<p>In my literature class, we were doing college essays. I showed my essay about working with a brain cancer patient to another friend, and the friend that stole my essay (let us call her Betsy) read it as well.</p>
<p>She did the same volunteer program as me, but she worked with a completely different person and I'm guessing she didn't seem to gain anything from the experience, because the next day I overheard a conversation between her and our teacher, who was editing her essay. The teacher kept telling her "you can't lie in your essay! You can't say you worked with a brain cancer patient when you actually didn't" and she kept saying "so?! it doesn't matter! College isn't going to give me points for honesty." Then the teacher went through her essay and kept asking "oh did it really affect you like this? and stuff like that, and as I overheard this, I recognized that all the points on why it 'affected' her were from my essay.</p>
<p>Eh. She hangs out in my group of friends, and I guess it's been annoying me a bit that she completely stole my idea. </p>
<p>And she's applying to a few of the same colleges as me.
Should I confront her/the teacher about it?</p>
<p>I would definitely talk to the teacher. I don't know if she'd be able to do anything, but I think it will hurt both of you if you send remarkably similar essays to the same colleges. Obviously it's not fair that her dishonesty could affect your chances for admission.</p>
<p>If the both of you are intending to submit essays about the exact same thing to the same colleges, the similarity will probably raise red flags. If this is just a writing exercise, and Betsy intends to submit a completely different essay, you might just consider this a cautionary tale and move on. Raising a fuss could get you into more trouble than it's worth. </p>
<p>I suggest that you talk to Betsy first to find out why she decided to take your essay topic. (Well, I guess it's pretty obvious why, but I think it's a good idea to hear it from her own mouth.) Talking to her might not change anything, but at least you will have tried. If she does intend to submit that essay, maybe you can warn her away from it. (You could tell her that if the admissions officers catch on, you'll have the evidence to prove that you truly worked with the brain cancer patient and that she'll be caught...) </p>
<p>Since your teacher knows Betsy's lying in her college essay, perhaps you can talk to her and show her your essay and how Betsy basically plagiarized. I'm sure your teacher will understand the predicament you're in. (You don't even have to mention Betsy. After having read Betsy's essay, your teacher will immediately recognize the similarities.) Either that, or try going to your guidance counselor. </p>
<p>Oh, and needless to say, try to be more careful with your college essay in the future. I guess you know now that Betsy's no real friend of yours.</p>