<p>You're sooo nice. But you do have to consider morality before undertaking tasks of kindness. Did you tell your story to your counselors, etc.? This could make a good topic to write about on your essay. PM me if you want to talk to someone privately. I can sympathize with you since I'm personally a pushover and if the same thing happened to me, I would've hated to say no to somebody so desperate.</p>
<p>Common sense should have taken over though....</p>
<p>IF you still have the messages of that girl, show them to your counselor. She needs to take responsibility too :/</p>
<p>im really sorry. but not all is lost yet. i know a few people, some friends, who have done dishonest things who have still ended up at great schools (ivy and ivy caliber) because they demonstrated adequately that they learned from their mistakes. whoever said that you blew it royally could not be more incorrect.</p>
<p>taggart.....you had amazing stats and got 1/5...wow...i have no hope haha. congrats on dartmouth!! i would LOVE to go there. its an amazing school<3</p>
<p>! prepp......my counselor happens to be head counselor as well. i heard that the other girl's counselor didn't include it in her letter of rec but i'm not 100% positive....i don't know how to approach switching counselors without coming off...badly...</p>
<p>Very Happy.......thanks for the words of encouragement. i went through a terrible terrible depression phase when i basically didn't eat and mostly slept. i started missing a lot of school when i previously had perfect attendance. i'm a lot better now and i took on more classes and got straight As....i guess it was kind of a "ha!" to the administration...like i CAN succeed even if you'd like me not to.</p>
<p>swim2daend.......i'm glad your situation is working itself out. i dont know who would join my anticheating club at my school...or what we would do....plus do you think my case is too extreme to be solved by starting a club? it almost seems like a meager attempt at redemption for my egregious act.</p>
<p>Oaksmom.......your response is exactly what i've been getting from some of the administration at my school. it's almost like they'd rather not see me redeem myself and succeed in life. there is nothing wrong with community college but i know i would be extremely unhappy knowing i could do better...especially since i started taking community college courses as a soph in high school...maybe in a negative way, but i hope my app stands out from the thousands of identical "qualified kids" they have to choose from. and quite frankly...i think i would thrive more in a 4 year university than a community college.</p>
<p>gryffon5147.....i respect your opinion and i was offered 600$. however, this was because my score was not 2200+ at the time. remember, this was before i had ever taken prep or anything. but my very first diagnostic score with zero prep was still 300 points better than the girl's. i guess she was impressed because i did start with an unusually high score (maybe not compared to CCers who start at 2300+ hah!). my problem now is being able to raise my diagnostic score in a such a short amount of time since i havent been NEAR SATs since what happened....normally...it would probably go for 1000-2000$
btw....i didn't take the money. i'm not motivated by money. i was motivated by her sob stories and bull s h i t. i would have felt terrible if i did something so wrong for money, so i couldn't take it. (not that it wasn't wrong anyway)</p>
<p>Marimare.....i did tell my story to counselors. they basically don't believe anyone would have done it for free. and the funny thing is....i was the most strong-willed, least pushover person out of all my friends and most of my peers. i was always extremely stubborn and adamant on my beliefs...i guess the girl just knew how to tug my heart strings in the exact way. i guess i've changed lately...now i tend to be taken advantage of because people know that i just like helping them and i never ask for ridiculous pay or anything. also, i've been told i should use it as an essay topic but i don't know how to make it seem remorseful and convincing...i'm also trying to figure out how to make ME shine through without using the whole app to justify what happened....since it really isn't justifiable..i don't know if using it as an essay topic would work...and the girl did get caught. and she was extremely angry at me for confessing because she believes we could have denied it and gotten away with it. even though CB would have done a handwriting test and everyone would have known we were lying anyway.....</p>
<p>sugarglider.....yes it should have.</p>
<p>driesvancomme......thanks but i feel like in the academic world....it doesn't get worse than what i did. :( if you don't mind me asking...how did they demonstrate they learned from their mistakes? for such competitive institutions...i feel like they would just read my app, gasp, laugh and think that it's a joke, and automatic rejectttt.</p>
<p>thanks to everyone who responded. i really appreciate it. and i am open to questions or whatever because i know this is a weird situation. and more responses would be appreciated as well.</p>
<p>you should go to state school for a year, and then attempt to transfer into an ivy or a comparable school, if you still urge to do so. no counselor letters of recc at that point, and your academics can speak for themselves</p>
<p>just my 2 cents. + college (assuming you do well) will help</p>
<p>I won't talk down on you...because a lot of people do a lot of worse things then that every day. Its almost nothing. I know kids who sell dope, kids who rob people, and people who couldn't care less if the person next to them in class was dead. But again, I won't lie to you, you're in a bad situation. Although I have absolutely no professional experience in this kind of thing, I will offer you the following advice:</p>
<p>1. Talk to a lawyer. See if you can get it expunged from your record.</p>
<p>2. Talk to the counselor. Plead for her to not include it in her recommendation. Show her your stats, that you are perfect ivy league material, and she might just do it (quietly). </p>
<p>3. Change schools or counselors if you can.</p>
<p>4. If I were an ivy league dean of admissions, I would not accept your application with that on your record. They have so many people who do not have a breach of academic integrity on their record that it would be wise to get it out of there any way possible. If you fail at all of the above, go to a state uni and then try and transfer.</p>
<p>5. In the end...know that this will not ruin your life, and have the self respect to carry on (which you seem to have done spectacularly). Berkley is an excellent school, spend a lot of time on your application for there. But still, apply for the schools you would like to go to, and include safety schools. But you're an intelligent person, you probably knew that.</p>
<p>I hope that helped!</p>
<p>x9521...yeah i considered it. i just hope i don't get too much of a defeatus attitude by then! and i think i was just really excited to enter my university as a freshman. im also a big believer in fate so i dont know if i'd want to change schools once i'm enrolled in one. </p>
<p>Nightsd.....
