<p>erato-you sound scared. Please get some adult support and guidance, and tell the entire truth. you will survive this.</p>
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Um..yes really. Well, I'd love to meet those professors and let them know that they should be adhering to the university policy on academic integrity. My professors here take these cases very seriously and have emphasized this before every exam and paper assignment, as well as in their syllabi because they don't want to deal with the paperwork.
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<p>They say that -- but do they actually follow through in most cases? I suppose you wouldn't know that unless you've cheated and/or know lots of other people who did. It's easy for professors to make empty threats.</p>
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Also, they have reported students and the committee sided with the prof.
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<p>Obviously the committee would pretty much have to, if the professor/TA bothered to report the student. Thing is, many professors just don't bother for various reasons. (laziness, lack of desire to ruin the student's life even if he deserves it, etc.) Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.</p>
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For some reason, I find your story very hard to believe. If those "professors" actually told you that and are not tenured or are on the tenure track, then they should not be teaching academia. If they have TA's who read the papers and find something fishy, they will notify the professor. Are these professors assistant, associate, or full professors?
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<p>These "professors" have been tenured for decades. Maybe that's why they don't pay attention to those sorts of things. They are also among the best in their department, by the way.</p>
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Also, I'm saying that if a facilitator does catch you with a calculator during a history exam, that would be a strong case. For math, that's a different story since it will be hard to prove.</p>
<p>Also, I just realized from your profile you are only 15 and you are friends with professors? Professors aren't your friends, they are mentors. When you graduate from college then they can become your friends. When you can buy them a drink at the bar on your tab, they are your friends. I've been on good terms with many professors, and yet I do not consider them my "friends".
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<p>That "friend" would happen to be my "father." We're on good terms. ;)</p>
<p>And he only teaches engineering classes. So probably a calculator on a history exam = bad idea. Of course, sharing calculators, even on a math exam, is generally considered an indicator of cheating (though most of the professors my father knows aren't vindictive enough to fail students for doing it, and/or they're just lazy).</p>
<p>Actually I've read enough stories about cheating cases in the campus newspaper and there has been an increased amount of committee hearings on it. And no, I have not been tempted to cheat (since I have a conscience) or plagiarize a paper (I have a way with words and I have been strongly suggested to publish one of my papers). And I don't surround myself with cheaters and plagiarizers. :) </p>
<p>I guess we're going to have to agree to disagree on the second point. Also I think that it depends on the university. The professors at my university don't take any chances and I've heard about the cheating cases from other people. I wish my professors were as lenient as the professors you've mentioned. </p>
<p>Funny, since my professors are tenured and they are very strict about cheating and have had to attend hearings. I'm not sure about your professors, but all of mine have asked facilitators to watch over us during exams. </p>
<p>You're basing your entire argument on one professor (your father) and his colleagues? You amuse me. :) You're "friends" with a professor when you don't need reccomendations while in a university (because it will pose a conflict of interest), don't need strings pulled for you while in a university or if you've graduated. The reason I am saying this again, is because you said you were friends with "professors" not <em>a</em> professor. I am friendly with a lot of my professors, but I don't joke around with them the way I joke around with my friends on a Saturday night. They're my mentors, not my "friends".</p>
<p>^^Really? I guess you must go to a better school than my father teaches at then. He's at a fourth-tier state university where nobody cares about anything. Is MSU a liberal arts school?</p>
<p>note: I'm 15 years old (sophomore) applying to boarding school (11th grade).
