Am I cooked? IA addition

[hopefulldr]

My sophomore year of college (I am a post grad now applying for 2025-2026) I took a 100 level creative writing course and we had a paper due where we had to write about any cultural traditions we had.

Anyways, I wrote the paper all in one sitting 2 hours before it was due while simultaneously doing other HW like watching Ochem vids- I remember that there was one part of the cultural ritual I was referencing that I didnt remember so I looked up the finer details and added it in my paper. Anways I forgot to cite that one sentance in a 500 word essay and my professor wrote me up for it. My punishment was just to fix the paper and get half credit for it- even with that I still made an A in the class.

I apologized for it and the professor and I are still on really good terms- they are one of my letter writers. How badly will this hold me back? I talked to my Universitys premed advisors immediatly after it happened and more recently and both times they said that it should be fine given how minor it was and my stats but I am still afraid that I screwed myself all those years ago.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[pablo213]

My sophomore year of college (I am a post grad now applying for 2025-2026) I took a 100 level creative writing course and we had a paper due where we had to write about any cultural traditions we had.

Anyways, I wrote the paper all in one sitting 2 hours before it was due while simultaneously doing other HW like watching Ochem vids- I remember that there was one part of the cultural ritual I was referencing that I didnt remember so I looked up the finer details and added it in my paper. Anways I forgot to cite that one sentance in a 500 word essay and my professor wrote me up for it. My punishment was just to fix the paper and get half credit for it- even with that I still made an A in the class.

I apologized for it and the professor and I are still on really good terms- they are one of my letter writers. How badly will this hold me back? I talked to my Universitys premed advisors immediatly after it happened and more recently and both times they said that it should be fine given how minor it was and my stats but I am still afraid that I screwed myself all those years ago.

Damn, just wanna say an IA for one sentence is crazy. I know a lot of people getting away with way more egregious plagiarism.

Hoping you get good advice 🙂

 

[gyngyn]

It's a nothingburger.
Report it. No one will care.

 

[Goro]

My sophomore year of college (I am a post grad now applying for 2025-2026) I took a 100 level creative writing course and we had a paper due where we had to write about any cultural traditions we had.

Anyways, I wrote the paper all in one sitting 2 hours before it was due while simultaneously doing other HW like watching Ochem vids- I remember that there was one part of the cultural ritual I was referencing that I didnt remember so I looked up the finer details and added it in my paper. Anways I forgot to cite that one sentance in a 500 word essay and my professor wrote me up for it. My punishment was just to fix the paper and get half credit for it- even with that I still made an A in the class.

I apologized for it and the professor and I are still on really good terms- they are one of my letter writers. How badly will this hold me back? I talked to my Universitys premed advisors immediatly after it happened and more recently and both times they said that it should be fine given how minor it was and my stats but I am still afraid that I screwed myself all those years ago.

This is a nothingburger.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Anways I forgot to cite that one sentance in a 500 word essay and my professor wrote me up for it. My punishment was just to fix the paper and get half credit for it- even with that I still made an A in the class.

Exactly how is this documented by your student conduct office? This might not even be an IA.

 

[hopefulldr]

I called the office of conduct and they told me its documented on my record as a "closed case"

 

[hopefulldr]

It's a nothingburger.

sorry what is a nothingburger? Im new to SDN so I don't know all the vernacular

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I called the office of conduct and they told me its documented on my record as a "closed case"

I don't understand that terminology. Did you have a hearing in front of a conduct board? If you give them a notice from a medical school verifying your conduct history, what will this office say?

Nothing Burger = trivial, inconsequential.

 

[AJS59]

From what it sounds like since you weren't given a formal disciplinary action beyond the class (that is probation, suspension, etc.) you should be fine. It even helps that the professor in question is a letter writer of yours.

 

[hopefulldr]

I don't understand that terminology. Did you have a hearing in front of a conduct board? If you give them a notice from a medical school verifying your conduct history, what will this office say?

Nothing Burger = trivial, inconsequential.

I did not have a hearing in front of the conduct board! The prof chose to handle this autonomously since it was my first and only offense and so minor. I did receive an email from the honor council telling me that the prof reported it tho when this happened

 

[hopefulldr]

From what it sounds like since you weren't given a formal disciplinary action beyond the class (that is probation, suspension, etc.) you should be fine. It even helps that the professor in question is a letter writer of yours.

i vaguely remember having to do like a plagiarism quiz over how to properly cite and paraphrase things

 

[AJS59]

i vaguely remember having to do like a plagiarism quiz over how to properly cite and paraphrase things

If you want to be sure, maybe set up a meeting with one of your academic deans? They may be able to help identify if it is actually on a transcript or other document that might be sent to a school. Talk to pre-health as well.

 

[hopefulldr]

If you want to be sure, maybe set up a meeting with one of your academic deans? They may be able to help identify if it is actually on a transcript or other document that might be sent to a school. Talk to pre-health as well.

thank you! will do! its not on my transcript bc I graduated last semester and I didnt see anything- still made an A in the course and bc i was an underclassman I was still able to qualify for latin honors

 

[AJS59]

thank you! will do! its not on my transcript bc I graduated last semester and I didnt see anything- still made an A in the course and bc i was an underclassman I was still able to qualify for latin honors

Okay, so my conclusion then is that this a nothing burger and you don't need to worry.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Institutional actions of this type shouldn't be on transcripts. As advised, write your reasons with your student conduct office's help. You need to disclose the offense, the citation, and the punishment precisely as the student conduct office describes.

 

[atriablack]

I agree, with others but also be very very sure this isn't something you have to report. You are getting a letter of rec from this professor, one small mention of this incident might be red flag if you haven't reported it. Even if spun in a positive light ("I am so impressed by hopefulldr's integrity following the incident in first year") it would be suspicious that you haven't reported.

That said if reporting, I don't think it is a serious IA.

 

[LizzyM]

Paradoxically, this will not hurt your chances unless you don't report it and it is discovered that you did not report it. Ask to examine your permanent record at the university. (This is your right under a federal law known as FERPA). Ask if anything that was in your record was removed upon graduation.

If there is, or was, anything in your record, report it as an IA. All you need to do is say that "as a freshman, due to an oversight, I failed to cite a source that I used for a single sentence in a creative writing assignment. The instructor required me to rewrite the paper and I received a deduction in points for my error. The instructor reported this to the honor council and I was required to complete a quiz covering how to properly cite and paraphrase things."

 

[Sandman23]

My conclusion after collecting exhibits Z through A is that this is a nothingburger

Conan got a lotta hand freckles. Someone get my boi checked for skin cancer