I got caught cheating, do I still have a chance?

[freetayk47]

Hey there all. Hope you are doing well. I am in quite a sticky situation and I just wanted to ask you all for advice before taking any drastic moves.

I recently was caught cheating on multiple science classes during my undergrad thru a Discord server. I have never cheated nor had any mark on my record before this. We were on quarter system and our school officially went online due to COVID-19 around March. Since the format was switched online, me and a couple friends decided to work on the exams together. This proceeded into the next quarter where we helped each other more with the classes. I never really saw it as a big deal given that basically everyone in all of our classes was using their notes and practice problems and working with their lab groups on the exams. However, someone within our server did not pass and decided to retaliate by telling the school that we were cheating. I was marked for cheating on two chem classes and two bio classes. I have not received any punishment yet but I do not know what to expect at this point. My question is do I still have a chance at dental school given that i was caught for four of these classes, even though they were all online. Should I still pursue my dental prereqs? I am already signed up for physics this fall but is it worth attempting if i basically have to restart half the year of bio and chem classes?

I know what I did was not right, and I definitely learned no matter what to just do the damn work myself and not be helped out by others, but I need to know if it is still worth pursuing or if I should switch career paths at this very moment. Thank you for your time.

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[Gustavo dos Santos]

“Have you ever been disqualified, suspended, dismissed, or otherwise subject to a disciplinary action at any college or university in connection with your academic performance?”

Doesn’t immediately disqualify you, but you’ll have to answer yes to the above on your app and expect it to come up in any interview you might get. Expect adcoms to see through any BS answer you might have and to be skeptical of all of your academic performance, along the lines of “got caught this one time, but did they cheat on everything else without getting caught?”

most schools have zero tolerance for cheating and you may end up with 4 F’s on your transcript, and it sounds like they are in prereq classes too. That may be hard to overcome.

it’s not impossible to overcome, but puts you at a big disadvantage. you ****ed up big time buddy.

 

[lanzhou_lamian]

You probably need to wait until you know what you’re punishment is before you know how screwed you are. I’d assume you’d at the least get zeros on the tests, more likely probably fail all four classes.

That’s not completely unrecoverable, but it would take a lot of work. Youd probably need a post-bacc or masters degree because four Fs are gonna nuke your GPA. You’d also need a decent amount of time between the incident and when you apply to show that you’ve grown. Maybe you could do a few gap years in well-respected organizations, like Peace Corp.

Good luck.

 

[futuredmdblue]

I know what I did was not right, and I definitely learned no matter what to just do the damn work myself and not be helped out by others, but I need to know if it is still worth pursuing or if I should switch career paths at this very moment. Thank you for your time.

But you didn’t learn. You told basically everyone here that when you did it for two quarters. In the real world, there are tons of ethical issues in dentistry. Who’s to say you won’t try insurance fraud by passing off production you didn’t do in order to maximize insurance benefits? You have a DEA license which allows you to write out prescriptions. Ethically, what are you going to say to adcoms to convince them you’re not a liability? Are you going to be the guy encouraging other students to cheat too? Those students that were better off doing the damn work without having a bad influence around?

You need to do some soul searching brother. And do all the brown nosing and pleading you can to your advisory board and professors because this doesn’t look good. Every interviewer I had asked a question about cheating and academic dishonesty. They look highly on those that are forthcoming but won’t tolerate repeat offenders. Good luck.

 

[Soleus715]

As a victim of cheating during my undergrad years, I really have don't have much sympathy to be honest.
During Orgo 2, some kids cheated and invalidated over 300 exam scores including mine and we had to retake on a later date bunched with other exams.

If it was one exam and a one time thing I probably would have only said something typical along the lines of "everyone makes mistakes, no one is perfect. learn from it and become a better person". I still want to say this to you, but 4 classes makes me wonder where your ethical compass lies, especially given how you stated that "even though they were all online" like that means something. Someone in admissions might ask "so if no one sees it, it's okay? does the assumption that others may also cheat make you any less guilty?"

I have graduated dental school seeing all kinds of unethical behavior with cheating during exams and even lack of preparation prior to treating real patients! I have heard of students talking about how they will commit insurance fraud, too. These "dentists" I would not let em even take a perio probe near my face.

Can you still get into dental school? Maybe. But I really don't know if this would be the right profession for you.

 

[Alpha Centauri]

I never really saw it as a big deal given that basically everyone in all of our classes was using their notes and practice problems and working with their lab groups on the exams. However, someone within our server did not pass and decided to retaliate by telling the school that we were cheating. I was marked for cheating on two chem classes and two bio classes.

You're like what, 21 years old and still think it is a good idea to trust other people with your academic well being?
On top of the fact that you will inevitably need to learn what you are studying for the future rather than cheat on it.

