I think I ruined my chances...

As you can tell from my screen name and this title, I did the stupidest thing in my entire life. I regret it so much and I feel sick to the stomach. I’m currently a sophomore in high school and 5 months ago I cheated on an English homework assignment. I plagiarized, its as simple as that. It was a 5 question worksheet and I decided to copy some answers from sparknotes. I got suspended 1 day.

Now I want to know what my chances are at a prestigious school like Harvard. Im a straight A student and have a 4.0 GPA. I already taken 4 APs and got a 1520 on my past PSAT. I have stellar EC’s and I also was a Intel ISEF semi-finalist. I take extra courses at my local college and most teachers like me. I am also a URM (if that matters). Believe me, I have learned from my mistake. As you can see, I worked hard to get to the school of my dreams but I had a lapse in judgment and I will NEVER EVER do it again. I also made a letter to explain this suspension. (Msg me if you would like to read it).

I read the past forums on this site and it seems as if my only chance in higher education is community college. Is this true.

I spoke to my GC and it seems as if this will not be on my transcript but she will have to mark yes when the Common App asks if I was ever suspended.

Most US colleges use the Common Application, and in the DISCIPLINARY SECTION, the student is asked:

If you answer YES, it brings up another text box

In addition, when you invite your guidance counselor to complete the Secondary School Report on (SSR) on your behalf through the Common Application, your GC is asked the same question: http://admissions.duke.edu/images/uploads/process/school_report.pdf

If your suspension will appear on your transcript, or is something your guidance counselor will mention in your SSR, then you will have to address the issue when you apply to college. How colleges will treat your disclosure is a question that has been asked and answered so much on College Confidential that there is a whole page devoted to it: http://www.collegeconfidential.com/experts/.

And then there is this: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/09/29/disclose

@gibby You seem like a very experienced person when it comes to matter like these. Do you believe I may have a chance in being admitted if I was to keep a stellar academic record?

First off, understand that having a stellar academic record is a prerequisite for any top college. For example, Harvard has stated that 80% of all applicants could do the work on their campus and 40% of all applicants have an absolutely stellar academic record.

Let’s do the math: 36,000 applicants times .40 = 14,400 applicants with a stellar academic record, which includes GPA and test scores. However, Harvard only has room for 1,660 incoming freshman. So, approximately 13,000 students are rejected every year with stellar academic records – meaning perfect GPA’s and test scores or ones that are near perfect.

Secondly, you should also understand that Harvard (and Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT et al) choose one student with a stellar academic record over another by investigating their “character.” That’s an old fashioned word meaning the way you develop your inner qualities, intellectual passion, maturity, social conscience, concern for community, tolerance, inclusiveness and love of learning. Colleges most learn about those qualities from comments made by your recommendation writers and guidance counselor.

Lastly, if your guidance counselor writes against your disciplinary action by explaining how much you’ve grown as an individual and a student since the occurrence, that will indeed help mitigate the suspension. However – even with all that – you could still be one of approximately 13,000 students with a stellar academic record to be rejected every year.

When you apply to colleges, you should cast a very large and wide net, probingly applying to more target and safety schools than most students.

Best of luck to you.

@gibby Thank you for the advice.

I think the way you stated your offense is important. You have admitted your mistake. You know it was wrong. You are not blaming others, nor are you saying that you’re upset you got caught. This seems like a big difference from others who post about being caught cheating. Do as you say… don’t do it again. As stated above, it doesn’t sound like it’s a pattern. Of course, you’ll have to admit what you did. But, continue to not play a victim and that’s how it will appear when you report it to a college. I don’t think this one this will keep you out of a school. Many, many, many teens make mistakes. It’s what you do from there that makes the difference. Put this behind you and continue to do well and be involved. What’s done is done. Good luck to you!

Community college? Nah, I highly, highly doubt it. You’re an in-demand student. URM nationally-recognized scientist with fantastic stats are, despite what people may say, not a dime a dozen. Does a place like Harvard need you? No. They don’t need anybody. May they still want you? Yes. This is probably contingent on getting very good recs from teachers who will support your claim that you have grown as a person, however.

That said, I would agree with gibby in that you should cast a wider net than you may have done without this plagiarism event. No one should ever hold their breath on Harvard.

There are plenty of schools that will be thrilled to accept you way beyond the CC level. Keep your explanation of the incident short, sweet, and honest like you did on here and your integrity will shine through. The super hard to get into schools are unlikely for anyone to be admitted but it’s worth applying to a few and lots of matches and safeties.

If I were an AO, I would want to know WHY you did this on a simple 5 question worksheet? Not to say you did on other things, but it would make me question the rest of your work.

No. There are a whole lot of options between Harvard and community colleges. It is good news that it happened freshman year. With no more transgressions, at least it is not as recent when you apply to colleges. That said, it won’t help at the very top colleges.

Generally when students have a suspension of some kind, advice is that you might need to apply to a few more schools and a wider range of selectivity than a student who didn’t have this smudge on their record. You can keep a few top schools on your list, but find some where your stats are in the top 25% and consider those matches, and find a couple of true safeties as well.

I’m not sure if this is comparable to your school, but at my boarding school we have something called ISS (in school suspension). However, at my school administrators are very generous about giving out suspensions. Currently, I have been suspended 4 times, but none have stayed on my transcript because they were all minor infractions. For example, one was for being in a dormitory unsupervised in ninth grade. In short, the way we expunge our suspensions is through outstanding academic achievement or community service. I would challenge you to speak with your guidance counselor. Good luck!

An in-school suspension is a way for boarding schools to enforce rules – what you are talking about sounds like being sent to detention in a regular HS. It is honestly a lot harder to kick a BS student out for a couple of days when they are far from home, too.

An academic transgression like this will stay on the student’s record. But you not totally wrong that the guidance counselor might be able to speak to the student’s increased maturity and accepting the consequences. But just saying it to the GC isn’t probably going to help. The OP needs to prove with his actions over the next couple of years that he is trustworthy.

Like most people in the world, you probably won’t be going to Harvard.

I think at the end of the year you should call a meeting with your guidance counselor and principal. At the meeting you should see if they can expunge your record. I know at our school they have done this for kids who have made one mistake and have gone on to be good productive students. It is in the school’s best interest that it’s students get into the best colleges. If you can show it was one mistake and not repeated they might agree.
Good luck! In any case I think you will have many fine colleges to choose from with your stats.

Can’t believe this cheating was on a simple homework worksheet. While it seems trivial, it is important to show it is not part of a pattern. Why did you do it? Were you tired, hadn’t done the reading, were worried about the grade because you didn’t understand the material?

I would say that most colleges, even Harvard, would forgive this infraction in early high school, if your record shows that you have not repeated it and depending on the other things you bring to the table (talents, activities, diversity).

Cheating is cheating but the context of this is trivial, not an exam or paper that counted for a lot. Still, your school clearly wanted to make the point.

See if it can be expunged and if not, keep any explanation simple so as not to make a big deal about it, and express motivation for change that led to a clean record thereafter.

In coming years, don’t get too fixed on Harvard anyway. It is really healthy to learn about a wide range of schools. I always recommend the Colleges that Change Lives website and book to start.