Sigh....why did this happen?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I am currently a sophomore in high school. I attend a school that is ranked 355 in the nation. At the start of this year, I received an honor code violation. Before you assume anything, I received this for plagiarism. I sent my summer reading essay to someone to peer edit. Subsequently, this person took my essay in which I spent long hours writing and submitted it as his own. The administrators immediately found out and issued us both honor code violations. Apparently, we were supposed to know that it is a violation to send somebody else your essay without the teacher's permission. Firstly, no where was it written that this was against the rules and just about everyone I knew did what I did. What makes me furious is that after my incident, the teachers start to inform students about this rule. I guess I just got unlucky. Did I mention that I received a zero for this assignment? </p>

<p>My question is: Will this affect me when I apply to colleges later in high school? I get straight A's and project a 4.0. I immediately recovered from the zero. I am strong in academics and music. I made my state's All-State band in 8th grade and freshmen year. I am going to run track this year and likely for the rest of high school. In summary, I am going participate in numerous clubs and keep a strong/ well balanced EC profile. Later in high school, I want to start a brass quintet and perform for elderly people at nursery homes. Also, I intend to give people free private lessons in order to share my talent while getting some volunteer experience simultaneously. I do policy debate and science olympiad at my school. Hopefully, I will take a leadership position in these and win awards later. These activities interest me greatly. I am particularly strong in math and science. I get close to 100 in these courses with little to no effort. Note that I take the heaviest courseload that my school offers. </p>

<p>My last point is that I am an honest student who studies hard for tests. I don't want this to deter my entire high school profile. I did not see this coming, and could not have prevented this. I only sent my essay to somebody else in order to make it better. Both my parents have tried to fight this, but in vain as the counselors expect the students to know this rule. They refer to this as a "mistake" but it is definitely not a mistake. I read the school handbook and this is not classified as being academically dishonest. My ultimate goal is to attend an ivy league university. My cousin attended Brown and I don't want to let him down. Will this one incident keep me from attaining my life goal?</p>

<p>Thank you for reading my case and please answer my question if you can. I appreciate everything. </p>

<p>Best Wishes,</p>

<p>JZ</p>

2

<p>I honestly believe that it won't do too much damage to your reputation. It was a mistake, and you've learned from it. Just think of it this way--you can explain this situation later in a college essay.</p>

<p>I know you're going to stress about this anyway, because heck, I would too. But it could be worse. :)</p>

3

<p>too early to tell buddy; college admins want to see character development (through ECs, essays, etc) which is hard to comment on since you are still a young freshmen</p>

<p>as long as you are in range with your grades and tests, you'll be fine. Believe me you do not need 2400SAT/36ACT to get into HYP; CONCENTRATE ON ECs if you your dream college is an ivy</p>

4

<p>If you immediately recovered from the zero, I think you're doing good. The only thing I would worry about is if it turns up on your transcript/counselor or teacher recs. However, I'm sure adcoms will understand your situation.</p>

<p>Don't let this keep you down. Like Me=pomegranate!! said, keep up with the good work and concentrate on making yourself stand out to the adcoms as much as possible.</p>

5

<p>If it's on your transcript or on your GC report, you'll need to explain it on your app. Unlike all of the other honor code violation posts I've seen on CC, your situation actually seems like one that college admissions officers won't hold against you -- if you take the time to explain what happened. It also would be good if you could get the teacher who cited you to provide an explanation. The teacher's confirming that you simply had allowed someone else to see your term paper probably would be enough evidence for the college to understand that you weren't doing something like plagiarizing.</p>

6

<p>it wont show up on your transcript...
if you don't believe me, it couldn't hurt to go ask</p>

<p>Lastly - for your own sanity, go succeed in school and get off college forums until second semester of junior year...i'm not kidding, these things are unhealthy</p>

7

<p>Thanks for the replies. Can anyone else answer my question?</p>

8

<p>Don't sweat it. All you can do is continue working hard and getting the best education you can. The rest will take care of itself. Colleges don't expect students to be infallable -- especially early in high school.</p>

9

<p>you don't have to worry, really. you can also explain what happened and how much you learned from this and colleges are forgiving. also, JBou: he only has 2 posts ;P</p>

10

<p>LOL its no big deal dude. Just don't let it happen again- keep up the good work, and you'll be fine.</p>