Stealing Personal Statement?

[dvmcatdog]

I decided to share my completed personal statement prompt answers with my co-worker also applying this cycle as at the time I trusted her and she never did anything to have me think otherwise. Gossip goes around the office rather quickly and it got back to me that she told someone she basically used my entire personal statement as her own. I mean she has to get caught doing this right? Can't they check if you steal someone else's material? I'm just disappointed, I don't wish poorly on anyone but I do hope she somehow can learn from doing this.

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[Lisagk]

That's terrible and I'm so sorry this happened to you and your co-worker violated your trust! It's definitely plagiarism... I'm not sure what actions are available to take. Would you want to report this?

Unfortunately I usually find that deceptive people don't tend to change very much since they tend to get away with it and prey on the kindness and generosity of good people...

 

[dvmcatdog]

That's terrible and I'm so sorry this happened to you and your co-worker violated your trust! It's definitely plagiarism... I'm not sure what actions are available to take. Would you want to report this?

Unfortunately I usually find that deceptive people don't tend to change very much since they tend to get away with it and prey on the kindness and generosity of good people...

I have thought about reporting it, especially because when she did send me her personal statement before taking mine; I used grammerly to help fix grammar errors. They also have a plagiarism portion and basically the whole thing was copied and pasted from other websites. Surely schools have to know about at least this part if not just stealing most of mine.

 

[DonkeyDoug]

First of all, I’m so sorry this is happening to you. Most of us work so hard on our personal statements so I can’t even image what it feels like to have it stolen.

I have no idea how you would even go about reporting this to VMCAS or individual schools especially since she still hasn’t submitted yet.

However, do you know if the veterinarian at your clinic will be writing her a LOR? I think your doctor should know about this before they submit their LOR. I know it’s not standard to involve doctors in office drama but keep in mind that your doctor would be vouching for this person’s professionalism and integrity, both of which are seriously flawed if she even considering plagiarizing personal statements. Do you think you have a good enough relationship with your doctor to discuss this situation with them? They also might be able to give you some good insight on how to handle this moving forward.

 

[dvmcatdog]

First of all, I’m so sorry this is happening to you. Most of us work so hard on our personal statements so I can’t even image what it feels like to have it stolen.

I have no idea how you would even go about reporting this to VMCAS or individual schools especially since she still hasn’t submitted yet.

However, do you know if the veterinarian at your clinic will be writing her a LOR? I think your doctor should know about this before they submit their LOR. I know it’s not standard to involve doctors in office drama but keep in mind that your doctor would be vouching for this person’s professionalism and integrity, both of which are seriously flawed if she even considering plagiarizing personal statements. Do you think you have a good enough relationship with your doctor to discuss this situation with them? They also might be able to give you some good insight on how to handle this moving forward.

Honestly I hadn't even thought about going to my doctor, but I do have a very good relationship with her. I'd love her insight on the situation and I don't think she'd judge me for going to her about it. I appreciate your response!

 

[TheGirlWithTheFernTattoo]

Hey, I would probably try and confirm this individual actually did plagiarize you before going forward and telling your boss or anyone else. Right now that information is 2nd hand to you and is hearsay. It would be really unfortunate and unfair to her if it was simply a miscommunication and you reported her.

I'm not saying the information you got is wrong, I would just want to have it personally confirmed before taking any further action with repercussions.

 

[5Hs5Ts]

I would report it to VMCAS to be honest. they won't easily be able to tell who copied whom and frankly you have a moral obligation to report this, or at the very least convince her to turn herself in. this will look terrible on both of you if the schools themselves are the parties to bring this up.

 

[that redhead]

I’m on the fence about telling the doctor, unless you know 100% that this actually happened. Frankly, I’m not sure how you’re going to know and office gossip seems like a bad reason to possibly tank someone’s career chances. Obviously if she did do this she doesn’t deserve to enter a professional program. But I don’t see how you’ll be able to prove it to yourself and to the doctor. And then the doctor gets tangled in the office drama and may not want to write for either of you. Just messy all around.

 

[Melchizedek]

Getting the doctor involved is a great way to tell your recommender that you don’t have conflict resolution skills

 

[Minnerbelle]

I have thought about reporting it, especially because when she did send me her personal statement before taking mine; I used grammerly to help fix grammar errors. They also have a plagiarism portion and basically the whole thing was copied and pasted from other websites. Surely schools have to know about at least this part if not just stealing most of mine.

