Academic Integrity Violations

[abbabbaba]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I recently graduated and want more than anything to go to veterinary school. However, I'm concerned about my chances because I have a major red flag on my application: I received an academic integrity violation early in my senior year in a prerequisite course, as I cheated on an exam. While I was not suspended, expelled, or do not have any record of it on my transcript, I did receive an F in the course and will be reporting it on VMCAS to be fair to other applicants. I wanted to know how this would affect my chances of getting into veterinary school, and if it would be better for me to pursue a master's program before applying to vet school.

Please don't bully me in the comments, as this was the greatest mistake I've ever made and I feel immensely guilty for it. It was a lack of confidence in the material I had studied, and I know that I cannot repeat this behavior in vet school or in practice. I just would like some advice on where to go from here, as I want to be able to prove my integrity, and whether a master's program would help me in doing this. I'd also love more info on which schools take a more holistic approach to better my chances.

 

[JaynaAli]

I don’t particularly see how a masters would really help you in this situation. I think it would probably be more important to write a really good explanation statement taking ownership and showing that you’ve learned and won’t do it again. Taking masters classes might show you CAN take additional classes and not cheat, but the concern is whether or not you WILL again, which seems better handled by an explanation statement. It may be a deal breaker for some schools. Hopefully not all, and you don’t know until you try to apply. But I think your explanation statement will be key.