<p>My counselor caught one of my classmates cheating on a major standardized test. What would happen if colleges found out? What would happen if the counselor did not report it but someone from my school did?</p>
<p>Well, it would be a major blemish on that student’s record. I don’t think it would make a difference, though, if either the student or counselor reported it first.</p>
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You? Why are you so concerned for your “classmate”?</p>
<p>Colleges will find out. If they hear it from another student (instead of the counselor), the counselor will lose all credibility from that college along with *sister schools. Cheating is considered a lot more severe than a lot of other issues because it violates academic integrity. Choosing to cheat shows a lack of character and in turn, lack of qualification to attend an institution.</p>
<p>*A visiting adcom once confirmed the network of sister schools within admissions</p>
<p>Colleges try to avoid admitting cheaters. Consequently, match schools for cheaters become their reach schools, and so on. </p>
<p>Drunkofdreams is right: If colleges learn about the cheating from another student, not the GC, the GC would lose all credibility with the college.</p>
<p>No, I am not the cheater. I am debating whether or not I should report it because I doubt the counselor would. The classmate I am talking about just so happens to be one of the schools “star pupils,” but the cheating occured before the person was the school’s pet.</p>
<p>But suppose the instance of cheating is for something that otherwise would have been unreported like PSATs. Colleges never asked for it in the first place. Would it still be equally bad? And also suppose the person was an Intel finalist or something of that caliber.</p>
<p>Why take the effort to tattle? Live and let live.</p>
<p>^That isn’t the point of the thread, and in any case, you shouldn’t be condoning cheating.</p>
<p>I repeat my question:
suppose the instance of cheating is for something that otherwise would have been unreported like PSATs. Colleges never asked for it in the first place. Would it still be equally bad? And also suppose the person was an Intel finalist or something of that caliber. Would he/she essentially be barred from HYPSM and the ivies?</p>
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Because the amount of drama that would ensue would guarantee epic lulz.</p>
<p>Actually, you have every right to deliver the truth. Whether or not the test counted directly for college does not matter. Cheating is still cheating. </p>
<p>Should he also be an Intel finalist, adcoms would question the integrity and quality of his scientific work.</p>
<p>Tattle tales have no friends 
I’m sure if he was caught cheating on the standardized test the scores would’ve been canceled.</p>
<p>You really have no way of knowing whether or not the counselor reported the incident. In matters such as this the standard procedure is confidentiality.</p>
<p>You need to trust the adults in your school to do the right thing. Keep in mind that escalating this incident (which means to the school principal), if in fact the counselor did not report it, has severe consequences for the counselor.</p>
<p>So if you’re still unsure if the counselor handled it properly (and remember you have no way of knowing), consider having a chat with the counselor. Don’t expect much though. Because if the counselor did handle it properly he’s unlikely to share any information with you.</p>
<p>I recommend that you trust the counselor and move on.</p>
<p>It’s none of your business, let the guy live his life. It sounds like you are competitive with him and are tired of losing so you’re gonna get revenge, which is rarely worth it.</p>
<p>If the counselor knows about the incident then the case is “in the hands of the proper authorities”. Given that the counselor knows, pursuing contacting another person’s colleges regarding the incident comes across as petty and vindictive not to mention opening up yourself to law suits and retribution. The idea that a guidance counselor’s reputation suffers because one high school student reported to a college an allegation of a classmate’s cheating is laughable. Schools have systems and processes to handle these things, if only to avoid the eventual lawsuits that will come up. The counselor could easily dismiss the incident by saying that the informant didn’t have all the facts and that the situation was investigated and that it didn’t rise to the school’s standard of what constituted cheating. </p>
<p>Finally, I have a hard time believing that college admissions offices have so much free time on their hands that they are going to swap stories and investigate these sort of allegations made by other high school students except in the most extreme of cases. I can’t envision counselor A calling school B and asking, “Did you hear from Susie Brown at City High School? She said that Timmy Johnson cheated, but the school counselor says it was looked at and dismissed. I think we should all black-list Timmy’s application.” Give me a break. If that sort of character assassination actually worked, there would soon be a cottage industry of CC parents calling elite colleges trying to sabotage the applications of students competing with their kids.</p>
<p>If you have indisputable proof that your classmate cheated, talk with your parents and then go to the counselor. If, after seeing the counselor, you are concerned that he/she is covering things up then you can decide to pursue the issue further. Just realize that anything short of undeniable evidence may result in you looking worse than the alleged cheater.</p>
<p>If you aren’t sure your counselor reported it, you can contact the school and inform them. I wouldn’t advise taking it to your counselor or principal at the risk of escalating the problem. Likely, your email/phone call/whatever would prompt the adcoms to call your school and investigate, and if your friend is rejected, the reason will likely not be revealed to them.</p>
<p>This is really none of your business. You don’t know what the counselor did to escalate the matter, and quite frankly, you shouldn’t care. If it doesn’t directly involve you, you shouldn’t put yourself right in the middle. Even if you do, it’ll be a classic case of “he said, she said,” your word against his. At this stage, you should worry about how you can perfect your candidacy for colleges, not how you can ruin someone else’s. </p>
<p>If the guy did cheat, it’ll come back eventually to bite him in the ass.</p>
<p>There is indisputable evidence: the fact that the counselor caught him and his scores were cancelled. However, it is because the scores were cancelled, the colleges would have no way of knowing unless the counselor reported it or a student reported it.</p>
<p>I am not asking for advice on what I should do. I am just wondering what would happen if I told:</p>
<p>Suppose the person was an Intel finalist or something of that caliber. Would he/she essentially be barred from HYPSM and the ivies?</p>
<p>No offense but why do you even care? Is it because you want this person to be barred from the ivies or you would feel guilty if that were to happen?</p>
<p>Is the kid notorious for cheating? Like is this a common occurence? Because if so, then you should tell someone but if it was a one-time affair that happened on the PSATs then why not give the kid a second chance? No need to potentially ruin his future. He may have matured from then and realized how stupid he was being. Give him the benefit of the doubt :)</p>
<p>^It wasn’t the PSATs and neither was he an Intel Finalist. I was merely using that as an example.</p>
<p>Yes he is notorious for cheating, but he has never been caught save for that one time, the only instance the school faculty knows about.</p>
<p>Also note, I am not questioning the integrity of the counselor, but teachers and counselors are supposed to, by default, say good things about the applicant; they rarely mention bad things even if they’re true. Because of this, why would the counselor’s credibility be affected? Are they supposed to mention instances of cheating? Does the recommendation ask for it?</p>