<p>On one of my Ph.D. applications it asks me to disclose any instance where I was expelled, put on probabtion, suspended, or disciplined by any post secondary school. Without going into details, my freshman year of college I was swept up in a situation where my class was chosen to be made an "example" and the majority of students were given an F for the course. Being an ignorant 18 year old I accepted what happened without looking into my rights (appeal, protest, asking what this will do to my record, if it's even on my record), retook the course, and got an A. I never discussed the incident again, nor did anyone else in my academic career bring it up, and I graduated with a 3.8 from my university. </p>
<p>Does my situation count as "disciplined?" I wasn't put on probabtion, suspended, or expelled; all I received was the F. I don't think I received a letter or anything from the university (though I can't be sure because I haven't thought about it since then); I do remember receiving an e-mail from the professor informing me of what had been decided. I don't even know if this is in my "file," but if it is can other schools find out? I know there are rules about failing to disclose information, and I don't want this to haunt me later should I get in. Still, I fear talking about it will hurt my chances, especially as the situation was so murky and I have no wish to speak ill of anyone involved as they are related to my old university. </p>
<p>What should I do? I don't think it's fair that one event should ruin my future when I have never been involved in anything similar again and my the rest of my record is stellar. Does this count as "disciplined?"</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Your situation counts as failing a class, not as being disciplined. They are asking for any formal judgments against you by your college. I would mark 'no' with a clean conscience.</p>
<p>I would assume that unless a disciplinary action is listed on your official transcript, there would be no way for a grad school to know about it.</p>
<p>Your story sounds a bit suspicious and unlikely, but I really, really don't want to know the details. Therefore, to be safe, ask your advisor.</p>
<p>This does not constitute disciplinary action. Period.</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses everyone! I feel better now. </p>
<p>When I applied for my master's (I graduated from undergrad about 3 years ago) none of the school applications asked such a question, and I never addressed it anywhere in my application. My advisor and I never talked about it, honestly. I retook the class, got an A, and that was it. I applied for and won scholarships and fellowships and never once have I had to explain anything. I was thrown for a loop when I saw the question on the Ph.D. application. I'm not sure what's suspicious and unlikely about my story because it really did happen. It was a freshmen GE course and literally like 3/4 of the students received a fail.</p>
<p>Well...</p>
<p>The only reason I can imagine most of a class would be failed would be plagiarism. I'm not going to pass judgment on whether or not the OP was guilty of this or not, because I can't possibly know and really don't care. But there are sometimes notations on plagiarism in the student's file. In this case, the F would have been the disciplinary action for the plagiarism.</p>
<p>The student likely doesn't know if there is anything in the file, but the advisor can find out. If there is something there, it's better to address it. If not, the OP can safely mark "no".</p>
<p>DeepSeekPhd, </p>
<p>Yes, it was a plagiarism issue. I wasn't guilty, and neither were many of the students who were failed, but because of several individuals and a complicated he said/she said argument that developed, along with plagiarism happening in other GE classes, our class was chosen to be the example for the "freshmen problem," and we were failed by the professor. The sad part is I did know who the actual cheaters were and didn't say anything beforehand (most of the class knew and kept quiet rather than "rat out" their classmates/friends), and then when it was all discovered most of us went down with the few guilty.</p>
<p>How would my advisor know if a notation is in my file? Do graduate schools have access to my undergrad files? How would I look into this?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>"How would my advisor know if it's in my file? Do graduate school's have access to my undergrad files?"</p>
<p>I have been wondering about this myself recently. I had a comical situation occur that resulted in some sort of short term disciplinary action but since it "fell off" my transcript after one year of probation, I felt that it didn't merit being included in applications. I was told at the time that this incident would only be made available to certain people on internal documents. I can only guess that for something to show up at a different institution, it has to be included on the official transcript.</p>
<p>There are a couple ways to find out. You could sit down with your advisor, explain this all to him, and ask him/her if it shows up in your records and would be sent to the grad school. Sometimes a notation is made on the transcript. You could also get an official copy of your transcript and check it yourself.</p>
<p>Honestly, given the situation, I'd just have a talk with my advisor if I were you. S/he will be able to guide you in this far better than us, because plagiarism notations vary from school to school. However, please be forthcoming in your explanation. Given your original post, most people would not understand the scenario and would assume (as they did) that it isn't a big deal. Plagiarism, though, is definitely a big deal, and you want to be more detailed and honest with your advisor so s/he can help you in the best way.</p>
<p>No notation is on my transcript. I also know nothing was sent to graduate schools when I applied for my master's. I never went before any committee or anything, it was simply the professor e-mailing me and eventually saying she decided to give us an F. </p>
<p>The reason I didn't launch into a full explanation was I didn't want to get into a detailed discussion about everything (such as how no one informed me I only had several days to appeal, or even that I could formally appeal--yes, it's in the university policies, but being familiar with the handbook wasn't a priority my first semester of college); the one person I tried to talk to bullied me into going along (as I said the story's complicated). Also, people sometimes make quick assumptions about someone when they hear "plagiarism" without knowing the entire situation. Plagiarism is a big deal (as a former T.A. I was always strict with my students), and nothing like that has ever happened to me again. Everyone who knows me knows I'm straight laced, and that's why I don't like to talk about the F in detail. I got involved in a stupid situation when I was 18, but I don't think that should dictate the rest of my life or define who I am.</p>
<p>I'm not saying you have to launch into a detailed explanation to us. We're random internet people. However, if you ask for advice, it's impossible for people to give you decent advice if they don't actually know the situation. That's why I said if you discuss this with your advisor, you need to give them a more detailed explanation.</p>
<p>I understand what you're saying. I suppose it's always hard to get a sense of "tone" on the Internet.</p>
<p>I will talk to my undergrad advisor, but wouldn't she have mentioned it when I applied for my master's programs if she thought it would be a problem or if it was in my file? It's definitely not on my transcript. I honestly thought the F was the end of it; shouldn't I have been informed of a notation somewhere else? Also, what exactly is in the student file, if it's not just your transcript? And wouldn't they need my permission to send any information about me?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>These are all questions none of us can answer, as they are entirely dependent on your institution. I will say that there are professors who will write less-than-stellar recommendations or mention things without warning the applicants. I don't agree with this practice, but it happens.</p>
<p>That brings me to my next piece of generalized advice for all applicants: Don't just ask if someone can write you a letter. Ask if they can write you a good letter. There's a difference. I asked my letter writers if they could write me a good letter. When they agreed, I mentioned that if there were any concerns they felt they should address, I would be more than happy to answer any questions about them before the letter was written. There weren't any issues, and I had terrific letters, but I've spoken to plenty of professors who seem to think it's OK to write a letter where they mention reservations or "damn with faint praise." Be very, very certain of your letter writers. If you ask for a letter and the person sounds less than enthusiastic, you may want to mention gently that it seems they have some reservations and take it from there.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. All of my LORs are enthusiastic, and none of them would ever do what you mentioned above. Any professor that would do that is sad and should just tell the student "no, I can't write a strong letter for you." I would also hope students asking for a LOR know the recommender well enough to know what kind of person he/she is, have a personal relationship with him/her, and have a sense of what letter they will get. Two of my LORs come from my master's program and two come from undergrad, including my advisor who has always been supportive and even asked for my input on what I want in my letter/what should be emphasized. I have another LOR who is the same.</p>