Is it clear ? A 17 year old gets a text ? I get inappropriate texts. I delete them. Don’t respond. I’m just as guilty for not reporting to my company.
It’s not an easy situation.
If this is truthfully what happened, I can see how it happens. My son is in groupmes. Now I’m thinking dang what if he gets in trouble due to someone else.
I can’t speak for a college and who they do and don’t admit.
You have people who committed crimes admitted to school.
That’s up to each school as to who deserves admission.
In this case they won’t know unless it’s mentioned in the letter (if they even read them) or they ask the question.
OP is dealing with an unfortunate situation but it’s likely she’d end up at UT anyway -she’ll get into stats- so hopefully there’s no long term damage and a lesson learned.
We all make mistakes. And we all get chances to do better.
There is something to be said to let it be, for sure.
But, if OP’s folks contact the appropriate person at the school, be spokespersons for the facts (that she didn’t use the information), and then ask what impact it might have on her and explicitly ask about LoRs, OP might get a better sense of the impact. At least OP would have some idea about repercussions.
I would do this for my student.
However, if OP has to disclose any instances of academic dishonesty on the apps, that is a decidedly different situation. It has to be disclosed unless the school overturns it.
Even if she didn’t use the info, she’s contaminated. Arguably, she had a duty to warn the teacher who was giving the exam, so that adequate precautions were taken…
My son was on a group chat on which this happened, I think he was in 10th grade (I already forgot which year it happened). He contacted the teacher immediately and they changed the test and no cheating occurred. No repercussions against my son. He was extremely shaken up about the whole thing as he didn’t want to tell on a friend, but knew he needed to inform them right away before everyone got in trouble for cheating.
It could be, but it’s not as definitive where, apparently, OP did use it. Of course, the ideal situation would have been to inform the teacher. But if OP’s answers were markedly different than the answers in the message that was circulated, that would be helpful in terms of the degree of academic dishonesty.
All I am really saying is that discussing this with the parents and let them guide OP. If I were the school, I don’t think that would be surprising. And, hopefully OP will get more info about negative outcomes.
Woah, this received a lot more attention than I was initially expecting…
First of all, I will be deleting information regarding my college list and ECs as that could be used to identify me.
My parents feel greatly disappointed and betrayed because of the allegations, so they are currently refusing to speak to me. Even if they were not, I have little hope they would be able to talk to school officials on my behalf since they are Asian immigrants with limited command of English (Navigating school and staying out of trouble has been expected of me)
Proving I am not guilty seems difficult as well… The test was a multiple choice exam administered on the computer, and it was a history exam so there is not much problem-solving/work that I did during the exam. I did not get a 100 on the exam, so I assume one of my responses was different from the answers sent through the text. Although it seems like an uphill battle, I will try to use that to appeal my case.
As @mynameiswhatever has suggested, I will reach out to my vice principal and figure out what implications this will have for my LoRs. I will also get in touch with my teachers and ask if they are still willing to write me a letter given what happened, as @tsbna44 recommended.
It takes a lifetime to build a reputation for excellence, and it can all come crashing down in a day. I would imagine your reputation and integrity (and college bound potential) may take a hit near-term. However, hopefully you can learn from this, and rebuild over the next decades… Good luck…
Indeed. This is an eye-opener for me in terms of how easy it is to propagate cheating.
@snobbypancake33: all the very best to you! Learn from this, but, when you speak to the VP at school, be contrite and show you care and have learned from this.
That’s a bit extreme. To the OP, I don’t think you need decades to recover from this. Heading into college, make sure you are never caught up in cheating again. Colleges takes cheating VERY seriously, and THAT can affect you for decades.
I do think you need to plead your case if you were 100% not complicit in cheating, but that ship may have sailed. Hindsight is great, but in the future, it’s best to report this kind of thing immediately.
We have all possibly received dubious texts and that doesn’t make us all guilty of a crime.
Uh, that is a wildly different set of facts. Hard to understand how you’d make this post in the first instance and omit that fundamental point. But ok. If that version of the story is what really happened, then you didn’t cheat and should think about clearing your name.
Yes, I was going to suggest you change your username.
Yes, but she’s implicated on record as having access, and thus has culpability. IMHO, she should have alerted the teacher immediately in order to prevent this serious breach of academic integrity.
I am confused. If you deleted the message thread, then why did you write that you are ashamed for seeking an “unfair advantage.”
If you truly deleted and didn’t use it, is there ANY way to prove that? If so, in my view, you are innnocent of cheating, though yes, you should have told the teacher about what you saw.
I am sorry your parents are not speaking to you. That is concerning. I would wish for you that you find an advocate within the school.
You may be able to see recommendations (usually it is advised to check the box for not seeing). You can also write a supplementary essay writing about what happened and that you deleted and did not use. If explanation is needed and helpful. AND if true!
As a person who has written their share of recommendations, I tell my students and my colleagues; The truth is an absolute defense.
I would not recommend that you ask anyone not to write about the situation.
The teachers and your counselor are free to decline to write you a recommendation.
The offense would not appear on your transcript. Just because it is no longer a question on the common app does not mean that teachers/counselors cannot address academic dishonesty as it pertains to your personal qualities and character.
If your school has an honor code, the fact that you said or did nothing about the text thread is enough for you to have violated the honor code.
@tamagotchi’s son demonstrated how the situation should have been handled. The fact that you knew about the text thread and did nothing to shut it down, still makes you a party to academic dishonesty.
You can’t control what someone chooses to write or not to write. You cannot control what they think of you, the group, or the situation. You must just move forward and rebuild.