1. my parents aren't big believers in the "american way" of suing and threatening legally...though i'm really into law/mock trial and i think it can be effective ha. do you know how the lawyer could possibly get this off my record?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>she claims that if she doesn't...none of her other letters of recs for other students will be valid word. but i feel like she wants to screw me over. </p></li>
<li><p>changing counselors...really awkward? and changing schools...considered it when it was just too shameful to face school after it happened but i've kind of already mapped out the rest of my HS life...courses i'll take, leadership positions i have...etc. i'd have to start over.</p></li>
<li><p>thank you very much and you have been extremely helpful!</p></li>
</ol>
<p>OP- essays. have a little more confidence. i know, easy for me to say, but that might go a long way</p>
<p>I don't know if a lawyer is your best bet. Personally though, if it is your dream to attend an ivy league school, do everything you can to get this expunged from your record. Will you be 18 when you graduate? I do believe you can take your case to a lawyer (free of charge) and they will hear it for you, perhaps over the phone. Maybe if you have a relative who has passed the bar exam and is a lawyer you should now contact them, or if a relative of your's would understand your situation and could bypass your parents.</p>
<p>Since what you did wasn't illegal, it probably isn't on your ( obviously extensive) criminal history. So I don't know if a lawyer is your best shot, but I would try it if all else fails.</p>
<p>Talk to your principal about changing counselors. Write your principal a touching letter, explaining how you have always had a bleeding heart for others and that you truly felt that cheating the exams would help a person who could use your intelligence to help them in life. Tell them that you were a teenager, and that you don't think it is fair that this single event should take an obviously very capable student out of eligibility for attending an ivy league school.</p>
<p>Perhaps your principal could get you switched to a different counselor. This might be your best bet. Your counselor seems like the type who has a stick stuck up their lower digestive tract, so try and switch counselors. Keep us informed!</p>
<p>I hate when the system gets so caught up in punishing people who don't deserve it that they fail to see true potential.</p>
<p>what other schools are you considering besides the ivies? I mean, honestly, I don't think you have a shot at the ivies, because, like so many said, there's no reason to take a risk on you when there are other perfectly good applicants that have yet to be caught cheating (lol, notice i'm not saying they don't cheat... it's a joke..).</p>
<p>however, that's not to say you couldn't get into some very good private schools.
I think you should write one of your essays about the incident and be very upfront. Don't try and paint yourself as the victem, because it'll make you look like you're trying to get out from taking the consequences for what you did. I would say to write an essay in a tone similair to that of which you are writing on this thread. I mean, in essay form, but very upfront, and don't ask to be forgiven, but instead for them to look at more than just the one incident. </p>
<p>don't think your life is over (though I know the feeling, if you would like to PM). life is about challenges, and this is one of them. Sure, your life is on a different course than it otherwise would have been, but you never know where this will take you. I would say to apply to some of the schools that you absolutely love and some lower level schools (not necessarilly only state schools). don't be too hard on yourself, and good luck.</p>
<p>edit: oh, and on another note, I applaud the counselor for including the incident on the recommendation. Sure, the OP is a very good person, but the point of the counselor rec. is to get this type of information. more students should be mad at the counselor that (possibly) didn't report the incident for the other student that received the SAT score than at the counselor that did the right thing. if all counselors were as uprfont the system would be a better one.</p>
<p>Omg..what the hell? lighten up people. it's not like you guys haven't ever cheated before. you still have a shot at the Ivies if that is where you want to go. Look, there are 8 Ivies...I am almost positive that AT LEAST one will accept you...assuming that you are open to all of them. that's actually a pretty sweet story, or, at least, it will be 10 years from now. You learned your lesson, obviously, but it's not going to screw up your life. you'll be fine. and whoever said do community college for a year...what the hell? some people....ugh</p>
<p>What'd you get on the SAT?</p>
<p>to the OP: I was dumb and applied to both Upenn Wharton and Cornell AEM, and not their schools of arts and sciences, so I kinda threw away my chances at 2/5 of the ivies I applied for. It's really not that bad.</p>
<p>And yeah, seriously I think you ought to try. I mean, just reading your posts now, I think you're a really sweet and nice kid -- the purpose of teacher / counselor recommendations are to present a more complete image of yourself to the admissions office, right? Well, if they're not going to do a good and fair job with it, take it into your own hands. Write a touching essay and explain yourself and your actions. Present yourself as you are. It can't hurt, anyway.</p>
<p>As for the money -- meh? I mean, yeah, it's a lot, but it's doable, especially as a one time investment. I applied for 13 schools and got in 5. I think with admissions as it is, ~10 is the average anyhow...</p>
<p>I think the best thing you can do for yourself is to realize that you made a mistake and can blame no one but yourself. You made the conscious decision of cheating. If you learn from this mistake, you can rebound back no matter what.</p>
<p>what happened
to the girl that
made you cheat?
