Adam Wheeler, 23, was thrown out of Harvard when his deception was uncovered after he applied for Rhodes and Fulbright scholarships.
Wheeler claimed he achieved a perfect score on his SAT, straight A's at prestigious prep school Phillips Academy Andover and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
But prosecutors say a professor reviewing his application forms found evidence Wheeler had plagiarised the work of another teacher, and his carefully-constructed deceit collapsed.
In reality, he had not attended Phillips or MIT - and was not a straight A student.
False references
Wheeler denies 20 counts of larceny, identity fraud and other charges related to the con. He is being helpd on US$5,000 (AU$5,690) bail.
Prosecutor John Verner said in court on Tuesday that Wheeler essentially stole $US45,000 ($A51,276) in financial aid, scholarship money and academic awards from Harvard.
Wheeler, an English major who would have graduated from Harvard this spring, tried to transfer to Yale and Brown after he got caught at Harvard, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said, again by falsifying his achievements and recommendations.
In his applications, Wheeler said he was employed by McLean Hospital, a psychiatric facility affiliated with Harvard, even though he was not, Leone said.
His transfer application included faked recommendations from an employee at the hospital and from his former Harvard dean, Leone said.
Tip off from parents
Yale was tipped off by Wheeler's parents, Verner said.
A Yale official called the Wheeler home to ask about his application, and one of his parents told the official that the application wasn't truthful and their son had been thrown out of Harvard.
Wheeler's parents refused to comment outside of court.
His lawyer, Steven Sussman, said his client "will have his day in court and that day is not today".
Harvard said in a statement on Monday it could not discuss individual cases because of federal privacy laws and referred all questions to the district attorney's office.
Wheeler was a student at Bowdoin College in Maine from 2005-07, but was suspended for academic dishonesty, authorities said.
