<p>Do colleges check for plagiarism?</p>
<p>They don’t check for every applicant usually, since that just isn’t possible. But yes, they do check for plagiarism. Usually for people who have very standout essays or unique portfolios; where it might be written so well that there’s a chance the person didn’t write it themselves. </p>
<p>Just today my calc/stat teacher was talking about people who were rescinded from ivies for low grades or plagiarism. She mentioned a girl who got accepted ED to Harvard 5 years ago. She was rescinded later in the year because some of the essays in her writing portfolio were found to be plagiarized from campaign speeches. (Mind you, this wasn’t some huge nationally broadcasted speech on TV, it was just a small local rally.) The girl was volunteering at a political campaign the year she applied the Harvard. Basically she transcribed the speech as it was being made, and later took large chunks of the speech and pretended it was her own words in the portfolio.</p>
<p>But if you’re plagiarizing essays, like using an essay your sibling submitted 3 years ago to the college you’re applying to now, they probably won’t catch it. Unless you’re plagiarizing your sibling’s essay that was written about a very eclectic experience.</p>
<p>Your self interest dictates honesty in these matters, regardless of your ethics. Do they always check? No, but it’s a high stakes game and isn’t worth the risk.</p>
<p>It’s kind of like smoking, once you start, it’s really hard to stop. Just say no!</p>
<p>@CuteAccountant, was her name Blair something? I remember reading about her, as she made headlines back in the day.</p>
<p>Wow she was in the headlines? Oh my god Harvard is so disrespectful of disclosing these.</p>
<p>@MrPropapanda Yeah, I remember now. She made headlines because she sued her high school over valedictorian position and the case went public. Then her acceptance to Harvard got rescinded because of plagiarism. I checked, her name is Blair Hornstine, if you google her everything pops up.</p>
<p>^^^yeah she goes to st. andrews now.
no one would’ve found out if she weren’t a dumbass and sued the school</p>
<p>If she had decided to let another person also be a valedictorian (instead of suing to become the sole valedictorian), just maybe she would have been at Harvard right now. It’s too bad that greed overtook her…</p>
<p>Anyways, you shouldn’t plagiarize. Sooner or later, you will get in deep trouble.</p>
<p>Sounds like her lol. Not many people get rescinded for plagiarism and then get their father who is a lawyer/judge to help litigate. For some reason my teacher wouldn’t disclose the girl’s name to us.</p>
<p>Agree with tophopeful. Plagiarism will always come back to bite you in the ass or haunt you until you go crazy, haha.</p>
<p>Getting caught for plagiarism will KILL your chances in life. Seriously! Don’t ever risk it. In my opinion, it’s better to get a B on a paper than to plagiarize!</p>
<p>Hornstine’s story:
[Harvard</a> Takes Back Hornstine Admission Offer | The Harvard Crimson](<a href=“http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/7/11/harvard-takes-back-hornstine-admission-offer/]Harvard”>Harvard Takes Back Hornstine Admission Offer | News | The Harvard Crimson)</p>
<p>She graduated St Andrews (Scotland) in 2006 with a degree in Classics, attended Juilliard for a bit and is now in William and Mary Law school.</p>