Princeton snooped on Bush niece’s application - report

Admissions officers at one of America’s most exclusive universities apparently accessed the records of Lauren Bush, the president’s niece, several times, it was reported today.

Princeton staff snooped into a Yale University Website 18 times in April, leading to angry exchanges between the two prestigious institutions.

The Yale Website allowed undergraduate applicants to see if they had been accepted by using their Social Security numbers and birth dates.

Princeton, which looked at the admissions decisions for 11 Yale applicants, gained access to the Website using information from students who had applied to both schools.

Stephen LeMenager, Princeton’s associate dean and admissions director has said he was only checking the Website to test its security.

But according to a confidential Yale report obtained by The Washington Post, Princeton staff logged onto Lauren Bush’s on-line acceptance notice four times in one afternoon.

LeMenager has been placed on paid administrative leave, and is the only person Princeton has cited in the case so far, Princeton spokeswoman Marilyn Marks said.

A lawyer hired by Princeton arrived on campus on Friday to begin investigating whether other staff members were involved.

Marks would not comment on The Washington Post report.

‘‘I cannot comment about individual students or applications,’’ she said. ‘‘I know that we do intend to reach out to the affected students and I believe that that process has started.’’

Last Thursday, Yale notified the FBI about 18 unauthorised log-ins to their Website that were traced back to computers at Princeton, including computers in the admissions office.

Yale and Princeton are two of the country’s wealthiest institutions. The schools, which compete for the top students, have used financial aid and admissions reforms to lure the most attractive applicants.