I had a golden chance to attend a great college in U.S. ( a UC ) and my parents were willing to pay the outrageous tuition for it. I intended to help them in this venture and so started my own start-up and was able to pay 30% of the tuition. Everything was going well; I was working hard and studying but the last few days of my fall quarter of my first year I fell terribly sick and I ended up taking help from one of my friends and copied a major part of his code for my assignment and they gave me a warning. Me and my parents had a talk about it but since the consequences were nothing, no one gave it much thought. My second quarter, I had a lot of work from the start up and the load was too much and so I ended up sick due to over working and in fear of missing the deadline on my last assignment for the quarter, I took help and this time, instead of copying, I wrote the code myself but this time, the logic came out to be the same ( I didn’t think that copying of ideas was also counted in academic dishonesty because I am from a different country where such things don’t exist ) and thus, I ended up getting suspended. I got my sanction just a few hours ago and have decided to appeal the decision and will be talking to counsellors and other people in order to help my case. I deeply deplore my actions and am willing to do anything to atone for it. I applied for a tutoring job in the class that I took in fall and have got the job (even though I plagiarised in the class) and am making sure that students don’t make the same mistake that I do. I have also applied for a really well-paying job as center manager and have got the interview for it ( not many first years get an interview ever ) I am doing all I can to be a good student and an all rounder to show that I can be better. I have come from a really disputed area of my country where I have been beaten, robbed and even shot ( I have a bullet wound on my back and several scars on my body ) and my education is all I have right now because it is what would allow me to help my parents move to a better place back home where my family can remain safe. I wish to change everything, I realise my mistake but I don’t know what else should I do if I get suspended because if I do then my parents will lose their trust in me and I will not be allowed to pursue my education any further even back home.
Don’t look back. Just look forward. Continue to try your hardest and look for teachers and staff who might be willing to support you. Continue to do your best. Things will get better. Just hang in there.
If you need to transfer to a community college with open admission for a semester or two, you might want to start looking into that now. Your student advising office might be a good place to start with a discussion of next steps. Then ultimately you might want to find a 4 year college in the U.S. that is more affordable than the UC since your academic problems seem to be due to too much time spent on your start up company trying to make money to pay your tuition.
Yes, I am at a UC and I understand that I cheated twice. (1st time knowingly and 2nd time unknowingly) I do accept full responsibility for my actions but I do not want to loose my education because of this. I am asking if anyone else has been in my place before and if so, how did they come out of it ( if they did)?
My start-up was supposed to officially launch its first product in my home country in the spring but due to the sanction, I have pushed it forward to summer and I intend to sort things out in a better way when I go back to my home country in the summer. I will be hiring 2 more employees so that my workload gets reduced significantly. I will definitely be looking into transferring if I am allowed to do that. Thank you cheddarcheeseMN.
I am talking to a few staff members and teachers that would be willing to support me on this. Thank you preppedparent.
If someone has been in my shoes. Please guide me through this. I am really scared about it all. I may seem calm and am taking the right steps but I am blowing up from inside.
All Advice is appreciated. Thank you for your time.
I’m going to be truthful: I really don’t think you’ve learned anything from cheating. You seem to ONLY be remorseful because you’ve been sanctioned and NOT because you think you were wrong. That’s the difference that you don’t seem to get.
Your only care is getting your US education by “hook or crook”, regardless of how it happens or what you have to do to get it. You keep repeating the same mistake. That’s just wrong.
It’s called integrity when you understand that you can’t have your own rules.
(You freely admit that you plagiarized and it doesn’t bother you that you have a job in a class in which you’ve cheated.)
FWIW: We have inner city youth, former OG’s, who have been parts of gangs and have been beaten, robbed and shot. Despite these happenings, they get into colleges and they tend to understand integrity.
You should try to take some courses in your country. Returning to a UC will not happen.
I have been suspended for 1 quarter and will be reinstated after that ends. That is a given.
I believe that first time is a mistake, second is carelessness and third is a habit. I definitely do NOT intend to repeat this action again. I deeply deplore my actions and the reason I am tutoring in the class is not because I don’t care that I plagiarized, I wish to help students not make the same mistake that I did. The faculty that hired me knew about my actions and still chose to give me the job because they believed in my competency. I may seem care-free in my attitude but that’s only because I have been under pressure all my life and so I have grown accustomed to it and can make right decisions under immense pressure; inside, I absolutely despise my actions and I apologize if that wasn’t portrayed in what I said earlier.
We all make mistakes. Try to learn from them. Pick yourself up and dust yourself off. Stop beating yourself up and move on. Just try to do your best and explain honestly what happened and hope for the best. Whatever the outcome, the sun will come up tomorrow and you will finish college somewhere, all the wiser.
Cheating is not a “mistake.” A “mistake” is adding 2 and 2 and writing down 5. Cheating is a choice you made. It is not “carelessness,” either. I really don’t think you’re getting it.
So if everything has already been resolved, why do you need “help” from CC?
I agree with @MaineLonghorn.
This is what I tell my students: I teach, and its just so pointless when someone cheats. You are not valuing your “US education” and it is a slap in the face.
Yeah, none of us have ever been under pressure.
You didn’t learn. I really don’t think you can make the right decisions under immense pressure, because you freely cheated and displayed poor judgment. That’s unfair to your classmates who studied, tried hard and didn’t cheat; it’s unfair to your professors who spend thousands of hours preparing lectures, tests, and assignments. Cheating is unacceptable, but especially in US universities. It is grounds to dismiss you.
This is why, I think, your parents are disappointed in you.
Aunt bea, if you haven’t ever made a mistake in your life then I really commend you; but I believe that what has been done has been done. Yes, I do believe that cheating is a mistake and I despise my actions but that doesn’t mean that I do not have a right to continue with my education. Just because someone stumbles and loses their path, doesn’t mean that they are lost forever.
Good people make bad judgment calls everyday. That doesn’t make them “Notgood”. I say that because your profile name isn’t reflective of who you are. I am sure you are a good person.
Your first incident was plagiarism. You agree with that. The university gave you a second chance, and it appears you “took help” from someone else, but because you then did the work, you believe it wasn’t against the rules. It seems this may be a grey area, so you may have a chance on your appeal. You mention cultural differences in definitions of “academic dishonesty”. You may want to get someone from your country to speak regarding those differences. However, because this was your second offense, presumably you would have learned the university’s policies when you received “just a warning” the first time.
Right now, You need to look at your options for school, and earning money.
You mention you are “suspended” for a semester. So, perhaps attend a community college now, plus find a job.
You may also consider changing majors. If your current major causes so much stress you get sick and have to either plagiarize or get answers from someone else, then find another field.
You speak of your parents paying an “outrageous” tuition, and that you are working to help pay 30%. You mention a “disputed” country with bullets flying. If your parents are just scraping by, then perhaps you should rethink that outrageous tuition in the first place. Can you attend a community college to get all basic prerequisite classes completed at a fraction of the cost. Then, after you get your associates degree, apply to a more reasonably priced college?
I am thinking of switching majors and I will be applying for a scholarship which I strongly believe I can get. I am looking at different colleges that would be good for me and most probably will be taking a transfer.