<p>“Purely out of friendship, and no gain of any kind on my part.”</p>
<p>You gained in friendship (had you not done well, well…). Intangibles matter, a lot! (Spies do their work out of loyalty, or patriotism, or commitment to a foreign government. Occasionally for money…)</p>
<p>Basically- Do we or do we not want our child to be an honest and responsible adult? if yes then the answer is clear, if no then that answer is also clear.</p>
<p>OP’s case is gray because it was cleared, yet the GC said he’d report it. If the principal overrides this, done. If not, have a mature explanation. That’s not “crawling.” That’s being a reasonable candidate for a top school and trying to explain in a manner that settes the issue with those adcoms.</p>
<p>I actually have a first hand experience in this Hypsdad. I was accused of this. I helped a student with a french project and then I put it in my bag. I told him to use it as reference if he needed it. He took it and gave it to his female friend. I told him I wanted it back, but i had an international business presentation that very day, so my main focus wasn’t that homework. She copied it word for word. I explained my case to the assistant principle after I got written down for it and she lashed out on me for “keeping my work unsecured”. This was in 10th grade. My parents refused to sign it.</p>
<p>However, I spoke to the principle and my guidance counselor.
This is their advice, which I am giving to you.: Because this occurred in 10th grade, if your student made astounding accomplishments in his academic life or to the school, you can negotiate an agreement. That NEVER happened with me even though I remained honest and protective and participated in many extra curricular such as yearbook and was the president of the Animation club. They will check the “yes” box. They will check mine.</p>
<p>This is what you can do: You have to explain in your college interview how you recovered from this mistake (what your student learned, and how he will pursue his remaining honest. They will ask about it in the interview.)
Do NOT mention any of this in the college essay, despite what counselors say.
My counselor told me that it will affect how private colleges choose people, as in it serves as a tie breaker or worse between two competing applicants. Colleges are still inclined to choose the best preforming applicants. If your child’s gpa is high and his college essay reflects his passion and personality, then the admissions officer will consider the application for private.
As far as I know, there is no way out of the “yes” box. My counselors are stubborn because they have to maintain THEIR honesty. I got rejected to president of the french honor society that year too. I will have to explain it all to the interviewer.</p>
<p>^ Not necessarily the interviewer. At many schools, interviewers are alumni volunteers. Their reports are informational only and reviewers don’t have to read them. They usually do not ask, in an interview, about disciplinary problems. </p>
<p>The Common App wording is to “attach a separate sheet of paper that gives the approximate date of each incident, explains the circumstances, and reflects on what you learned from the experience.” Or, use the Addl Info section.</p>
<p>To get back to the actual facts of this case: the school clearly didn’t think this was a major infraction, because they really didn’t punish the kid. (Was the receiver punished?) Did they tell him he was “on probation?” If so, then the answer is “yes.” If they just said, “don’t do that again,” maybe the answer is “no.” This is a case of a kid in one class period telling kids in a later class period the same day what was on the test (as I understand what OP said). Although this is wrong, it has to be one of the most common forms of cheating around, and it’s impact is limited since it doesn’t provide the receiver with a lot of extra time to prepare. So maybe the school didn’t consider this to be a big deal. I agree with others that what’s most important is to be sure you know what the school is going to say about it.</p>