<p>I was really worried about the PSAT even though I shouldn't have been; I have a 4.0+ GPA, and I'm just a pretty good student in general. Everyone kept telling me how if one were to be a merit scholar, that he or she could almost be guaranteed to get into his or her college of choice. I was pretty scared and thought I need to make sure I was a merit scholar to get into my dream school (UVA) so I cheated off of the person who got the highest score last year. I'm worried that we might have the exact same answers, and this has been bothering me non-stop ever since. Last night I was having dreams that I some how got my sheet back and changed all my answers. I don't even care about being a merit scholar anymore; I really just don't want to get caught. I'm so scared. What are the chances I get caught? Does the PSAT grading system have preventative measures against this type of thing? Can they really prove that I cheated? How will even the suspicion, let alone being found guilty, look when I apply to colleges. This is the most scared I have ever been in my life, and I regret it so much. Please help me, I need advice!</p>
<p>PSAT is not the most important thing. Either way, confess or hope for the best.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, there is no way to catch you unless you confess.</p>
<p>***… dude this is so dumb. Look people who score 220+ (which is just about the safe zone for NMF) probably get THE SAME TYPES OF PROBLEMS WRONG ANYWAYS.</p>
<p>Lets say he is a super star are gets like a 230+ by missing one or two Q’s. Well it isn’t that odd for someone else to get a same score by missing the same questions.</p>
<p>Conclusion: Everyone is trying to get the right answers on the PSAT which means that people are aiming for the correct answers, which happen to be the same answer on every person’s answer sheet. It is like saying two kids got 240 in one school therefore on cheated off another cause they both got the exact same answers correct.</p>
<p>So what counts as cheat?
When the proctor sees that you are cheating or if u get caught breaking many of the test taking rules. Or maybe you copied a guy’s essay, EVEN THOUGH PSAT DOESN’T HAVE AN ESSAY</p>
<p>ftw, you don’t need National Merit scholar to get admitted into UVA…</p>
<p>^ Nor does National Merit Scholar guarantee admittance anywhere.</p>
<p>yeah, that was totally not worth it in any way</p>
<p>you f***ed up big time, kid.</p>
<p>Thank you so much. I know how terrible of a thing it was to do, and I will most likely not out-live my guilt, but I am much more at ease. If I could go back and do it again, I would never cheat, its just not worth it. I feel like such a piece of ****.</p>
<p>Additional comments are definitely appreciated. Thanks</p>
<p>your SAT scores will show it</p>
<p>Even if you were to make the cut-off for National Merit, you would still have to take the SAT to confirm your score.</p>
<p>“your SAT scores will show it”</p>
<p>Exactly. You have to have SAT scores that indicate that your performance was on par with reality; therefore, unless you can muster up a similar performance on the SAT (cheating or not), you won’t qualify as a finalist, meaning that you won’t qualify for those nice scholarships, either.</p>
<p>You probably won’t get caught, but you should confess anyway. You think you feel like a POS now? Imagine how you’d feel if you got NMSF instead of someone who deserved it.</p>
<p>I think I could have gotten close to the 220s without cheating, but I was just so worried I felt the need to hedge my bets. If I get the merit scholarship, I probably just won’t do the application now. I don’t want to confess because I don’t want to get expelled. I feel so bad about cheating, but I’m also really scared about getting kicked out of school for it.</p>
<p>I don’t think they can expel you for cheating on the PSAT. I’m pretty sure the school wouldn’t even find out. You could always call the collegeboard anonymously and ask them what the consequences for cheaters are.</p>
<p>How can you copy every single answer? You mean for the whole 2+ hours, you look over to his test and copy each and every answer? You did not even try to do some of the questions yourself? And this person did not know at all while this was happening?</p>
<p>I heard that if you get exact same score and exact same answers on the whole test sitting next to each other, that might be a red flag that is automatically dectected by their system.</p>
<p>Maddyf, </p>
<p>Do you think anyone saw you peeping? If not, how would anyone know?
I have to ask though: how cans someone with so much going for them (4.0, etc…) do something like that? If your high school finds out, you’ll have a nasty mark on your transcript (I think they note that sort of thing)…I couldn’t sleep for weeks if I did something like that, probably months. Your SATs matter a heck of a lot more, and you can retake them if you don’t impress the first time. I mean, the PSAT? Seriously? How…?..I am dumbfounded…</p>
<p>No I did most of the test on my own, but for questions that I wasn’t 100% positive I looked. During the extra time I looked at his sheet, and we had the exact same answers I’m pretty sure. He knew I was doing it the whole time, and he wasn’t sitting next to me. He sat one seat in front of me in the row to my left.</p>
<p>I definitely acknowledge that it was the worst mistake of my life. Theres so much pressure, I feel like doing well on this is just another requirement. I would do so many things to take it back.</p>
<p>So you looked to confirm during break, but I presume you changed some answers when they are different or at least double check your answers on the ones that were different? I guess if they are always the same, then you technically did not cheat. Or did you have certain answers that were different but you did not change because you think your’s were right.</p>
<p>I suspect that confessing to cheating on the PSAT could really screw up your college chances. I think you need to work this moral problem out with a trusted advisor – perhaps a pastor or rabbi if you have one – or parent, or friend. You sound like you really regret what you have done. Make sure you don’t just regret it because you are afraid of getting caught. Really think it through, why you did it, and why it was wrong, so that you don’t do it again.</p>
<p>Definitely agree that you should NOT profit from this. Decline the semifinalist honors if you get them. What can you do to make up for it? Maybe you could donate time to tutoring underprivileged kids, or something meaningful.</p>
<p>You have given yourself the opportunity to learn a very important lesson. Don’t waste this opportunity! Turn your guilt around and help yourself become a better person.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>