<p>I received an "F" fall semester '09 for not properly sourcing a paraphrased paragraph in a minor paper for a class. The charge is not on my transcript and my university has a confidentiality policy that won't allow any other institution to find out about any academic dishonesty charges. However, the "F" sticks out like a sore thumb on my upper division transcript, but I took the class over again and earned an A-, and the F was calculated out of my GPA.</p>
<p>Should I disclose this in my statement of purpose and grad school application? Do I even have a shot at grad school because of this? Other than this minor plagiarism offense I have a 3.44 overall GPA (could have been better if I got my **** together sooner) and my GPA in my major is a 3.87. I'm stressing so bad I don't know whether I should come clean and say I learned my lesson or if I should ignore it or make up another excuse.....feedback is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>wait what… how can a school hide academic dishonesty from another school. I thought if a school you applied to has a file on you and you turned in the application you agree to the terms which means they can check your background and see if your claims are true…</p>
<p>Basically, the plagiarism is not flagged on my transcript. My only punishment was an F in the class that I could retake to remove the F from my GPA. Not my transcript. I guess all University of California’s and California State Universities have this policy where if there would be a record of your plagiarism, that information will never be released to anyone else, not even another school, your parents, etc.</p>
<p>If there’s no record of it and if you were not brought before a disciplinary board, then you don’t need to mention it in the application itself. There is usually a question about disciplinary action, and you must answer it honestly, so how you handle it will depend in part on the wording of that question. Hiding information can come back to haunt you. It’s not worth it, ever. </p>
<p>I doubt that anyone will ask about the F, especially since you retook the class and earned a high grade; however, if they do, be honest, show remorse, and assure them that it has never and will never happen again. Whatever you do, don’t call it “minor” because, to academics, plagiarism is a grave offense, even if it’s only a paragraph. Your description of the event should sound something like, “I did an extremely stupid thing. I inserted a paraphrased paragraph in a paper without citing the source.” Practice describing the incident in a single sentence (so you don’t belabor the point) but with no nonsense accuracy.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for your feedback! This issue has caused me so much stress, I wish I would have been more careful with that paper in the first place so I didn’t have to worry about my grad school plans going down the toilet.</p>