Chances of getting into dental school after getting busted for cheating..

[madboardie]

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About a week ago, a bunch of people in a summer class that I took were suspected for cheating. The professor asked for people to admit to it and so I told him that I did, although there were many others that didn't and got busted.. My prof then told me that I would have to notify schools of this situation and that he would tell them that I at least had the guts to turn myself in.

Will this totally kill my chances of getting in dental school this cycle? I'm currently in my 4th year of college and I didn't do so well early in my career, but in the past school year I raised my sGPA significantly. I cheated because I wasn't doing so well in the class, and I was afraid that slipping up this late would look bad. I know what I did was wrong and will definitely not be doing anything like that again.. call me whatever you want, I probably deserve it.. but any input is greatly appreciated. thanks!

sGPA 3.15 (after getting an F in the class)
DAT 23AA/25TS/22PAT

 

[FROGGBUSTER]

A cousin of mine got caught for cheating and is now in dental school. This was a while back when dental schools weren't as competitive, but I'd say you still have a shot if you can spin it well.

 

[wired202808]

About a week ago, a bunch of people in a summer class that I took were suspected for cheating. The professor asked for people to admit to it and so I told him that I did, although there were many others that didn't and got busted.. My prof then told me that I would have to notify schools of this situation and that he would tell them that I at least had the guts to turn myself in.

Will this totally kill my chances of getting in dental school this cycle? I'm currently in my 4th year of college and I didn't do so well early in my career, but in the past school year I raised my sGPA significantly. I cheated because I wasn't doing so well in the class, and I was afraid that slipping up this late would look bad. I know what I did was wrong and will definitely not be doing anything like that again.. call me whatever you want, I probably deserve it.. but any input is greatly appreciated. thanks!

sGPA 3.15 (after getting an F in the class)
DAT 23AA/25TS/22PAT

that sucks man, find out the policies of the schools you have applied to. some require an updated information sheet after you submit. i know midwestern would need to be notified if something like this occurs, but i dont know if other schools have to be notified. (that is if you submitted the applicatinon)

also did the professor officially report you to the school? if there is no record of this then its a moral dilemma of whether to report this or not.

this might hurt your chances, because this will cause adcoms to speculate that you must have cheated before and that you will do it again. you have to find some way out of this.

 

[amalgamgrillz]

Your grades are going to suck even more in d-school, and you're going to struggle more in d-school, too. What's to stop you from doing it again on your boards and embarrassing the school?

 

[KillaGorilla]

You explained it decently enough in your short post to get a couple sympathetic responses , so I don't think its game over. I do agree w/ grillz its only going to get tougher , so you best be up for it.

 

[FROGGBUSTER]

The thing to be worried about in this situation is the fact that this was very recent. If it had been a couple of years ago as a freshie, I think it would be much easier to spin because freshies are supposed to be a little young and dumb. At this point, you would have to absolutely convince your interviewer during the interview that it was a one-time thing and it would never happen again, etc.

 

[madboardie]

@wired - yeah my professor reported me to the school

@amalgamgrillz - I see what you are saying. I won't do it again because the class was the only online class I've taken and the temptation for cheating was too much.. but I have never cheated when exams were taken in a classroom. I'm not saying that as an excuse, but there's really nothing I can say if someone thinks I would do it again..

 

[KillaGorilla]

Caught cheating in an online class? Ridiculous!

 

[madboardie]

Caught cheating in an online class? Ridiculous!

As ridiculous as that may sound, that really is the truth..

 

[pickmedental]

I don't understand how the D-schools supposed to find out about it? is you application complete? also, what does it show on ur transcript just an F oralso a comment? Because there is a huge difference between I failed a class or I cheated in the class. I appreciate your honesty and the fact that u understand that what you did is wrong. Regardless I think you have good chances if the d-schools will not know about it otherwise I think your chances are smaller. I hope they will appreciate your honesty as I do.

 

[moreno212]

that sucks. I had a similar case, except mine was on a bio lab practical. used a sheet of notes. mine happened right after freshman year. I didn't study because I couldn't. You have a good excuse though, since you were finding the class hard. I'm pre-med or pharm and most of the pre-meds on SD say my chances are shot.

 

[madboardie]

I submitted my application on 6/3/11. I need to call this in so schools know why I failed a class and I'm sure they will find out about this someway or another. I'm retaking it this semester and I'm also taking biochemistry. All I can do now is try the best I can.

 

[moreno212]

I submitted my application on 6/3/11. I need to call this in so schools know why I failed a class and I'm sure they will find out about this someway or another. I'm retaking it this semester and I'm also taking biochemistry. All I can do now is try the best I can.

