Writing someone else's essay

<p>I have a friend who is an AMAZING writer. She's published and won the gold in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards two years in a row. Her boyfriend is not a good writer. So he asked her to write his college essays. I dunno why, maybe because she was blinded by love or something, but she did write his essays to a certain selective university. And he got in. Considering his GPA and SAT were waaaaaay below the average at that school and he was in no extracurriculars, everyone knows what got him in.</p>

<p>When another friend of ours with better stats and extracurriculars applied to this same University and was rejected, my friend started to feel a little guilty. Now she's very seriously considering confessing to the school what she did, and she could because she has the rough draft of the essays on her computer and a very incriminating e-mail to her bf with the essays attached. The only thing is, she's afraid it'll jeopardize her future at the other school she's going to attend this fall. So what should she do?</p>

<p>(Okay, I know there's going to be some extreme moralists replying to this who equate writing someone else's essay to burning down and orphanage on Christmas Eve. The important thing is that she realizes what she did and is trying to correct it. So a lack of hysterical, accusatory responses would be much appreciated. Thanks.)</p>

<p>If she's dying of guilt, of course she has no choice but to confess. </p>

<p>Another option would be to have her boyfriend turn down the selective U and go to a school that was more of a "match" for him. That way, his spot would be freed up for someone who actually deserves it.</p>

<p>What your friend did was morally wrong, but confessing now won't change anything for the better. If she confesses, your other friend that got rejected, will remain rejected; and she and her boyfriend may have their acceptances take away. It's a lose-lose situation. The best thing to do would be for her and her boyfriend to realize the mistake in their ways and not do anything like it ever again.</p>

<p>I think the boyfriend should confess. He can ask for his girlfriend to remain anonymous, so that she won't jeopardize her spot at her college, though it might do her good to lose it. He's the one who made the first mistake by thinking about it in the first place. If he wasn't meant to get in, he'll probably struggle greatly at that school anyway. Also, has she talked to a trusted mentor about it? Perhaps a well-respected adult would be able to give her the best advice.</p>

<p>I would tell your friend not to report it. As others have said, it's a lose-lose situation and nothing good will come out of it except a guilty mind eased.
It won't get the other friend in, and it could get the essay writer out of her school (if it's the same one).</p>

<p>Just don't do it again.</p>

<p>Edit: oh, and about the boyfriend confessing, IF he would be willing to, which I highly doubt (he knew it was wrong to begin with, right?), he wouldn't even have to say that it was his gf that wrote it. All he would have to say is that he didn't write it.</p>

<p>The truth is that your friend should not have done it in the first place. And who knows whether it was the essays or something else about her boyfriend that got him in.</p>

<p>Before she does anything (and I'm of the mind that she should confess and take her punishment too) she needs to consider the ramifications. Her boyfriend would lose his place at school, probably only weeks before he was set to move in. And she could lose her spot for academic dishonesty, because school A will probably call school B.</p>

<p>There's no way to know if your friend hadn't written other school assignments for her boyfriend or for other kids.</p>

<p>It's just a really bad situation.</p>

<p>Happyandyappy: Have you thought about calling the school anonymously and reporting it? You don't have to mention the girl, just tell them that you think they should check the validity of boyfriend x's essay. Then they can either pursue it or not pursue it. I have a feeling that comment is going to stir a debate on here about how it is none of his business, but in my opinion if he's aware of cheating he should report it. I keep envisioning the first person on the wait list who's just praying for the day the phone rings telling them they've been admitted.</p>

<p>"There's no way to know if your friend hadn't written other school assignments for her boyfriend or for other kids."</p>

<p>Well, I do know another friend in our social group asked her to write their essay in exchange for calc tutoring and she wouldn't do it. People have offered her money and she's turned it down. She wrote his because she knew he didn't have a great shot and she didn't want to see him rejected. </p>

<p>You're right, there's no way to know for sure but I'm pretty sure she didn't.</p>

<p>Oh, and they're not going to the same school.</p>

<p>Some schools may feel ethically obligated to report another students' dishonesty. If they do investigate her boyfriend's application, they may very well contact her college.</p>

<p>wow just don't say anything and learn from your mistakes. Like someone said already, it'll just make things worse.</p>

<p>In the end, it's your friend's choice. Does she want to erase her guilty mind more or does she want to keep her record from being marred more and not take the risk of being rescinded? She'll do what she thinks is best for her. It'll be a hard decision but she still has to choose it</p>

<p>An essay alone is unlikely to lead to an acceptance unless the rest of the application is strong and something about the applicant really appeals to the admissions committee.
I would leave this alone now if I were your friend. It's too late- she did it and the chips have fallen. Learn from it.</p>