I regrettably cheated on a midterm exam during my junior year. I was recovering from an ACL surgery and found it difficullt to stay focused. As a result, I was unprepared for my assessments in my course.
I have one record of cheating on my transcript. After getting denied from one college, I fear that I won’t get accepted into any college.
I would love to hear people’s stories of acceptance despite having a record of academic dishonesty on file. I’ve submitted all my apps to colleges along with it a disciplinary statement.
I hope that colleges award my honesty and can understand that I have learned from this incident.
I have a 3.8 W GPA and a 2140 SAT, and I wish that colleges will give me a chance and not blacklist me immediately.
Please tell me your thoughts, give me your opinions, and let me hear your stories.
I know students who have gotten accepted to decent colleges despite having similar records. That said, your “ACL surgery/difficult to focus” line reads like an excuse, and I hope your explanation to colleges is less weaselly.
I would just own up to it, don’t give any excuses. Explain to colleges that you were wrong and that you have learned from this experience and will never do it again.
Be sincere, and don’t try to cover your mistakes. Show them that those mistakes are behind you.
Colleges don’t reward honesty; They expect it. If it is recorded on your transcript, you are aware that the schools will end up knowing about it. Thus, reporting by you is not necessarily motivated by honesty so much as it would be foolish not to. I don’t think it means colleges will all reject you. But I agree with the previous post. The ACL surgery wasn’t the reason for your cheating. You were not prepared but wanted a grade that suggested you were prepared. Why you were not prepared isn’t really relevant here. There were other options for you but you chose a specific one and you were caught. Schools understand that students make poor choices sometimes. So showing that you have grown from previous mistakes would probably make a huge difference. But don’t use that excuse. It’s about decision making when you are in a pickle.
Ok, it was too late to edit, so disregard my first post, but one kid from my school got into Johns Hopkins with a similar GPA, near perfect SAT, and a disciplinary record.
Since you already submitted your apps, the best advice I can give you is to relax. Do well on your final exams, and just be glad that basically the most stressful time of one’s high school career is finally over.
I understand, and nothing can justify cheating. During a difficult time of my life, I made a mistake, and I am ashamed of how I handled the situation. Today, I wish that I had instead confronted adversity ethically.
AboutTheSame, was that sarcasm? Also, I’ve been reading through a lot of threads regarding cheating and I saw a couple of posts from you. I just want to thank you for your contributions to the online community. You provide a lot of insight, and have relieved me of some stress.
I got suspended for a week earlier this year (though not for cheating) and I got a big scholarship at northeastern early action. I know its not exactly the same, but it shows that schools will look past it if the rest of your application is solid. I got a great recommendation from a guidance counselor that definitely helped me. Good luck.