so i was caught cheating on a OCHEM test and it is on my academic record. I realized that what I did was wrong but now that I am applying for optometry school I was wondering if that is something that is on my transcript because when I look at my transcript it doesn't say anything.
and...
If it doesn't say anything on my transcript should I still write an essay explaining what happened?
or will this automatically disqualify me for any optometry school?
Tread real careful with this because it is almost for SURE on your transcript. It may not appear on the one you get at the end of the year, but it almost certainly appears on any sort of official transcript your school sends to anyone.
True story:
When I was a first year undergraduate, I went to a school for geeks and nerds. Needless to say, it was NOT a party school. Yet at the end of the year, we would still have our stupidity and we certainly did.
At the end of my first year, I and a few buddies from the dorm had a few too many beers and ended up stealing a Zamboni. It was a warm spring night so 5 of us were all on top of this stolen Zamboni driving it down the street with our shirts off. Of course, all the cars honked and waved at us and we enjoyed this tremendously.
And of course, it wasn't long before a police officer pulled up alongside of us and with a stern look, motioned for us to start heading back to the arena we stole it from.
To make a long story short, we ended up having to pay $500 to replace the tires and we all got a "discipline letter" in our files. (Fairly light punishment for something so stupid but I think the Dean actually got a bit of a kick out of it. His biggest concern was that we not get picked up for ZUI. )
In any event, I never thought much of it. Fast foward 3 1/2 years later and I'm interviewing at optometry schools and being asked about the "discipline letter in my file." It actually took me a few seconds to realize what it was because usually that means plagiarism or cheating or something like that.
When I fessed up, the adcom was so stunned that no one said anything for about 30 seconds. Finally someone spoke up and said to me "If we offer you admission, can we be assured you won't steal any Zambonis while in optometry school?"
After providing my assurance, I was admitted.
👍
But you'd be surprised at what shows up on a transcript. In fact, I'd probably recommend that anyone applying to any sort of graduate school ask for a copy of your OFFICIAL transcript to make sure there's no errors on it or any other potential pitfalls that might need some correcting.
