<p>hey everyone...in denial's post inspired me to ask CCers for advice too...</p>
<p>i'm also a regular poster on CC and i made a new account for this sole thread.</p>
<p>basically, i took the SAT for somebody else and got caught. Collegeboard hasn't banned me from their tests and as far as i'm concerned...they aren't reporting it to wherever i apply. by no means did i get off easy though....i lost the trust of my school's administration, faculty, some peers, my parents, and was kicked out of many of my extracurricular activities. </p>
<p>previously, i'd always been the person everyone at my school thought had a good shot at an ivy league school. i take a very rigorous courseload + more, have good extracurriculars, leadership, community service, etc etc. i had a decent shot. funny thing was...i never considered going to a top tier school until a year ago....i just loved challenging myself. but when i realized i was a decent candidate, i checked them out and realized how much i would love the atmosphere, so it is really difficult to give up that dream because of a stupid mistake i made.</p>
<p>my academic integrity is now obviously questionable. everybody at the school basically never expected i would do this and it was definitely an isolated incident. however, most colleges won't recognize that and will probably see this as defining my character. CB won't report it, but my counselor has made it clear that she will include it in my letter of recommendation so as not to invalidate her word for other students by hiding the truth about me.</p>
<p>the question is... do you think i should even bother applying to private schools anymore? or should i just set my sights on in-state public schools? this is so embarassing to have to explain to admissions and i can't imagine how they would possibly accept me with what i did. i know everyone should at least try if they want something this badly but it's hard to imagine how i will feel when i get rejected from every school....
even though my parents aren't happy about what i did...they feel like i'm giving up too easily because i had so much potential besides this major blemish.</p>
<p>i'm posting this because i'm asking for advice....i've already heard countless times how terrible of a person i am for doing this.</p>
<p>thanks for reading.</p>
<p>Welcome to the club.</p>
<p>I don't know what to say. To me, this is worst than what I did. You definitely jeopardized your chances are top schools, especially since your counselor will state in her letter of recommendation. My advice is too do whatever you can to regain your credibility. This includes your teachers, peers, and parents. This is no easy task. Good luck.</p>
<p>Also, how did you get caught? Did you use a fake ID or dressed similarly as the person in question?</p>
<p>yeah. i was just trying to figure out if i should bother trying to apply since it's expensive to apply anyway. but i feel like it's such a waste.....my application is a really strong contender (minus the counselor letter of rec) and i had a lot of ambitious plans for my future. i'm not your typical CCer who just wants an ivy league school and that's it. i have so many plans for my life and everyone says this is just a hill i'll have to get around...but it seems more like a mountain...</p>
<p>yes. a fake ID. we got away with it too....untill someone apparently told on us a month later. i understand why they would but honestly....they literally ruined my life and it's not like i did this kind of thing a lot. </p>
<p>my counselors believe that i'm too compassionate. and i get taken advantaged of. i did it because the person seemed desperate and gave me all kinds of sad sympathy stories to make me feel bad for her. i didn't even get paid (which no one believes). i don't know...i messed up everything by being too nice.</p>
<p>there are plenty of good schools that do not require a counselor letter of rec. don't be down, keep trying hard! the people who look down upon you because of an isolated incident are ignorant</p>
<p>hey just bumping this up...i need more advice/opinions.</p>
<p>thanks IHaveAHobbie.... what schools wouldn't require a counselor letter of rec? im from california with solid stats.</p>
<p>Claim you were bullied into it and make it into a sob story where you're the victim.</p>
<p>If honesty is your policy (which I'm assuming from the situation you're in it isn't) you're basically screwed.</p>
<p>Oh, and PS, IHaveAHobbie...count me in among the "ignorant." I definitely look down on the OP for doing something this stupid...who wouldn't?</p>
<p>Considering you cheated for someone else, it's your academic motives in question, not your integrity. Your smart, that's why someone wanted you to cheat for them. Not much better, but at least they won't be thinking "Oh, he only got As cause he cheated his way through high school."</p>
<p>It all depends on your resume. If it is as solid as you say it is, I don't think you should worry about it too much. Just learn from your mistake (cliche, I know, but it seems like you already have learned) and if someone looks down on you, that's their problem because you're a good person overall. Everyone makes mistakes. For example, I have a close cousin who cheated on his college final and got caught, but he's still going to become an MD/PhD and is applying for medical school at Johns Hopkins, USC, UCSD, etc. and has a VERY good chance of getting in.</p>
