I am a high school senior who recently made the extremely foolish decision of cheating on a test. I used my phone to look up an answer and got caught.
Why I did it: The semester just passed its midpoint and my grades were not where I wanted them to be. I’m taking several classes that were thrust on me by my parents that I can’t understand for the life of me, and my mental health (which tends to fluctuate) has been spiraling as I approach the one-year anniversary of the suicide of someone I cared greatly about. The high school that I attend is notoriously competitive and heavily plagued with cheating rings, and with everything (including the weight of college apps) snowballing, I thought that a few extra points on the exam might give me an edge. None of these are excuses for what I did: it was absolutely wrong and definitely foolish, and I regret it deeply. The teacher whose class I cheated in is one who I’ve had for almost 3 years now and I had built a strong relationship with her. She even wrote me a rec letter. I apologized to her personally and haven’t been able to sleep for days. I regret violating our honor code, breaking her trust, disappointing my family, and disappointing myself, and I will certainly never do it again.
In the aftermath, I’ve been losing my mind over what this could do to my college applications. I made a mistake, one that I’m not proud of and have learned from, but I’m terrified that it will hang over my head for the next 4 years. I have already submitted all my applications, including teacher and guidance counselor recommendations, with a clean record. As far as I know, our school/district policy in regards to cheating is a 0 on the grade and possible explusion from honor societies with no other written details. I received the 0, which I deserve, and have yet to meet with the teacher/administrators to discuss further consequences.
What I really want to know is how this could affect my admissions decisions. I’m a good student (well within top 10%, 35 ACT, leadership experience) and I had good relationships with my recommenders. But with pressure building on me, I eventually snapped and made an awful choice that I will regret forever. Can my teacher take back her letter of rec? Will colleges know that I cheated on that test when they see my transcript? A couple of schools have already offered admission; will they see and rescind it? I was wrong to cheat. It’s not who I am. But I’m terrified it will scar me irreparably as an applicant.
High school is a pressure cooker…it sucks that you made that decision so forget about it and work on moving on. Your grade in the class will likely be affected but one bad class grade will not blemish any of your applications (as long as it isn’t a B- or a C). Be honest to your teacher, faculty and administration about how you feel and how it has affected your mental health. They will likely not report it to colleges, but they might. If they do report it to colleges, then write the college an apology letter and be completely honest as to what happened (and your situational environment).
However, just to give you a little hope. My high school valedictorian got caught cheating the week before he was supposed to give his speech on stage. He was no longer valedictorian but he is still going to the Top 20 school he was accepted to. Just promise me you will never cheat again. Also college has a very different cheating environment than high school does (at least Cornell does).
This was a mistake, but what you said above shows that you have obviously learned from it and won’t do it again. Other than the bad grade in that class, I do not think colleges will find out what you did. You are lucky that this happened after your recommendations and apps had been sent in.
I would still go talk to your teacher or administration and say exactly what you said above-- if you do this and show the stress you are under and that you will never do it again, I doubt they will tell your colleges. The fact that you have a clean record before this incident shows that this was just a result of a bad/stressful mental situation you are currently in.
I would not worry about it too much. Just make sure to explain and be honest to your teacher & administrators, and don’t do it again!
Go see your guidance counselor and explain exactly what you said in your first paragraph.
Take it from there. Odds are, your GC will put you on warning - if nothing else happens, it won’t be reported.
I think Myos1634 means to tell your GC what’s in the 2nd paragraph, especially the part about your friend. Don’t try to struggle through that on your own. They’re there to listen and to help.
Glad to see you taking ownership of this. Many GC’s are required to update colleges if there has been a major update. In this case the GC might have to notify the schools which you have already applied. This varies considerably from school to school. Please check.
If your GC is required to report, then consider getting in front of the situation. Public relations professionals often recommend that bad news be delivered directly, along with an apology, and what you will do to remedy the situation. This can often be more effective than if the admissions office were to hear about this indirectly.
Unless you have a mark on your transcript that something bad happened, it should be fine. Otherwise, you should seriously talk with your GC and try to fix the damage as soon as possibly in case any colleges call your GC for quarter grades or ask for any updates. Good Luck man.
Sorry, this is a case where the adults have the perspective. It’s not good. You’re a senior and don’t have a few years to make up for this. Yes, you’ll need to speak with the GC, learn what, if anything, they will report. Get their advice.
I’m not sure you want to tell the colleges you did this for expediency/a better grade, that your course rigor is your parents’ demand, or that there are issues with your fluctuating mental health. I’m sorry you lost a friend. If your record is otherwise pristine, maybe that helps the GC get context. But try to reword before telling the colleges you’re risky. Think about how to do this.
