If I am accused of academic dishonesty can I still get into Med School?

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sameric said:
Please don't hate on me. It was a stupid mistake.🙁

What are my chances? Am I screwed for life?
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It depends on the situation, but I'd say there's a good chance you are screwed. 🙁 Can't say for sure without knowing exactly what happened. Any record of academic dishonesty does NOT look good, though.
 
sameric said:
Please don't hate on me. It was a stupid mistake.🙁

What are my chances? Am I screwed for life?
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The details are important. That said, the answer is usually yes. Academic dishonesty is taken very seriously at the university level, as it should be, and if your conduct was serious enough so as to be reported to the institution, then yes, your chances are probably pretty shot. OTOH, if your prof decides to give you a 0 and move on (i.e., not report it) you would likely still be okay as this would not be an IA (at my school anyway).
 
Also depends on whether your app will be near perfect otherwise, and how close to applying you are (i.e. would be best if you're a freshman vs. a junior about to apply). You can always go to SGU and just have a tougher time matching into high end specialties. Inb4 carribean flame war
 
Idk what to do
 
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sameric said:
I took a test in a class that I was not enrolled in for my personal knowledge.

Stupid right?
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Really? Huh. Did you take it under someone else's name? If you did, I can understand why that's academic dishonesty. If not, I would beg and plead with the honor council to explain your motivation.
 
sameric said:
I took a test in a class that I was not enrolled in for my personal knowledge.

Stupid right?
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😕

So you were just showing up in class every week although you weren't on the roster? Not kosher but not the end of the world. You didn't get credit or even a "audit" note on the transcript. So you were breathing air in the room but in an otherwise empty seat... not sure how that rises to be "academic dishonesty".

Taking the exam?? Do they think you were obtaining information about the content of the test to use later for nefarious purposes? Again, I'm not sure how this rises to the level of academic dishonesty.

Your typical plagiarism, copying, sharing, cut & pasting, taking an exam for someone or having them take the exam for you, etc is a dream obliterator but I'm not sure that this rises to that level.
 
Please give us more details. Were you in this class half of the semester? Did the professor give you permission to be there? Who called you out? Who have you talked to already about this?
 
JESSFALLING said:
Please give us more details. Were you in this class half of the semester? Did the professor give you permission to be there? Who called you out? Who have you talked to already about this?
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.
 
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sameric said:
I took the exam for my personal knowledge but gave them a fake name. They accused me of taking a test for a class I was not enrolled in and giving them false information.

Is it really bad?
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I think this is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Why would you even do that to begin with? Were you going to take the class later?

I second going to beg the honor council. This is not a big deal. I really wonder if medical schools would think it is?
 
TriagePreMed said:
I think this is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Why would you even do that to begin with? Were you going to take the class later?

I second going to beg the honor council. This is not a big deal. I really wonder if medical schools would think it is?
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It's academic dishonesty. Would it matter?
 
Please help me guys? Can I still get into Medical School?
 
sameric said:
I took the exam for my personal knowledge but gave them a fake name. They accused me of taking a test for a class I was not enrolled in and giving them false information.

Is it really bad?
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You really need to explain this "personal knowledge" bit. Were you trying to see a professor's tests so that you could take his class next semester and have an edge since you had already taken the class and the tests?

As it is, what you have written does not make any sense.
 
V5RED said:
You really need to explain this "personal knowledge" bit. Were you trying to see a professor's tests so that you could take his class next semester and have an edge since you had already taken the class and the tests?

As it is, what you have written does not make any sense.
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sameric said:
I took the test to see if I can handle the difficulty of the subject which is science based.
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That sounds like academic dishonesty to me. This gives you at an unfair advantage to others also planning to take the class. I don't know how this will affect your chances of medical school, but that was a really boneheaded decision on your part.
 
LizzyM said:
😕

So you were just showing up in class every week although you weren't on the roster? Not kosher but not the end of the world. You didn't get credit or even a "audit" note on the transcript. So you were breathing air in the room but in an otherwise empty seat... not sure how that rises to be "academic dishonesty".

Taking the exam?? Do they think you were obtaining information about the content of the test to use later for nefarious purposes? Again, I'm not sure how this rises to the level of academic dishonesty.

Your typical plagiarism, copying, sharing, cut & pasting, taking an exam for someone or having them take the exam for you, etc is a dream obliterator but I'm not sure that this rises to that level.
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But isn't he/she technically taking an exam for someone else, even though he claims it to be a fake name. I mean say I was taking and exam for someone and then get caught somehow, I doubt I would be able to get away with the excuse of actually faking the exam.

I don't know but it feels like there is not enough of evidence to back up the idea that he was simply faking his identify, I would assume to the school it sounds like some lame excuse to either cover his ass or who ever he was taking the exam for, which he claims was not the case.
 
