<p>Okay, so I PM'ed my essay to someone, and now I think that they are planning to use it as their own. Does that affect me in any way? I'm mad that someone stole my essay (if that is what happened) but I sure don't want it to look like it was me who plagiarized. Did I just screw myself over?</p>
<p>I would rewrite it. In the case that two students submitted the same essay, it would be hard to prove that you wrote it first. Then, have someone you trust- teacher, parent, friend’s parent- read it. I thought I saw somewhere on CC a thread with names of reliable posters who read essays, but any time you PM an essay to someone you are taking a risk. </p>
<p>If you do PM it to someone, look at their other posts. A “senior member” with a large number of posts usually indicates something about him/her self- are they a parent or a student. It is hard to know the motives of someone who has only a few posts. </p>
<p>If you’re 100% sure they’re gonna plagiarize it, maybe you should post here who’s that “someone” so other posters won’t fall into the same trap. But I don’t think there’s much else you can do, you should rewrite it. Also, don’t send your essay to a HS student again.</p>
<p>If two people submit the same essay to different colleges, would it send up any red flags? I understand if it is to the same college, but different colleges?</p>
<p>By the way, the suspect is @bqthanhvinh </p>
<p>You PM’d your essay to a person posting his FIRST reply on CC? Oh, my.</p>
<p>Many colleges use a program like Turnitin dot com that checks an essay with anything else published or in the system. It is possible that your essay will match another one, even at different colleges. Also, posters should not post their essays on CC or online for that reason. </p>
<p>I would rewrite it- choose another prompt altogether. You want to be the only one with an essay like yours.</p>
<p>The person you PM’d it to has one post. Let this be a warning to other students not to PM an essay to someone with few posts. He/she could be on here looking for essays to copy. </p>
<p>@MaineLonghorn @Pennylane2011 Yeah, I noticed that after I sent it to him/her. I’m normally pretty smart about stuff like that, but oh well… I guess I’ll write a new one. I learned my lesson.</p>
<p>If the OP posted the essay here, would that pull the rug from under the person attempting to use the essay? It seems to me if the OP can no longer use it, make it so the other person is risking plagiarism by using it.</p>
<p>That’s an interesting thought. I would be concerned if the essay contained a personal story that would make the OP identifiable. I would err on the side of caution. </p>
<p>I agree. Definitely no personal info should be posted. </p>