I took the SAT today, and I completed the first two sections on my own, they went by breezy… When we approached the next two sections I noticed I could see the answer sheet of the girl in front of me. I copied most of her answers, then changed may 3-4 answers so they didn’t match up entirely. Im sure that most of our short answers don’t match up, and neither do most of our reading and language usage sections. I’m afraid im going to get flagged by the college board. I know that what I did was wrong, I’m not going to submit these scores to any colleges! I regret it so heavily. I want to know if im going to get caught, and what I should do, what are the consequences.
Cheating aside, you took a big gamble assuming that her answers were correct!
the thing is, she is academically recognized at our school.
I really just need to know what people think is going to happen, I know that a majority of her answers were likely correct, I’m nervous that this could affect me getting into college. I know i could have done the problems on my own, but I took the easy way out. I feel miserable for it and haven’t gotten out of bed since I got home.
You can always cancel the score. You can google the procedure.
I heard that they will cancel it for you and colleges wont know what happened. Should I Just wait and see what happens?
Just cancel it now, because what if college board doesn’t and you get a high score?. Cancelling it now prevents you from being tempted
You already regret it, so do the right thing and cancel it now. If you wait, the guilt is going to eat at you. College is hard enough, you don’t need to have any additional baggage.
“I heard that they will cancel it for you and colleges wont know what happened. Should I Just wait and see what happens?”
Sounds like you already determined what you want to do.
But keep this in mind: 7-8 months from now, you could get flagged, then your scores get invalidated.
If you don’t have a back up set of scores, you’ll have to take the SAT again.
They giveth, they taketh.
I agree with some other comments: Cancel the score now. That way you will never know what you plus the girl sitting ahead of you scored and won’t be tempted to do anything with it. You can retake the SAT at a later date and you will know that you did the right thing and deserve whatever school you end up going to.
Cancel the scores. First of all, how do you even know that she had the same test as you? They switch things up and have different sections on different students’ tests – the sections you copied may not be the same on your test as they were on hers. Secondly, even if it were the same test and you successfully copied, if they ever figure it out – and they might – your college acceptance could be rescinded, your scores invalidated, etc., etc. Lastly, you are consumed with guilt. Your conscience is sending you a message. Listen to it!
In all honesty, I am not too concerned about your test being flagged. However, I am concerned that a) you won’t get the score you wanted anyways, and b) your conscience will absolutely eat you up. Absolutely, cancel your scores. Work on studying harder, and better, for your next test, there’s plenty of helpful threads here. If you decide the SAT isn’t for you, give the ACT a try.
Pay this some mind. You didn’t mention struggling much with the test itself, you were tempted. But, having been tempted, you’ll never know how well you did to begin with. Don’t you want to know how well you could have done, college admissions aside? True and honest tests scores are a way for you to calibrate your studying, your knowledge, and your testing habits. Take it again, and whether you do well or not, you’ll KNOW how you function in a testing environment, and a high-pressure learning environment. It’ll prepare you for college, above all.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
There’s nothing left to say that has not been said. Closing.