I am a second year student on a pre-pharmacy track. I recently had a lab report due and realized I was missing the procedures section minutes before it was due. I panicked and added a friends Procedure section to my lab report. Long story short this was found to be an honor code violation. I have accepted my mistake and its consequences. I am anticipating in addition to an F in the class there will be some sort of notation on my transcript.
I want to know if it is worth my time to continue to be a pre-health student anymore? I have always dreamed of being a pharmacist and I want to know if my chances of getting in are basically 0 to none after this notation. I am not a 4.0 student by any means but I have decent grades no C’s D’s or F’s before this lab. I know how seriously honor code violations are taken so Is it time that I pursue a different path? Please help.
@tcsenion2k16
Like @Lindagaf stated, you need to speak with your academic advisor or pharmacy dean about this.
Re. your dream of being a pharmacist, I hope it is not because you think it is a good paying job. By the time you graduate from a pharmacy school 4-5 years from now, the job market may be very saturated. It already is.
Did your friend give the section to you? Did the friend get an honor code violation as well? I would speak to an advisor. My son’s roommate did something like this and was expelled. He left suddenly and we found out why later. He had copied my son’s work and my son did not know. Did you cheat in high school? Many kids do so not judging, just wondering if this violation was a result of a lackadaisical attitude toward cheating that many high schoolers have. It is very serious in college.
A pharmacist has life or death responsibility over some very dangerous medications. They can help to heal, or they can kill you in the wrong dose, or when mixed with another medication. Would you want a pharmacist who cheated his way through pharmacy school filling your prescription?
Rather than take an F you may want to see if you can withdraw from the class. Meet with the dean and see if there are any steps you can take to have the violation removed. Whether it’s on a grad school app or interviewing for a job you will probably need to explain this so be prepared - if you have an otherwise stellar resume you can overcome this but make sure you do - get great grades, and do good things. People make mistakes and how you learn from it and recover can be a positive for you.
Talk with your advisor and talk with a pharmacy admissions or dean if you can.
It’s good to own up to mistakes. It’s good to learn from them. Sometimes mistakes have consequences that can’t be fixed and other times one can overcome them. It’s impossible for “us” to know.
The one thing I can tell you is life isn’t over even if this isn’t a fixable situation. There are other paths to choose and while different, they can still be rewarding. (Just a lesson I’ve learned myself after someone else’s mistake 30+ years ago forever changed my life plans. Yes, I still wonder what could have been, but I look at what I have that I wouldn’t have if Plan A had been my path and there are many things I wouldn’t want to give up for a redo.)
@tcsenion2k16 , I know you’re not in pharmacy school. My point was that if you get into the habit of cheating now, you will continue. So own up to it, and make better decisions down the road. If you do that, you may have a shot at getting into pharmacy school or whatever you decide to do.