competition @ ucsd?

<p>^^not anymore, the teacher left right? i had old chem labs but i didn't get into the class.</p>

<p>cheating is easy at ucsd. tons of teachers use test banks or old tests with the numbers changed. for some classes it's near impossible other than by traditional methods (copying someone else's paper, writing formulas on your arms, etc.). how do i know? because i've had access to old tests that less technologically adept people aren't able to obtain. at first i used them to just study from, but after i saw the test, it was so similar (literally, changing the numbers from the old test) that i thought it'd be cheating if i continued to use the old tests, so i didn't. but others may be less ethical.</p>

<p>i am by no means advocating using the above methods to artificially inflate your scores against your classmates'. i am merely suggesting that this is what goes on.</p>

<p>competition is only bad for eng/sci majors. eng because the classes are so difficult any edge helps. sci because tons want to go to med/dental/pharm school. everyone else is pretty chill.</p>

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tons of teachers use test banks or old tests with the numbers changed.

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because i've had access to old tests

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<p>Dude, that's like not even cheating. If it's made available, there's no harm in that.</p>

<p>I'm talking about literally a designated "cheat person" and a whole row of people cheat off him (and a few behind him and in front of him). Don't ask how it works, but it happens. And that's the least...</p>

<p>
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the teacher left right? i had old chem labs but i didn't get into the class.

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Professor Ball? Isn't he still teaching fall quarter? <em>shrug</em> My apartment-mate took 6BL spring quarter, and she said she'll help me out when she could. Not cheating, but yanno, advise...</p>

<p>Ball isn't teaching anymore... He said I would need to see the new teacher if I wanted my final back, bah...</p>

<p>syneria, If you notice, ucsdhopeful said that the tests weren't really publicly available, so that kinda is cheating/stealing.</p>

<p>And cheating is extremely easy. Have you ever sat in warren lecture hall or peterson lecture hall. Your practically spilling into the seats next to you, its incredibly easy to look over at your neighbours test, which is why I make a point to sit right in front of the professor...</p>

<p>they were publicly available as in, if you looked hard enough in the archives, you could easily get them. but they weren't publicly available because most people weren't smart enough to dig around on their professors' sites. i'm talking about math in particular. dr. eggers, in fact. i know he had one set of old midterms/finals up from the previous year, but my friend and i were able to find 3-4 sets, from 2002-2006.</p>

<p>so would that be cheating or not? i kind of thought it was. granted, sometimes it wasn't exactly the same but similar, other times it was just the numbers changed.</p>

<p>Ooooh, I see. I don't know, I wouldn't think so, since its not like they really tried to prevent students from getting them. Any student could really access those files if there is no encryption or password protecting them... And besides, it is always possible to get an ex-student's exam, and I wouldn't think that that is cheating either.</p>

<p>But isn't wonderful seeing a test question that you had seen before?? On one of my chem midterms, there was a question copied word for word from a question bank I had used to study from the library. It was amazing, but I felt kinda guilty... Oh well, he shouldn't have taken questions from a published source.</p>

<p>yes, it's great when you know it was a really difficult question and you know that most of the class won't get it.</p>

<p>now i sound like one of those super competitive people everyone is hating on in this thread. lol.</p>

<p>sometimes i feel like getting ex-students' exams is cheating. not everyone has access to these resources unlike what i was explaining about archives on teachers' websites. same with getting old chem labs. but i rationalize on the chem labs by saying that everyone has them and it's a disadvantage if you don't. i still have yet to use them (if ever) since i didn't get into 6bl. and in the end, you screw yourself over for upper division classes/further into the course/grad/professional school exams.</p>

<p>oh snap! IBall isnt teaching anymore?! dude...that class was like ultimate cheater's class. a guy in my class had to take the safety exam TWICE...i mean come on now...it's a SAFETY EXAM. but he got an A..he had unbelievably high lab grades (got labs from friends..but who doesnt these days for that class..).</p>

<p>anyway i think if there is a new prof for 6bl, it doesnt look too good. old labs are useless, and that means ppl will definitely have to spend MUCH MORE time in 6bl than previous students did. meaning, they would have to start from scratch, unless the prof is ridiculously easy...</p>

<p>or it'll get curved better and more accurately.</p>

<p>but from what i heard, they probably won't change the labs since that would require completely new lab manuals and chemicals and whatnot. besides, if it's a new professor, he/she'll test out the waters first and just go with the flow and use the old lab manuals for at least the first quarter. my theory, at least.</p>

<p>The labs are probably going to be the same, but the grading rubrics might change... There will still be crappy graders, though, most likely.</p>