You knew this when you gave her your PS...

If you’re getting all riled up due to hearsay and getting involved in office drama, don’t spread it further by tattle tale-ing to the dr. If this turns out not to be true, you are the one who deserves to not enter the profession. This type of ethical slandering/libel from hearsay situations arise all the time in the profession and it’s not cool to take action without having evidence. I would think less of you if you came up to me with this gossip expecting me to side with you. My advice would be to **** off and don’t come to me about something like this again. You’re essentially asking me to think less of someone we both work with based on gossip, even if you’re “just asking for advice.” As the adult in the situation, I would shut this **** down so fast your head would spin. If your vet gets caught up in this too, shame on them.

Plagiarism is wrong. But you know what, unless you have proof, I’d cough it up to realizing this person’s true colors and never trusting them again. We like to all hope that karma is a bitch and will get back to them at some point. Maybe it won’t, but it makes me feel better to think it will.

Also, a good personal statement should be PERSONAL as in should not be used by someone else and still make sense. If anyone can just submit as their own even if changing details here and there... it’s probably not good enough to boost their chances of admission.

 

[meelc]

I would think if this person truly plagiarized something as basic as a personal statement that they have months to write and literally just have to talk about themselves, then that will probably be evident in interviews. If they can't event write their own personal statement I would question if they can make it through vet school. Its probably not the first time they have pulled this BS and won't be the last. Its their risk they are willing to take. Getting caught for something like this and getting kicked out or failing out of a vet program will be a much harsher punishment than anything that would come of you telling someone now or trying to report, which as said above could bring your app/statement into question.

I would just bite the bullet, move on, and focus on making sure you have a kick ass application. Schools don't want to deal with drama or questionable applicants.

 

[DokterMom]

However, do you know if the veterinarian at your clinic will be writing her a LOR? I think your doctor should know about this before they submit their LOR. I know it’s not standard to involve doctors in office drama but keep in mind that your doctor would be vouching for this person’s professionalism and integrity, both of which are seriously flawed if she even considering plagiarizing personal statements. Do you think you have a good enough relationship with your doctor to discuss this situation with them? They also might be able to give you some good insight on how to handle this moving forward.

I think you could make this work... If you were to talk to the Doc and let her know the background - that Co-worker asked for your help, that you showed her your statement, and that you subsequently heard 'through the office grapevine' that she'd plagiarized yours. State that you don't want to believe it, but that if it were true, you couldn't feel right about doing nothing. Then just ask the Doc to compare her statement with yours (offer a folder of date-stamped early drafts) and judge for herself. Also state that you'd also feel enormously better knowing that it wasn't true.

You could also confront co-worker directly - state what you heard through the grapevine, and ask to see her finished statement so you could know for certain that she didn't do what was alleged.

If you’re getting all riled up due to hearsay and getting involved in office drama, don’t spread it further by tattle tale-ing to the dr. If this turns out not to be true, you are the one who deserves to not enter the profession. This type of ethical slandering/libel from hearsay situations arise all the time in the profession and it’s not cool to take action without having evidence. I would think less of you if you came up to me with this gossip expecting me to side with you. My advice would be to **** off and don’t come to me about something like this again. You’re essentially asking me to think less of someone we both work with based on gossip, even if you’re “just asking for advice.” As the adult in the situation, I would shut this **** down so fast your head would spin. If your vet gets caught up in this too, shame on them.

Plagiarism is wrong. But you know what, unless you have proof, I’d cough it up to realizing this person’s true colors and never trusting them again. We like to all hope that karma is a bitch and will get back to them at some point. Maybe it won’t, but it makes me feel better to think it will.

Respectfully, your first paragraph essentially says co-worker didn't do it and OP is a malicious tattle-tale. Then your second paragraph says now OP knows what kind of dirty conniving rat co-worker is.

Wouldn't it be better find out the truth?

 

[Minnerbelle]

Respectfully, your first paragraph essentially says co-worker didn't do it and OP is a malicious tattle-tale. Then your second paragraph says now OP knows what kind of dirty conniving rat co-worker is.

Wouldn't it be better find out the truth?