Yeah just do the best you can. I think everyone deserves a second chance at something they want to do. Everyone learns from bad unethical decisions they make and the fact that you got punished with the F or other forms of punishment will prevent you from doing this again.

 

[pickmedental]

I submitted my application on 6/3/11. I need to call this in so schools know why I failed a class and I'm sure they will find out about this someway or another. I'm retaking it this semester and I'm also taking biochemistry. All I can do now is try the best I can.

Good luck to u!

 

[molar3]

i dont get how adcoms will find out about this. is cheating recorded on a transcript somewhere? im confused. how does your professor even know what dental schools you applied to? and is he going to be that big of a douche to go and call them individually to rat u out? if so, hes got alota time on his hands.

 

[amalgamgrillz]

i dont get how adcoms will find out about this. is cheating recorded on a transcript somewhere? im confused. how does your professor even know what dental schools you applied to? and is he going to be that big of a douche to go and call them individually to rat u out? if so, hes got alota time on his hands.

I don't think it's douchey if you want the admissions committee to know who they are accepting into the health profession...

And if it's officially reported, it will be on your academic record. Technically speaking, the OP is obligated to tell the admissions committee about this change on his academic record, since it wasn't reported on AADSAS the first time.

 

[duckdds]

i dont get how adcoms will find out about this. is cheating recorded on a transcript somewhere? im confused. how does your professor even know what dental schools you applied to? and is he going to be that big of a douche to go and call them individually to rat u out? if so, hes got alota time on his hands.

All matriculated students will go through a background check after acceptance, academic and criminal, so one may slide past the ADCOMs but not past the school itself.

 

[dentin18]

All matriculated students will go through a background check after acceptance, academic and criminal, so one may slide past the ADCOMs but not past the school itself.

yes imo, i think the op should report it to schools for this reason.
what exactly is an academic background check anyway duckdds? to see if the student actually earned the degree and grades they claim to? or does the school keep other things/documents on file about a student? kinda freaky.
if it does not showup on the OPs official transcript, i can understand why hes skeptical about repporting it, however if this background check duckdds is referring to contains other documents the school keeps about students, which im not sure what that would be, then he should definitley report it. either way, regardless .

 

[doc toothache]

A cousin of mine got caught for cheating and is now in dental school. This was a while back when dental schools weren't as competitive, but I'd say you still have a shot if you can spin it well.

Ahh! The good old days when ds were so desperate they would accept just about anybody to meet their quota. You can always spin to make the prof look like a douche.

The thing to be worried about in this situation is the fact that this was very recent. If it had been a couple of years ago as a freshie, I think it would be much easier to spin because freshies are supposed to be a little young and dumb. At this point, you would have to absolutely convince your interviewer during the interview that it was a one-time thing and it would never happen again, etc.

Or, well, until the next episode.

 

[bing12]

you can bet your chances are significantly lower, exactly how much lower is the golden answer.

 

[duckdds]

yes imo, i think the op should report it to schools for this reason.
what exactly is an academic background check anyway duckdds? to see if the student actually earned the degree and grades they claim to? or does the school keep other things/documents on file about a student? kinda freaky.
if it does not showup on the OPs official transcript, i can understand why hes skeptical about repporting it, however if this background check duckdds is referring to contains other documents the school keeps about students, which im not sure what that would be, then he should definitley report it. either way, regardless .

Well from what I read on these forums, the academic background check verifies your transcripts and grades, and any record of suspension/expulsion/cheating

It's a pretty complete check and I've even seen several news stories about third/fourth year dental students getting kicked out because they did not disclose parts of their history that they were supposed to. One of the admission directors of my state school said once that they did catch dishonest people eventually.
Just to be on the safe side I would disclose everything, and listen to the schools' reactions.

 

[notin]

There is no hard and fast answer to this. There isn't a rule saying you can no longer be accepted, and each school might feel differently about it. Gotta imagine it hurts pretty bad though.

 

[SeattleRDH]

Whatever you do, DON'T LIE! Better the schools hear it from you first. It shows maturity to own up to your mistakes (and there will be mistakes when you become a dentist).

Congrats on your DAT by the way.

 

[madboardie]

yeah I definitely won't be doing any lying, that's a lesson learned from this incident. I just want to say thanks to everyone for their feedback, it means a lot. I hope schools can tell from my DAT scores that I'm not a complete idiot that cheated his way through college, because it really was only this one time I cheated. it's expected that my chances are significantly lower but I just will have to wait and see how things turn out. Fees are already paid so might as well go through with it. Thanks again for all the comments, I really appreciate it!