MeowMeowCAT said:
But isn't he/she technically taking an exam for someone else, even though he claims it to be a fake name. I mean say I was taking and exam for someone and then get caught somehow, I doubt I would be able to get away with the excuse of actually faking the exam.

I don't know but it feels like there is not enough of evidence to back up the idea that he was simply faking his identify, I would assume to the school it sounds like some lame excuse to either cover his ass or who ever he was taking the exam for, which he claims was not the case.
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I wasn't taking this exam for someone else.
 
sameric said:
I took the test to see if I can handle the difficulty of the subject which is science based.
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This says to me that you were taking the class off the record so that you would not risk hurting your GPA by taking the class. It also sounds like if you did well in this attempt you would then take the class on the record.

I can see why something like this would be labelled academic dishonesty. It is not like you cheated off of someone's paper, but I can see why someone would label it as dishonesty since you were dishonest and it is an academic issue.

I am not trying to be judgmental or demeaning in any of these statements.
 
Why didn't you ask someone else who had taken the course what to expect, search online for old tests, talk to the professor yourself about what to expect, or accept that you're going to have to work your tail off to do well in the class?

This could have easily been avoided.
 
V5RED said:
This says to me that you were taking the class off the record so that you would not risk hurting your GPA by taking the class. It also sounds like if you did well in this attempt you would then take the class on the record.

I can see why something like this would be labelled academic dishonesty. It is not like you cheated off of someone's paper, but I can see why someone would label it as dishonesty since you were dishonest and it is an academic issue.

I am not trying to be judgmental or demeaning in any of these statements.
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Thank you for your honesty. What do you think will happen to me? How might this effect my chances of getting in a med school?
 
I think you need to plead your case to the professor, chair, dean, president, etc. Be tenacious, don't give up. You really need to try to convince them that while you messed up, you deserve a second chance and that you will be a shinning example of academic virtue for the remainder of your studies at their university. If it was me I'd suggest to be placed on a probationary period - where if I complete the next year FLAWLESSLY, then my transcript will be cleared. Let us know how you do. Tears might help.
 
JESSFALLING said:
I think you need to plead your case to the professor, chair, dean, president, etc. Be tenacious, don't give up. You really need to try to convince them that while you messed up, you deserve a second chance and that you will be a shinning example of academic virtue for the remainder of your studies at their university. If it was me I'd suggest to be placed on a probationary period - where if I complete the next year FLAWLESSLY, then my transcript will be cleared. Let us know how you do.
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Is it really that bad that I be placed on probation?
 
Will it go on my record? How will this effect my chances of getting into medical school?
 
sameric said:
I wasn't taking this exam for someone else.
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Well considering you were not using your name, and instead a name that is not yours, whether it be a fake one, it awfully does sound like you were taking the exam not for yourself, but for someone other than you.

sameric said:
Is it really that bad that I be placed on probation?
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Well, it certainly a lot better than getting "academic dishonesty" on your record. Not sure what the circumstances in your case would be, but once fulfilled you will be able to get off the probation, and it just becomes a past mistake. With dishonesty, I am not even sure how one would he able to get out of that.
 
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sameric said:
Is it really that bad that I be placed on probation?
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I'm not suggesting that you want to be on probation...I'm just suggesting that you might want to let them know in some fashion that you are willing to be held accountable for your actions and that you understand the importance of ethical decision making. Maybe you can suggest to them that you will agree to complete an Ethics course as part of your plea deal. 🙂
 
JESSFALLING said:
I'm not suggesting that you want to be on probation...I'm just suggesting that you might want to let them know in some fashion that you are willing to be held accountable for your actions and that you understand the importance of ethical decision making. Maybe you can suggest to them that you will agree to complete an Ethics course as part of your plea deal. 🙂
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Thank you for clarifying. 🙂
 
MeowMeowCAT said:
Well considering you were not using your name, and instead a name that is not yours, whether it be a fake one, it awfully does sound like you were taking the exam not for yourself, but for someone other than you.
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I didn't mean for that. I was under pressure and did not know what to do. I panicked.
 
Can anyone answer my question regarding med school now that you know the situation I'm under?
 
sameric said:
Can anyone answer my question regarding med school now that you know the situation I'm under?
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Well, no one can really give you a definitive answer. I agree that the circumstances sound fishy enough that you will be asked some extremely tough questions about it, at the very least. Remember, too, that even if it's removed from your transcript and record, you still have to report it to AMCAS. It sucks, but med schools have thousands of qualified applicants with no blemish on their record whatsoever. Why should schools accept you and not one of them? It's something you'll have to answer eventually.
 