I didn’t say co-worker did or didn’t do it. Without having proof though it’s not something you can escalate and act on. If you do without proof, yes you are a malicious tattle-tale. There are right and wrong ways to go about it. Escalating office drama unnecessarily in a vet office where keeping things drama free is a virtue is not the right way. Throwing shade on your coworker with a superior that you share, and possibly asking them to “look into it” is not cool. Otherwise you’re essentially gossiping to your superior about what a horrible person your coworker *might* be based on what another coworker said. Hot mess. Don’t be the dingus that causes office drama is all I’m saying. Seeking the truth is not license for a free for all.

 

[sheltermed]

If it were me, I'd go to the coworker herself and ask how her PS writing is going. I'd even mention what you heard and see how she responds. See if she's willing to show you her (new?) PS. If she's being sketchy (assuming you know her well enough to tell that she's being sketchy), that might be enough proof there.

I realize confrontation is not for everyone. I personally like I face things head-on, be direct, and get to the bottom of things so I can resolve it (or try to) as soon as possible. I'm not saying to be rude and confrontational in the negative sense of the word--I think you can speak to the coworker respectfully and professionally to try and get to the bottom of it yourself.

eta: I just read that she did show you her PS and grammarly told you that a lot of it was plagiarized. I would have mentioned that to her in the first place, simply just to say that vet schools can easily detect this themselves and you are concerned for her.

 

[that redhead]

I think you could make this work... If you were to talk to the Doc and let her know the background - that Co-worker asked for your help, that you showed her your statement, and that you subsequently heard 'through the office grapevine' that she'd plagiarized yours. State that you don't want to believe it, but that if it were true, you couldn't feel right about doing nothing. Then just ask the Doc to compare her statement with yours (offer a folder of date-stamped early drafts) and judge for herself. Also state that you'd also feel enormously better knowing that it wasn't true.

And then what? If the personal statements are the same, now the doctor has to get involved and is essentially policing the situation. How does the doctor know which person is the copycat? Why does it need to fall on their shoulders to sort it out?

If I were put in that situation, I'd probably let both parties know I'd no longer be willing to write a letter of recommendation for either one because one of the two is plagarizing but I don't know who the guilty party is and thus wouldn't feel comfortable. If OP is willing to risk that, no problem.

 

[grebes4lyfe]

Re: knowing who is plagiarising, do you have multiple drafts saved on your computer that you can show as evidence that the work is yours? Like you can show “look I started working on it in February here are all of the iterations since then” that’s pretty hard to argue with

 

[Melchizedek]

eta: I just read that she did show you her PS and grammarly told you that a lot of it was plagiarized. I would have mentioned that to her in the first place, simply just to say that vet schools can easily detect this themselves and you are concerned for her.

This

Plus thinly veiled threat: "If Dr. SoAndSo or the VMCAS were to hear about an Incident like this, I'd shudder to think how they'd feel about a person."

 

[Stagg737]

I didn’t say co-worker did or didn’t do it. Without having proof though it’s not something you can escalate and act on. If you do without proof, yes you are a malicious tattle-tale. There are right and wrong ways to go about it. Escalating office drama unnecessarily in a vet office where keeping things drama free is a virtue is not the right way. Throwing shade on your coworker with a superior that you share, and possibly asking them to “look into it” is not cool. Otherwise you’re essentially gossiping to your superior about what a horrible person your coworker *might* be based on what another coworker said. Hot mess. Don’t be the dingus that causes office drama is all I’m saying. Seeking the truth is not license for a free for all.

Somewhat disagree. If this crap were going on in my office I’d be pissed if it weren’t brought up to me. Either there’s someone in my office trying To plagiarize their way into a profession where high moral/ethical standards are essential or there’s someone spreading BS gossip.

If it’s the first and I find out (assuming there’s actual proof) I'm reporting it to VMCAS (or in my case AMCAS) immediately myself.There are enough crappy people that slip through, and I’m not waiting for karma to bite them while they continue to lie, cheat, and potentially harm patients. If it’s the latter, that means there’s someone starting serious drama in my office and I want to know who that is to either set them straight or remove them if it’s an ongoing issue.

