<p>Getting straight to the point, I was more or less caught for cheating on a university midterm. (The Professor e-mailed both of us, telling us that our midterms looked similar) I have decided to tell the Professor that I did in fact copy off of someone's exam and that they have no reason to suspect the other person. It was stupid and immature of me, I know. I should be acting like an adult and know that cheating is not the way to go. But in an effort to save myself during my academic probation, I decided to cheat and I know that was wrong. Though I have decided to tell the Professor, I don't know what I should say or do to help my situation any further. The consequences of my actions is that I will most likely fail the class, get the cheating incident recorded on my undergraduate record and then expelled from the University. Though I know this is the likely outcome, I would like a bit of advice on how I should act and what I should say. I would rather not go into his office a blubbering mess. Thank you for any help at all.</p>
<p>If I were you, I’d do exactly what you said: go to the professor, take sole responsibility (assuming that you did act alone), acknowledge that what you did was wrong, and accept whatever punishment the school imposes. In the short term, this isn’t going to produce enjoyable results, but in the long term taking responsibility for your mistakes (and then not repeating them) will earn you respect and trust, and it will make you the sort of person who can be comfortable with his behavior.</p>
<p>If you get suspended, get a job and do what you need to do to get back to the university. If you get expelled, get a job and look into taking classes at the local community college (even if you are an upperclassman now, you can probably find a couple you haven’t taken before) and then transferring back to a four-year college or a university. If your parents will let you live with them while you’re working, save as much money as you can, and be grateful for their support. Either way, I would apologize again to the professor, after I was back in school. An apology when you’ve been caught and are waiting to see what will happen next will not set you apart from those people who are only sorry because they’ve been caught. An apology when you have nothing to gain from an apology says something about you, especially since many people have a hard time apologizing without giving excuses and rationalizations, even when they’re clearly at fault.</p>
<p>If this is a one-time mistake and you don’t lie and cheat in the future, people will get over what you’ve done and see you as an honest and trustworthy person. They really will. People do stupid things sometimes, especially when they’re young. Even if you’ve done this repeatedly up until now, if you are an honest and trustworthy person from here on out, these things will fade into the past. If, on the other hand, this is an expression of the sort of person you are and the sort of person you will continue to be – and I don’t believe that this is the case, based on what you’ve written – then this will be an easy thing for people to use against you.</p>
<p>If I were in your shoes, I would not worry too much about the immediate consequences. They’ll be unpleasant, because academic integrity is at the root of the academic endeavor and your professor – like other academics – will take this very seriously. Even so, I think the long-term consequences are more important, and <em>you</em> are the one who will either leave this incident behind or continue to carry it with you.</p>
<p>Good luck. Let us know you’re okay when things are resolved and you know what’s going to happen, all right? Or even how you’re doing while you go through the process? You may not want to post any details about the process you’re going through until it’s over, but you can still post about how you’re handling the stress.</p>
<p>I agree that your plan to take sole responsibility is a good one. More than likely, the professor believes that the cheater was you, and the professor is hoping you’ll admit to that. Admitting to it and otherwise taking responsibility would demonstrate that you’ve learned from your experience, and it also may cause the professor to impose a lighter sanction than if you lie or try to excuse your behavior.</p>
<p>Better to be honest and get an F for the test or even for the course than to lie about what happened and then possibly get someone else in trouble or incur the wrath of the entire department (since faculty members would have to participate in a hearing about the cheating).</p>
<p>Saying all of this as a former professor.</p>
<p>Thank you both for your great advice. I feel so much better now that I met with my professor. I was wracked with guilt for two days before I was able to meet with my him. I wasn’t able to sleep or eat for those too days; I couldn’t stomach anything unfortunately. Once I was able to confess everything to my professor, I felt very relieved. And my punishment wasn’t as horrible as I thought (He’s letting me retake the exam). I was very fortunate in this sense. </p>
<p>This is my advice to people who think cheating is an option. It’s not. It will drive you insane. It nearly drove me insane and the guilt is not something you want to experience. So, like everyone has told you before, and will most likely continue to tell you: DON’T CHEAT. </p>
<p>And nontraditional and Northstarmom, thank you again for your advice. I can’t tell you enough how much it helped settle me down and gather enough courage to speak with my prof.</p>
<p>Check that out. Hats off to you. You learned a big lesson and didn’t face the worst consequences. I think your professor understood that :)</p>
<p>I doubt you will be expelled for a first offense.</p>
<p>I am curious in what subject you could copy someones paper.</p>
<p>It seems impossible in most disciplines, other than maths or a few sciences or a very easy humanities class making use of MC tests.</p>