<p>Moral of the story: chill. It'll work out. You can always explain your mistake in a personal essay, and if a school rejects you, chances are you wouldn't have liked it there anyways.</p>
<p>Wow, I have to admit that you're the nicest cheater I know, but that doesn't excuse you from cheating when you knew the action was wrong. I would just take the consequences like a man and apply normally to the schools that you want to in the first place.</p>
<p>Taking the SAT for another person....what's the world coming to?</p>
<p>heh. doesn't UC berkeley not ask for recs? well, apply there...i mean it's as good as most of the ivies...</p>
<p>southeasttitan.... i don't blame you for looking down on me. i did it beginning of my junior year...so most of my peers and i hadn't really started the whole testing process yet. thus, i didn't really understand the consequences or how hard people worked for their scores at the time. i would definitely say i would never consider doing it now, just knowing how much people put into getting the score they should actually earn.</p>
<p>i did take the consequence like a woman and confessed everything. some say it was a dumb move? honestly...i don't really know. they tried to use me to expose all other cheaters in our district. and as much as it's the moral thing to do, i had already been caught and i didn't really want to ruin other people's lives so i didn't. i just told them my story and left it at that. my school couldn't expel me or anything because i took it at another school but losing everyone's trust, respect, and getting kicked off some of my extracurriculars and such was definitely just as bad. i definitely learned from my mistake.</p>
<p>UC berkeley is a great school and basically my only option now haha. but it's weird knowing that i've limited my options from thousands to just a few by one mistake.</p>
<p>i just don't know how to approach this or how to present it to admissions i guess...it's really scary and i definitely don't know how to handle it. </p>
<p>even if my application is solid...character and integrity plays a big part in applying to privates, unlike the UCs, so i guess i'm not excited about spending hundreds of dollars just to apply only to get automatic rejections :-/</p>
<p>my biggest concern i guess, after losing people's respect and messing up my chances at college.....is the fact that i'm afraid i will be defined by this for the rest of my life. if i get into a college or start a career...i don't want to be known as the girl who cheated on the SAT. it's definitely a slap in the face to get cheating references all the time during school. like if i get a good score on a test...my guy friends are always saying things like "wow...wonder how _______ got that score" or "we all know ________ is good at cheating." etc. they are my friends and are being humorous and good-natured but it definitely gets awkward. it's really weird...whenever i meet someone knew...i feel like i'm lying to them if i don't confess to what i did (even if they aren't from school or anything). i feel like i'm hiding part of who i am. kind of like who it's required by law to tell people you are a convicted rapist if you are. is this even normal?? </p>
<p>cosine45....yeah the world is getting ridiculous. people will do anything to get into college.......</p>
<p>sorry for turning this into a blog but this has been on my mind since it occurred at the beginning of the school year. i tried to just deal with it but it's getting scary as college apps are coming up. it's also made me extremely reluctant to take CB tests so i've put off all my SATs, and SAT2s....which means i have 3 more shots to take them all before i apply. x_x even if colleges accept me with my mistake...my scores may now not be at my highest potential since i dont have much time to prepare.</p>
<p>thanks to everyone who replied and i'd love to hear more opinions/advice.</p>
<p>Well, I know a lot of these schools are really concerned about academic integrity and all, but if I were the Dean of Admissions, I'd give you a shot -- especially if your record(s) otherwise are as good as I'm thinking. Take the tests, don't mess up, and try at whatever school you want. If you communicate the remorse and etc. as well as you have done so here, then why not, right? Don't cry over your counselor letter yet -- I mean, try explaining yourself. I seem to recall the common app giveing space to do that.</p>
<p>Plenty of people who get into Ivies do things they aren't proud of, albeit the fact that most aren't caught. I mean, one of my acquaintances at Harvard got suspended for hacking into the school e-mail network and telling them, with proof that the system was too susceptible to hacking. I don't know if the school reported it, but there you have it.</p>
<p>taggart...thanks. i should clarify...no one is really a shoo-in to top tier schools. i guess i meant i had all the requirements + more but by no means did i cure cancer or invent something incredibly amazing. </p>
<p>4.8+ gpa
4 languages
all APs when possible.