she better be in
trouble too.</p>
<p>As everyone else is saying, depending on how you take this situation and rise tot he occasion, I think it could make a really good college essay. Well... Good as in it can be taken as "THE AUDACITY!" or "Wow... Bold."</p>
<p>But either way, nothing should never stop one from reaching for what he/she wants. Apply. It can't hurt anyone.. except an ego.</p>
<p>Re: someone outing you
[quote]
....they literally ruined my life and it's not like i did this kind of thing a lot.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>The person who outed you didn't "ruin you life" you did by committing a fraud. When you make comments like that you come across as sounding like you're more sorry that you got caught than you are for having committed a fraud in the first place.</p>
<p>There were many victims of your crime (essentially everyone who takes the SAT legitimately) and thus if someone knew you had passed off a fraud then they were perfect right in bringing that to someone's attention. In the crazy world of college admissions that, presumably, higher SAT score could have made the difference between your co-conspirator being admitted over someone else or not.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Since what you did wasn't illegal...
[/quote]
Actually it was illegal (although I doubt a district attorney would press charges). Creating a fake ID and then using it to pretend that you are another individual is very much a criminal offense. </p>
<p>Re: Getting a lawyer...</p>
<p>A lawyer can't really help you in this situation. You committed a fraud, you admit to doing so. If the school wants to tell others (e.g. college you apply to) those facts then they are free to do so... in fact I would say that on behalf of other students at your school they are pretty much required to do so. </p>
<p>If the school was going to spread nasty rumors about you then there might be grounds for getting a lawyer involved, but if (from what you've said) they're simply going to state the facts as they are and you have confirmed (that you made a fake ID to pretend you were someone else and then took the SAT for them) then there is nothing wrong with that... in fact that is what they should do.</p>
<p>Even if a particular school doesn't request a recommendation letter from the school's administration they're still certainly going to be in communication with the school administration in one form or another (e.g. when they request copies of official transcripts to be sent direct from the school) so they would probably (in fact on behalf of the other students they should) attach a note outlining what occurred. Even if you switched schools, a college would still likely have to contact your current school's administration to get the official transcripts. </p>
<p>Reporting this fact would have to happen not only for the school to stick up for the 'victims' of your crime but also because should a college somehow ever find out that this fraud occurred and the school didn't tell them then the college is going to have a real concern about what else your school is hiding about its applicants (thus hurting the chances of future applicants from being admitted). Because of that, it's almost certain your HS is going to do a full disclosure with your transcripts, if not in the letter. </p>
<p>Did you screw up big time? Yes. Will this probably ruin your previous ideal plans for the next few years? Yes. Will this ruin your whole life? No. </p>
<p>I think you'd be best to follow some of the other posters advice and plan on attending a community college for a few years and then perhaps you can transfer to a proper college to finish up a degree. Any normal college that finds out about this (and I think most will one way or another, see above) is very unlikely to admit you. To be honest, even if the college somehow doesn't find out from the school and you don't disclose it yourself (and someone tells the college) they'll likely rescind your acceptance or expel you from the college (that sort of thing does happen... look at the Blair Hornstein case a few years back). </p>
<p>I suppose it doesn't hurt to try, but you better have a really good "plan B."</p>
<p>As for now... you made a mistake so accept that and do your best to move on and rebuild your character and try to regain the respect and trust of your peers and mentors.</p>
<p>It is not hard to blow this whole thing over. I would personally apply to colleges that do not require counselor recomendations such as the UC system. There is no way for them of knowing. Usually ur counselor is not in charge of sending transcripts, but the secretary (that is the way our school is) is, so I mean the UC system won't know. It would be hard to get into any college that requires a recomendation, unless ur counselor includes the note, but somehow downplays it. You committed a big offense, and really if you were goin to take the test for someone else, you don't do it at a center that has people you know. You should go to a center in another city....far away... (maybe like 1hr drive) that way know one would know.</p>
<p>many state univ doesn't require cousellor's rec so how about just go to an ok state univ then transfer?</p>