<p>^^^ ... I think an amazing essay could make a great "lessoned learned" essay on virtually an topic ... except academic integrity ... I would never proactively bring up cheating.</p>
<p>I will add my two cents in and confirm what everyone else is already saying. I may make a great essay, but will probably also guarantee rejection. Academic dishonesty is heavily looked down upon- to overcome it in an application will take exceptional circumstances. Your circumstances do not seem anywhere close to exceptional. I'm sure there are other things you can find to write an essay about- use them if you want any hope of being accepted.</p>
<p>Don't write about it.</p>
<p>I don't care if you found the secret to life in the process. It shows that you're a cheater, no matter if the whole class cheated, technically you cheated.</p>
<p>Cheated=rejected</p>
<p>i think ur setting urself up for a rejection....u did it once what makes them think u wont do it again?</p>
<p>but then again it takes guts to admit this stuff</p>
<p>I don't think it has anything with guts.</p>
<p>It has to do with the fact that he cheated.</p>
<p>"One suggestion here, if you are going to go to the teacher you might consider telling the other students so they can "come clean" with you."</p>
<p>lol, like that's going to happen</p>
<p>definitely don't write about how you cheated in high school on your college essay, just think about what you are doing.</p>
<p>I have a hard time believing all the people who say "cheated=rejected". I would be surprised if admissions people were so repulsed by cheating that they auto-rejected a student who resisted massive temptation to do it for a while, then caved in and now regrets it, and has the maturity to write a thoughtful essay about it.</p>
<p>That said, writing about it is a big risk. I'm going to have to concur with 2331clk: You screwed up, you regret it, you learned from it, so move on. Make amends to whomever you need to make amends to--probably the teacher in question. And if your conscience is eating at you enough that you feel you MUST write your college essay about it, then listen to your conscience.</p>
<p>But it sounds to me like you're considering that topic only to get a better essay. That's not a good enough reason to do it, IMHO.</p>
<p>Admissions are always looking for a reason to throw your app out, considering how many they have to go through. It's best if you don't give them a reason to throw your app out in sparkling gold letters. Cheating at any time will look bad...we've all done it - don't admit it.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Cheating at any time will look bad...we've all done it
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I beg to differ. ALL students do not cheat! There are some honest and honorable people in this world!</p>
<p>I do agree that the OP should not use this as an essay topic.</p>
<p>To the OP, now that you've gotten a bunch of advice, what are you going to do?</p>
<p>I agree with Arkansas Mom: Not everyone cheats. It's only cheaters who assume that's true.</p>
<p>Well, as the advice has been kinda one-sided (lol), I've decided to write about cheating, but not in schools, but rather in sports and similar competitions. While I don't have a personal experience in these fields, I am very knowledgable about these topics.</p>
<p>^As long as it wasn't you cheating its fine.</p>
<p>PS:Your first idea was admission suicide</p>
<p>northstarmom and arkansas mom - I would suggest asking your son/daughter then. I'm not saying people go out looking to cheat and I'm not saying that everyone has cheated on a test. But on homework that you are supposed to do yourself? Didn't have time...got the answers from a friend. Happens to A LOT of people - still cheating.</p>
<p>DO NOT admit to cheating. just dont. there's nothing else to say.</p>
<p>OP, even though this has been said a lot, it has gone without explanation:</p>
<p>your essay will read like this: the class got hard, so I cracked under the pressure and cheated, even though i knew it was bad, because I really wanted a higher grade
adcoms will say: college classes are going to be hard, too. grades aren't everything. We dont want such number oriented and soulless students.</p>
<p>or something like that</p>
<p>I know that if I cheated that I would want a second chance. It wouldn't be fair though. The moral of the story is though that you did cheat. You shouldn't be able to write about the cheating that you conducted and get amends, and even applaud, for it.</p>
<p>It isn't a good thing; it's a bad thing.</p>
<p>brand_182: You are wrong. I am a high school student and I have never cheated in my life. That INCLUDES copying another student's homework. </p>
<p>The closest I've come to cheating was in fourth grade, when I did all my homework but "forgot" to turn it in because I preferred the quiet, calm detention room to noisy, hurly-burly recess full of people I didn't know. Is that the same as what we're talking about here? I don't think so.</p>
<p>ann - acutally, my argument was that the majority of people have cheated in their lifetime. The fact that you have never cheated doesn't refute my opinion that the majority of people have cheated at some point in their life. You are the minority in this case. And I'm sure a bunch of people are going to start posting messages saying "I've never cheated either!" but I'm not quite that gullible. I was friends with the val and many other people that were considered the "best minds" of our senior class. They were all quite smart, but they weren't above admitting that they'd copied someone else's homework a time or two. I'm not saying you're lying and if you have never cheated that is a great thing, but I'm sure the majority of people are <em>above</em> cheating and will refuse to admit that they've ever done such a detestable thing.</p>
<p>brand_182, the personal experiences you just described do not advance your argument any more than those of Anniushka refute it. The level of cheating depends largely on the school. It may be highly prevalent at your school, but at mine, it isn't because we have an honor code. </p>
<p>
[quote]
we've all done it
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Statements like this are offensive to everyone who has not cheated. If you insist on sticking to your position, at least qualify it.</p>