Personally, I’d want OP to come forward with that concern and be honest about it. I’d hope they’d frame it in some form of “I heard about the above situation from person X and I’m not sure if it is true, but I felt concerned and thought that you may want to know about it.” Just the facts, no dramatic finger pointing or accusations, then let me sort it out if I felt like it was necessary. I honestly don’t like to get involved with unnecessary drama, but it sounds like the seeds are already there and I wouldn’t want this to snowball into something worse.

I do agree that I’d shut that s*** down asap, but I’m less concerned about stirring up office drama if the other option is to let a potential sociopath into the field.

Im also somewhat baffled as to why OP let the other person look at her PS at all if she knew large portions of the other person’s was plagiarized. That would set off more alarms to me than simply coming to me about the initially posted issue...

 

[deleted859689]

If someone stole my PS, they would have a lot of explaining to do if their experiences section doesn't back it up. If someone can plagiarize your entire PS, let that person have it and rewrite your own.

 

[battie]

When people are at the point of applying to veterinary school, they are adults. They may be young, but they are adults and should act like it. That includes conflict management and conflict resolution on their part, not immediately going to "an adult" for help when they havent done anything to fix the situation themselves.

If this were me, I would approach this individual and say, "Hey, I heard you copied my personal statement. We need to tall about this." That gives them the opportunity to fess up and rectify the situation. If they double down and deny it, then I would ask to see it. They dont give it up for me to see, then I would go to the clinician and ask for help, explaining I had tried to fix the situation and had been met with resistance.

As a clinician I would absolutely not want to be the one managing the situation unless absolutely necessary. Going directly to the clinician deprives the students involved the opportunity to be adults and grow from the situation.

For what its worth, based on the format of the "personal statement" being divided up into three separate sections that are just so short, I think it would be easier than people anticipate to steal a personal statement than they think by changing things here and there. Instead of the eureka moment coming from helping a tiger in a zoo, its helping a horse on a racetrack. Instead of their mom being their inspiration, it's their childhood best friend. Instead of battling cancer as a teenager/undergrad, its depression or an eating disorder. Etc. Etc. As a whole, we're a clever lot, and the tone/intent/whatever of writing can be pretty easily manipulated, especially when a completely different person with completely different perspectives looks at it.

 

[Melchizedek]

the eureka moment coming from helping a tiger

AND THE TIGEERRRRRRRRRRRR SAW A MAAAAAAANNNNN

 

[dvmcatdog]

You knew this when you gave her your PS...

If you’re getting all riled up due to hearsay and getting involved in office drama, don’t spread it further by tattle tale-ing to the dr. If this turns out not to be true, you are the one who deserves to not enter the profession. This type of ethical slandering/libel from hearsay situations arise all the time in the profession and it’s not cool to take action without having evidence. I would think less of you if you came up to me with this gossip expecting me to side with you. My advice would be to **** off and don’t come to me about something like this again. You’re essentially asking me to think less of someone we both work with based on gossip, even if you’re “just asking for advice.” As the adult in the situation, I would shut this **** down so fast your head would spin. If your vet gets caught up in this too, shame on them.

Plagiarism is wrong. But you know what, unless you have proof, I’d cough it up to realizing this person’s true colors and never trusting them again. We like to all hope that karma is a bitch and will get back to them at some point. Maybe it won’t, but it makes me feel better to think it will.

Also, a good personal statement should be PERSONAL as in should not be used by someone else and still make sense. If anyone can just submit as their own even if changing details here and there... it’s probably not good enough to boost their chances of admission.

Well we has already swapped when I found that out and she did admit it to me after seeing this post funny enough when I came to her to talk about it.

 

[dvmcatdog]

Re: knowing who is plagiarising, do you have multiple drafts saved on your computer that you can show as evidence that the work is yours? Like you can show “look I started working on it in February here are all of the iterations since then” that’s pretty hard to argue with

Absolutely! I have more drafts than I'm willing to admit

 

[DokterMom]

Well we has already swapped when I found that out and she did admit it to me after seeing this post funny enough when I came to her to talk about it.

Well that's an interesting twist. So she admitted it -- Then what? Enquiring minds want to know --

 

[dvmcatdog]

So as an update, I did end up confronting her about it and she said her PS was basically half mine of some similar experiences we have since we both volunteered at the zoo together and the rest was from PS floating around online. She apologized immensely and said she would never do anything to jeopardize our chances of getting in vet school.