I'm a bit confused since my school's convocation speaker encouraged intellectual curiosity and told us to sit in on classes we weren't enrolled in. I can see how taking a test in a class you are not enrolled in can be interpreted as being dishonest, but certainly just sitting in on a class and trying to learn the material can't be considered cheating in itself, can it?
 
DrHouse579 said:
I'm a bit confused since my school's convocation speaker encouraged intellectual curiosity and told us to sit in on classes we weren't enrolled in. I can see how taking a test in a class you are not enrolled in can be interpreted as being dishonest, but certainly just sitting in on a class and trying to learn the material can't be considered cheating in itself, can it?
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No, that's called an audit.
 
sameric said:
Thank you for your honesty. What do you think will happen to me? How might this effect my chances of getting in a med school?
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I have no idea. I am not an adcom member nor do I know any adcom members.

I was trying to get you to open up more so that others could help you and to satisfy my own curiosity.
 
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TheMightySmiter said:
Well, no one can really give you a definitive answer. I agree that the circumstances sound fishy enough that you will be asked some extremely tough questions about it, at the very least. Remember, too, that even if it's removed from your transcript and record, you still have to report it to AMCAS. It sucks, but med schools have thousands of qualified applicants with no blemish on their record whatsoever. Why should schools accept you and not one of them? It's something you'll have to answer eventually.
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If there is a possibility of there being no record of it, why would it be wise to bring it up to the amcas? Isn't that just saying more than you need to?
 
V5RED said:
I have no idea. I am not an adcom member nor do I know any adcom members.

I was trying to get you to open up more so that others could help you and to satisfy my own curiosity.

I can give you one bit of advice though.

Assuming I am right about you trying to circumvent the risk of a poor grade and get an edge on the class, what I can tell you is that you need to get some guts. Your actions were those of a coward, and cowardice does not get you very far in life.
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I never took that class in my life. I was just curious.
 
DrHouse579 said:
I'm a bit confused since my school's convocation speaker encouraged intellectual curiosity and told us to sit in on classes we weren't enrolled in. I can see how taking a test in a class you are not enrolled in can be interpreted as being dishonest, but certainly just sitting in on a class and trying to learn the material can't be considered cheating in itself, can it?
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I don't know why this is happening to me. Thank you for your sympathy.
 
sameric said:
I never took that class in my life. I was just curious.
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Obviously you had not taken it previously.

I prefaced my point by saying it only applied if you were trying to get an advantage in a course you wanted to take in the future.

If you were just showing up for fun and were not testing to make sure you would get an A before you took the class, then of course I feel bad for you.

I thought that it was clear that I had no issue with just showing up for fun.
 
V5RED said:
Obviously you had not taken it previously.

I prefaced my point by saying it only applied if you were trying to get an advantage in a course you wanted to take in the future.

If you were just showing up for fun and were not testing to make sure you would get an A before you took the class, then of course I feel bad for you.

I thought that it was clear that I had no issue with just showing up for fun.
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OP, I really think you need to emphasize this point to the committee. You need to prove that you really had no intention of taking this class for credit or were not taking the test for someone else. If the class is not a pre-req or a class required for your major, this will be an easier point to make obviously. What class was it, if you don't mind my asking?
 
The point where you gave a false name in an academic setting is where your chances went from maybe/maybe not to snowball's chance in hell. Lying in an academic setting (and giving a false name is telling a lie) is the kiss of death.
 
LizzyM said:
The point where you gave a false name in an academic setting is where your chances went from maybe/maybe not to snowball's chance in hell. Lying in an academic setting (and giving a false name is telling a lie) is the kiss of death.
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Sorry if you clarified this already, but I think a key question is whether the false name you gave was somebody actually on the roster of the class.

There are two points that you have to prove:

1. You weren't going to this class with the intention of taking it later. (If this is one of the pre-med classes or a required class for your major you're screwed)

2. You weren't taking the exam for anyone else. If the false name isn't linked to an actual person then this is fairly easy.

I sympathize with you because I went to 2nd semester Ecology every day last semester just for fun. Of course I never took the exams though. I always figured that they would have just the correct number of exams.
 
How did you get caught? You technically didn't exist in the class. You were essentially a ghost. Did you go to the professor asking for your grade?😕
 
LizzyM said:
The point where you gave a false name in an academic setting is where your chances went from maybe/maybe not to snowball's chance in hell. Lying in an academic setting (and giving a false name is telling a lie) is the kiss of death.
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That's where I see it being the red flag, too. I don't know why you decided to do something like that... but it ultimately is wrong to take the test, too, because you're definitely not supposed to. If you'd just sat in on the lectures, that's cool, but this is just beyond the gray area at this point. If you'd kept your real name, it could actually work in your favor because you could even lie and say you thought you were enrolled in the class. But this is just lying... 👎(
 
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