Scholar, a reality television series that had topnotch students competing for a $250,000 scholarship this summer by engaging in competitive group and individual activities, is not reality at all.

The admissions officers University Business spoke with noticed the perfect, and sometimes above 4.0, GPAs of a very diverse group of students.

"As a parent and as someone who was a valedictorian, I would hate to give the impression to teenagers that they have to be so picture-perfect to get tuition [paid for]," says Jennifer DesMaisons, associate director of Admissions at Marlboro College (Vt.). She thinks students who are not natural scholars might feel intimidated by the college admissions process.

Andrew Flagel, dean of Admissions and Enrollment Development at George Mason University (Va.), thinks the show is uncharacteristic because it focuses on a very small group of high achievers. "I think it's an interesting representation of the way society views the admissions process. It represents admission as a prize to be won rather than the educational system as a process with its own value."

"To me, it was a cross between Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and MTV's The Real World," says Christopher Tremblay, director of admissions, Gannon University (Pa.). He views the actual admissions process as more of an academic, rather than activities-oriented, experience, and the group activities the students participated in were unrealistic: "You don't apply for group admissions," he says.

The show may have been created because of the media attention college admission gets, including the popular rankings in U.5. News & World Report, he notes. "Also, that is the type of consumer we are now. We question everything. These millennia students, they're used to that type of scrutiny."