Okay so I’m currently a freshman in college. My “friend” who is a year younger than me copied my common app essay WORD for WORD as a supplement for one of her colleges for this year’s admissions cycle. I just gave her my essay as a reference, I didn’t know she was going to copy it. Will I get in trouble for this? Also, should I call the college she submitted it to reporting her for plagiarism, or is it not worth it since I’m not applying this year? I just feel used and betrayed, but I don’t want to be a fake friend obviously.
I’m not sure I want to dive into the ethics of whether you should report her, but I am wondering how you know. Did she openly admit it to you? Was she apologetic? You are right for feeling used and betrayed IMO. And if she’s shamelessly cheating to apply, things aren’t looking good for once she is in college!
It’s not right. Her action didn’t harm you, probably won’t ever harm you. But I would imagine that your respect for her has taken a nosedive. I know people aren’t perfect, and we need to accept imperfections or we’d have no friends, but really, do you need this person as a friend?
I don’t think that informing her colleges would be the appropriate maneuver. Simply posting your essay on the internet might wind up with some schools finding it, and rejecting her for plagiarism. You could post it on this website, “Here’s the essay that got me into …”
But probably, the most direct and honorable thing to do would be to simply sit down with her and say, “Look, I know that you copied my essay. That was wrong. Do you realize how wrong it was? I gave you access to it to help you, to lend guidance to your creative process, not to be a substitute for it. I think that you should redo your Common App, write your own essays, and submit that for any further applications. I don’t know what you can do to fix the ones you’ve already submitted. Do you have any ideas?”
I suspect that her reaction will tell you a lot about her character and the future of your friendship. Just out of curiosity, did she apply to any schools that you had applied to? Didn’t it occur to her that an admissions officer could recognize the essay?
How do you know that your essay was copied & used by another ?
@Publisher I was directly told by them.
@parentologist Yes, I completely agree with you. It’s just that I’m already in college, so in the end, it does not matter for me. But still, I spent so much time and hardworking last year writing them, and it was so easy for her to just copy it and use my personal story to get in. I’m just scared. I hope I don’t get in trouble for her stupidity.
@TS0104 She admitted to copying a “few sentences”. But the essay she showed me was 100% copied.
Did she use it to apply to the school you are currently attending? That is the only way I can see it being a problem for you. If an admissions officer reads it and recognizes it from your app last year, they could question how that happened and it could possibly some back to bite you. Other than that I don’t think you need to worry about it. I would not share any more work with this “friend”.
@me29034 No, it wasn’t for the college that I’m currently attending. However, even if it was, shouldn’t the college understand that I just gave my essay as an example (as there are tons of examples online as well)? Either way, I’m never sharing any academic work with her ever again.
It is great to help your friends but going forward don’t hand out your academic work to anyone (unless you are working on a project together) - it can leave you open to cheating accusations down the road.
Yes, college faculty may view both the person who shared the work and the person who copied the work as guilty of academic dishonesty. Agree that you don’t need a friend like this - will she take money out of your wallet next?
@happy1 @CheddarcheeseMN Yes, it was just a college application essay. I thought it was normal since so many people share their college essays with each other, however. Since I used my essay last year, I can’t get in trouble right? I really don’t think I could get in trouble since I shared my essay in good faith and for good intentions.
You are in a difficult position since you know that the entire writing was plagiarized.
Maybe the context will help: How did the conversation arise about the college essay after the friend was admitted ?
How were you able to read the essay that she allegedly submitted with her college application ?
Putting the ethics and recommended actions aside, no, I don’t think there’s a way you will get in any kind of trouble for this.
@RichInPitt : Thank you for addressing my question, but I am asking about the circumstances (the context) which led to the friend showing OP her application essay. I have a reason for inquiring in this manner and am interested in OP"s response. Again, thank you.