I confessed to my teacher after the class was over and she said "well i see that you're contrite"...</p>
<p>i can regain their trust over time and will accept punishment and everything and i will NEVER EBEViuYKUYSDFGIAEKUdhbkaj ever ever cheat again or anything and i'm going to church tomarrow (the last time i went was for easter in 2nd grade) and i have learned my lesson and everything but the immediacy of my post lies in the reccomendations. i have beeen a great student my entire life. i have gone beyond what my teachers have asked me for my whole academic career. i have been a good person and have put myself under a lot of pressure to succeed beyond all expectations. because of this, my reccomendations were amazing. i did something horrible but it is not a representation of me as a whole. that one act does not represent my character or past performance on tests. i can regain trust and pay my dues but not in one day. i will do everything i can to pay my dues but this can't happen in one day. what do i do about the recs in the mean time? i told my extracurricular rec (i didn't need to) and he said that he knows this was a breach in my character and is still going to send his amazing recs... what about my teacher and guidance counselor? i'm going to write a letter to express my shame and i'm willing to take any punishment (suspension, menial labor, getting kicked out of school) but i have been preparing a long time to go to prep school and have done everything. i have felt very guilty about not being priveleged in the process of applying because i have many disadvantages because of that and i've been trying to copmpensate for my lack of privelege and preparation since.. which is why i cheated, i can say in retospect. i'm up against this kids who have been cultivated by helicopter parents and i feel so inadequate because if that.. so i'vebeen trying to compensate, and this is what happened. what do i do about the recs? man, i could die right now i just ruined my entire future. everything.</p>
<p>First off, I'd just like to say that unlike other posters, I do have sympathy for you. I don't think people go to such lengths to cheat because they're lazy; I think they are just desperate and see no other way out of a situation and at the time, cheating seems like the best and only option. </p>
<p>As far as the recs go, from what I understand, it seems like all of that's really up to your teachers. If they want to still give you them, they will. If they don't, they don't. This just might be the part of the punishment that you have to accept. You're kind of at the mercy of them right now. </p>
<p>And by the way, not getting into boarding school will not mess up your future. I understand it's certainly a disappointment, but you can still get into top colleges w/o boarding school and honestly, once you're in college not too many care where you went to high school. But anyways, admit your mistake and take full responsibilty and all you can do is hope for the best.</p>
<p>You did not ruin your entire future. Cheating is an addiction for some people. Be gald your not one of them. Considering you were caught, I highly doubt that you will ever cheat again. However, that's obviously not your most pressing problem. I suggest you schedule a one-on-one meeting with your guidance counsleor, principal, and teacher. Tell them what you've told us. You were caught red handed; there's no way to weasel yourself out of this situation. If you show the intitiative to talk to them about it, they may be willing to show you mercy. If you make up some story, you are completely screwed. Good Luck. Again, your life is not screwed and in the end, things will work out for the best.</p>
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^^Really? I guess you must go to a better school than my father teaches at then. He's at a fourth-tier state university where nobody cares about anything. Is MSU a liberal arts school?
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<p>In any university, cheating is a serious offense. Professors deal with how to handle cheating differently. In my class, cheating is rare. The key is to prevent it from happening by creating a atmosphere of trust. You teach clearly to the best of your ability, you give fair test and letting student believe that if they put in reasonable effort they could understand the material and achieve good grade. Thus there is not need for cheating. My class in engineering is usually small with less than 30 students, my test is open books and notes and major written project/report will require oral presentation/defence. This cut down not only the need and but also the possibility of cheating. In rare case a student prepare to help some classmate out, I would move myself to a position that they know that I will notice them right away if they do something foolish. Usually they get nervous that the suspected helper will quickly finish the test and turn paper in while the potential helpee will sit and look at a blank paper for long time and then answer the question on their own,turning paper in at the end. I would then chalk mark the paper, put an ink mark on my grade book and pay special atention to that student in all future exams. As knowledge is sequential and accumulative the cheating is a slippery slope, those potential cheater rarely recovered and some of them later drop the course. This is just my preventive act. In most of my course, none of my student cheat. I think this is the best situation for all involved.
Once the professor lost control of class and cheating become wide spread, the situation could be difficult to handle. Professor should never allow this to happen. There is a case in my college that a tenured award winning professor caught a group of students cheating and these students while admit cheating claimed that this professor's act is racially motivated,because he didn't catch cheaters from other race. It end up the professor was on trial and he probably handled the inquiry poorly and got fired.
As in any ethics issue, it's handling require carefully examining the 5 Ps: purpose, pride, patience,persistence and perspective. Someone care very much about cheating may also appear to be not care, one don't catch cheater because no one cheat.</p>
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note: I'm 15 years old (sophomore) applying to boarding school (11th grade).