 

[dvmcatdog]

I was pretty upset when I read it (which I'm shocked she even let me read it) she mentioned some personal things that I put in my statement from my teen years and basically did exactly what someone else said could happen is switch one poor experience for another. I just felt ****ty that she took something so personal from me plus little experiences I've worked hard to get.

 

[Lisagk]

So as an update, I did end up confronting her about it and she said her PS was basically half mine of some similar experiences we have since we both volunteered at the zoo together and the rest was from PS floating around online. She apologized immensely and said she would never do anything to jeopardize our chances of getting in vet school.

So she plagiarized your personal statement AND someone else's that is floating around the internet? What on Earth...

What you do with this situation is up to you.

I'm just curious if she would have admitted to the plagiarism if you hadn't confronted her. Throughout university and even high school, we are taught again and again what intellectual theft and plagiarism are every school has harsh punishments for such action... and she decided to plagiarize TWO pieces of work as her own? I'd proceed with this "friend" with extreme caution.

 

[Minnerbelle]

So as an update, I did end up confronting her about it and she said her PS was basically half mine of some similar experiences we have since we both volunteered at the zoo together and the rest was from PS floating around online. She apologized immensely and said she would never do anything to jeopardize our chances of getting in vet school.

Good for you for resolving that with your coworker. And good for her for coming clean with it. So what’s the resolution in the end? Is she going to do anything about it?

Does she not realize that plagiarism = jeopardizing the chances of getting into vet school?

 

[Stagg737]

When people are at the point of applying to veterinary school, they are adults. They may be young, but they are adults and should act like it. That includes conflict management and conflict resolution on their part, not immediately going to "an adult" for help when they havent done anything to fix the situation themselves.

If this were me, I would approach this individual and say, "Hey, I heard you copied my personal statement. We need to tall about this." That gives them the opportunity to fess up and rectify the situation. If they double down and deny it, then I would ask to see it. They dont give it up for me to see, then I would go to the clinician and ask for help, explaining I had tried to fix the situation and had been met with resistance.

As a clinician I would absolutely not want to be the one managing the situation unless absolutely necessary. Going directly to the clinician deprives the students involved the opportunity to be adults and grow from the situation.

For what its worth, based on the format of the "personal statement" being divided up into three separate sections that are just so short, I think it would be easier than people anticipate to steal a personal statement than they think by changing things here and there. Instead of the eureka moment coming from helping a tiger in a zoo, its helping a horse on a racetrack. Instead of their mom being their inspiration, it's their childhood best friend. Instead of battling cancer as a teenager/undergrad, its depression or an eating disorder. Etc. Etc. As a whole, we're a clever lot, and the tone/intent/whatever of writing can be pretty easily manipulated, especially when a completely different person with completely different perspectives looks at it.

Sounds like it worked out in an unusual way, but if I were OP I may have actually gone to the gossiper first to ask how they found out about the supposed plagiarism. If it just turned out to be BS gossip then talking to the accused may not even be necessary.

To clarify my above post, I would hope there’d be some attempt at individuals resolving it themselves, but it also depends on the character and personality of those involved. Sounds like OP’s acquaintance is at least somewhat reasonable, but if you’re dealing with individuals with Cluster B traits/disorders it may be necessary or more reasonable to just let someone with more authority handle the situation. I may also just have a different perspective due to the nature of many pre-meds and my field in general though (psychiatry).

 

[vetmedhead]

Yikes. Any way to make her delete all plagiarized drafts off her computer plus off VMCAS, and also delete the original copy of your PS that she received in the first place? This is simply someone whose word I wouldn't trust and frankly I'd prefer to watch them delete things or do it myself. While I know files can be recovered, may not be in the wheelhouse of everybody and would make me feel at least a little better.

However, I do agree with the advice above to consider rewriting your PS, as much as it sucks. This person has simply proven themselves to be incapable of making responsible and ethical choices, and I wouldn't remotely trust that they wouldn't move forward with their plagiarized draft and screw both of you in the process.

Also, I wouldn't touch this situation with someone else's 10 foot pole and would strongly consider reporting this person to VMCAS or their school. It's shamelessly unethical behavior and the fact that this person likely would have continued forward with a highly plagiarized portion of their application had they not been tattled on through the office rumor mill is really not suggestive of someone who has seen the light about their behavior. Certainly not a colleague I'd be looking forward to working alongside in five years.