12 classes this year....though its only physically possible to take 7 at my school.
leadership roles/heavy involvement in legitimate extra curriculars. (not hopscotch club or something).
started a tutoring service business and worked for a consulting business as well as e-commerce.
tons of community service.
good presenter...so i was expecting a good interview
all of my involvement is geared toward humanities, international relations, business, law, linguistics, etc.....i'm passionate about them all and i want to pursue them all haha. but i'm not lacking in math/science either.</p>
<p>definitely doesn't mean i was guaranteed a spot in an ivy but it meant i had somewhat of a reasonable shot depending on my letters of recs (uh oh), test scores (would have been better if i wasn't discouraged by what i did but still in the "zone" for top tier schools), and essays.</p>
<p>Yeah. I totally know that no one's a shoo-in for Ivies. Lol. I got into uh, 1/5 I applied to with 2360, 94-96 GPA, and etc. I wasn't saying you were guaranteed a spot, just that you probably had/still have a good shot.</p>
<p>But seriously, test the best that you can, try for perfect scores, because it'd help your case that regardless of how the counselors might put it, you're still a kickass student and a strong applicant.</p>
<p>quuestion;
does this counselor
have to write the
recommendation?
or could you get
another one to do
it?</p>
<p>Major Regret: I'm sorry you are feeling so awful about this. </p>
<p>You will go to college. You will get through this. And you will get on with your life.</p>
<p>I promise. </p>
<p>Right now, this is the darkest it will ever be. You will get through this.</p>
<p>Okay. I had a similar situation, but just not as severe. I don't know if you readmy post a couple months ago, but I got caught helping someone cheat on a test because I was pressured to do so. I got caught and got a referral. I got kicked out of a few extracurriculars, too, butif you truly feel bad about what you did, why not make an anti-cheatingclub like I am. You can always play the "I was bullied into it" card and write an essay about the turn around.</p>
<p>Major Regret...you blew it royally. I would suggest you do the community college route for at least a year. Yeah, you'll do very well in all those classes...judging by your high school grades. I would keep up the extracurriculars...maybe add something in there that might show the ivies (that you were hoping to impress) that you are remorseful for the SAT stuff that you participated in. Perhaps you could tutor low-income kids on SAT prep for a year. I think you need to demonstrate that you have the character that they would look for in a student. You could still go for it this year but I wouldn't expect to get a kind nod from adcoms for pulling that kind of stuff. There are too many qualified kids out there that play by the rules that they would likely prefer.</p>
<p>Well... I wouldn't apply to private colleges in your shoes but that's totally up to you. Honestly, I don't think this situation gives you even the slightest chance of getting in... Hundreds of dollars worth of app fees can be spent on a hamster+ pizza+ drinks+ a Wii and these things = temporary happiness. If I were in your shoes, I'd be happy to roll into a UC and make high school a repressed memory... </p>
<p>P.S. Not to be rude but, how much did you get for taking the SAT? Me and my friends have always wondered... We had estimate ranges from 300 dollars to over 50,000. We also uniformly agreed that nobody could possibly sit through that pro bono.</p>