 

[321931]

yeah I definitely won't be doing any lying, that's a lesson learned from this incident. I just want to say thanks to everyone for their feedback, it means a lot. I hope schools can tell from my DAT scores that I'm not a complete idiot that cheated his way through college, because it really was only this one time I cheated. it's expected that my chances are significantly lower but I just will have to wait and see how things turn out. Fees are already paid so might as well go through with it. Thanks again for all the comments, I really appreciate it!

Yep might as well hold your breath and take the plunge. Although, I would say your chances are very slim. 3.15 is barely making ends meet plus a super recent cheating scandal with an F totally discredits your persona/gpa/work ethic/everything you've done.

I would disclose your incident/update record to all Dental Schools. I wouldn't try to even hide the incident as the F will require an explanation, and since your teacher reported it, it will be on your transcript. You don't want to apply, go through interviews, get accepted, pay deposits, send in transcript- they see a cheating mark- and in the end, you get rejected. That just sucks. Better be clean early, then risk that predicament.

Lastly, I would apply to Post-Bac/Masters or look into something less competitive. The 3.15 coupled with recent incident/F is just something that is hard to get rid of. A 2 years master with a "turn around/I'm a new person" life story with a 4.0 will definately help, and well an easier health profession with "no questions asked" could also be a great alternative.

Either way, good luck this cycle. Your DAT scores are definitely killer. It really is an unfortunate event. Best of luck.

 

[Dr. Dai Phan]

Hi all,

I would disclose it because it would be terrible if you are expelled while you are in school or later when you try to be licensed. I believe if you write a good PS and show your remorse, then I believe you should be forgiven. I strongly believe in second chances and a person should not be condemmed forever for a single mistake made in life. DP

 

[Golfguy]

Well from what I read on these forums, the academic background check verifies your transcripts and grades, and any record of suspension/expulsion/cheating

It's a pretty complete check and I've even seen several news stories about third/fourth year dental students getting kicked out because they did not disclose parts of their history that they were supposed to. One of the admission directors of my state school said once that they did catch dishonest people eventually.
Just to be on the safe side I would disclose everything, and listen to the schools' reactions.

I agree, and don't think the OP has any choice but to disclose this.

I'm curious as to why/how 3rd and 4th years would get expelled based on their initial application. The assumption is that background checks are performed yearly for this to be the case, however, I highly doubt that is true. I'm sure they are performed at acceptance only, and after that, if information comes to light that they lied about something, action is taken. So, I wonder how they would know after the initial check?

 

[Dr. Dai Phan]

I agree, and don't think the OP has any choice but to disclose this.

I'm curious as to why/how 3rd and 4th years would get expelled based on their initial application. The assumption is that background checks are performed yearly for this to be the case, however, I highly doubt that is true. I'm sure they are performed at acceptance only, and after that, if information comes to light that they lied about something, action is taken. So, I wonder how they would know after the initial check?

Hi

My concern is getting through DS and then can't get a license because of something when the states do background check. I think it is wise to know up front. If DS has no issues with your disclosure, I would think your state board won't have it either. DP

 

[lmaozedong1]

 

[moreno212]

I would say that the only concern is that it was during senior year. freshman/sophomore year we do dumb things. But junior/senior year are supposed to be the years of recovery. I got caught cheating summer after freshman year during lab, and I'm hoping admissions will look to see how I've gotten past that and rectified my character...etc. Right now I'm focused on finishing and studying for pre reqs and hoping to score well on the admissions tests and lots of volunteer experience and character-building community service.

 

[Golfguy]

Hi

My concern is getting through DS and then can't get a license because of something when the states do background check. I think it is wise to know up front. If DS has no issues with your disclosure, I would think your state board won't have it either. DP

I agree, Dr. Phan. But I was wondering about 3rd and 4th years. I assume this information would have to be reported somewhere for a check to diligent. I doubt they could get ones actual AADSAS application and scan it for inconsistencies.

 

[nondescriptive]

I agree, Dr. Phan. But I was wondering about 3rd and 4th years. I assume this information would have to be reported somewhere for a check to diligent. I doubt they could get ones actual AADSAS application and scan it for inconsistencies.

I had a friend who got caught cheating freshman year and never brought it up because he forgot about it after seven years; and adcom never brought it up either. I think as freshman, some schools will seal your academic record and only the school can access it. Either way, it is better to be upfront than caught concealing. Mistakes can be forgiven, only if they're confessed.