I confessed to my teacher after the class was over and she said "well i see that you're contrite"...
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<p>Erato,</p>
<p>It take real courage to admit serious mistake. I'm glad that you made the right and wise choice. Best wishes.</p>
<p>well.. no, i'm still at great fault. that's when i cracked and i said that i bought it from someone else (instead of admitting that i took it from her)...so i didn't do the right thing. i made it worse.. she said she was glad that i told the truth and that i was making this easier and that i could help them now.</p>
<p>another note: my school's system lies on the veracity of the tests... entire grades are based on the tests.. because of this, it's very serious... i don't know what they're going to do exactly.. they have to fiure out if otehr students have the test... i dont knowww</p>
<p>FWIW, it does seem that most serial cheaters rely on the claim that "everybody does it". </p>
<p>To deny that everyone does it--to point out that many of us choose *not *to--infuriates them because it removes the cover they're hiding behind. They then have to address the possibility that they alone are responsible for their choices. </p>
<p>This is not addressed to the OP btw.</p>
<p>bump... i told my mother.. she understands, but was also confused as ot whuy i did it (again, i get straight a's without trying much..so this was completely stupid in all regards), but will help me... how do i prevent the teacher/guidance counselor from sending a "nevermind" letter disregarding their stellar recs? ughhh</p>
<p>i would either write a letter or talk to them about it and whatever happens, you must respect their wishes cuz that's all u can do</p>
<p>i think that pleading to them to not send a "nevermind" letter would encourage them to do so, instead, talk to them about the importance of the letter and what it means to you yet tell them that ur ready to face the consequences</p>
<p>erato</p>
<p>high 5! i did the same thing as you. When i was taking my physics test after school, my teacher left the room for 10 minutes. I went up to his bookbag and found the answer key!! </p>
<p>Whoever says that "cheaters don't prosper" is obviously trying to make themselves feel better. In real life, it's not about how you achieve the answer, it's about how you GET it... granted that you have enough bs to back up your resolution :)</p>
<p>But i gotta admit, if you rely solely on cheating, you probably won't get too far. I admire those who can manipulate certain situations to their benefits.</p>
<p>Sometimes, I find cheating harder to do than to actually learn the material well.....</p>
<p>any suggestions on what to do...? should i just say i don't remember any of the people when they show me the pictures? this is serious because my school relies on these tests.. everything is based on the test.. no homework, no classwork (its like homeschooling) and then we test.. no finals even. just regular tests. and so if they think someone has a bunch of those tests thent they need to make entirely new tests......and i need those recs....</p>
<p>Well, I personally think it would be best for you to say, "I lied because I didn't know what to do. I got nervous and blamed somebody else. I'm sorry for cheating and lying. blahh blahh blahh" After doing that, they really won't have any reason to believe that your lying anymore. It's really just up to them as to what happens beyond that.
You cannot say you don't remember who it was when they show you the pictures. Do you really think they would believe that? You also cannot pick out some random person. Whatever you do, don't say it was some random person.<br>
You're in trouble. The only way you have a chance at getting good recs is to fess up. From what you've said, I think they are more worried about widespred cheating. If they find out that you took the test one time, and nobody else saw it, you may just get lucky.</p>
<p>erato, I thought you wrote that you've already admitted to your teacher that you stole the tests, so there shouldn't BE any pictures. If the principal doesn't know today, he/she will find out soon. Don't undo your act of honesty with a lie; tell the truth when you meet the principal.</p>
<p>No matter how much you feel you need the recs, re-gaining the trust of the people who are <em>currently</em> around you is far more important.</p>
<p>I second what meow360 said. You'll look a lot better if you just completely fess up and explain that you panicked/were desperate and didn't know what to do, so you blamed someone else. That shows a lot of maturity</p>
<p>just come clean because a. they already know that u cheated or b. if u continue lying, ur gonna end up hurting someone else and then u'll get caught</p>
<p>just think about the consequences, get out now before u dig a deeper hole for urself</p>