I hope you can write well, the ADCOMs are going to be looking forward to your explanation of something so foolish

 

[Pre_Dent2024]

If the four classes get counted as F’s, I’d recommend you change paths. The double whammy of low science gpa and cheating is probably too much to overcome. If you somehow still get a B or C in the class, I’d say you still have a chance. But you better come up with a really good written explanation of the incident and how you learned from it for your AADSAS.

 

[setdoc7]

Dentistry is not the only career on earth, and given the severity of the pandemic, may be a poor choice right now. I would select something that has a work from home option.

 

[MGA100]

 

[Hi polo pick]

Dont come here for advice, go talk to your school about your academic record. No one here knows anything concrete about your situation.

 

[TanMan]

Hey there all. Hope you are doing well. I am in quite a sticky situation and I just wanted to ask you all for advice before taking any drastic moves.

I recently was caught cheating on multiple science classes during my undergrad thru a Discord server. I have never cheated nor had any mark on my record before this. We were on quarter system and our school officially went online due to COVID-19 around March. Since the format was switched online, me and a couple friends decided to work on the exams together. This proceeded into the next quarter where we helped each other more with the classes. I never really saw it as a big deal given that basically everyone in all of our classes was using their notes and practice problems and working with their lab groups on the exams. However, someone within our server did not pass and decided to retaliate by telling the school that we were cheating. I was marked for cheating on two chem classes and two bio classes. I have not received any punishment yet but I do not know what to expect at this point. My question is do I still have a chance at dental school given that i was caught for four of these classes, even though they were all online. Should I still pursue my dental prereqs? I am already signed up for physics this fall but is it worth attempting if i basically have to restart half the year of bio and chem classes?

I know what I did was not right, and I definitely learned no matter what to just do the damn work myself and not be helped out by others, but I need to know if it is still worth pursuing or if I should switch career paths at this very moment. Thank you for your time.

There's two kinds of answers to your dilemma. Both will address your situation at hand, both are radically different in their approach. As people here have alluded, know your punishment, accept it, don't do it/get caught next time, and justify it on your application. It's hard, especially if you fail 4 classes. You could always claim some covid related issues, which seems to be the in-thing these days to blame it on covid, but ultimately, this route, you must accept responsibility. If you don't have it marked on your transcript, grade is kept as is, no consequences, then you will have an easier time with this route.

The second route is what others would do if they want to win at all costs... lawyer up, which you probably should've done if you haven't already. You should probably delete this post too, admit no wrongdoing, don't talk to anyone about it except your lawyer, and whatever lawyer-ly advice is given to you (IANAL, FYI). Depending on your school, lawyer's experience, and risk-tolerance of your school, you might be able to expunge this off your record and/or bargain your way out of it. If you cheated while on your university's network and/or proprietary software/client, most likely it's all recorded.

I'm not going to pass judgement on you. There are gaps in your scenario, but pick a route and stick with it. Good luck in your future professional endeavors.

 

[Laradd]

If you are not yet sentenced for the mistake that you did, maybe you just hang on there for a while and wait for them to decide. No worries! I hope you get better.

 

[Ivy.ch]

“Have you ever been disqualified, suspended, dismissed, or otherwise subject to a disciplinary action at any college or university in connection with your academic performance?”

Exactly what this person said. If you answer YES to this, then I doubt any school will accept you.

You said you were "marked for cheating". So I understand this as you were officially declared to have cheated. Which means you will have to put YES.

 

[Dubdy96]

As a victim of cheating during my undergrad years, I really have don't have much sympathy to be honest.
During Orgo 2, some kids cheated and invalidated over 300 exam scores including mine and we had to retake on a later date bunched with other exams.

If it was one exam and a one time thing I probably would have only said something typical along the lines of "everyone makes mistakes, no one is perfect. learn from it and become a better person". I still want to say this to you, but 4 classes makes me wonder where your ethical compass lies, especially given how you stated that "even though they were all online" like that means something. Someone in admissions might ask "so if no one sees it, it's okay? does the assumption that others may also cheat make you any less guilty?"

I have graduated dental school seeing all kinds of unethical behavior with cheating during exams and even lack of preparation prior to treating real patients! I have heard of students talking about how they will commit insurance fraud, too. These "dentists" I would not let em even take a perio probe near my face.

Can you still get into dental school? Maybe. But I really don't know if this would be the right profession for you.

I have no idea how I came across your post but I was also in that class! Retaking that exam in the same day as the final was brutal, i'm currently a D4 student. Small world!

 

[deleted954913]

holy crap, are they allowed to do that?? how did they get a new exam and enough copies?

 

[Dubdy96]

holy crap, are they allowed to do that?? how did they get a new exam and enough copies?

It was a mess, they made a completely new exam, we took the exam then they allowed us a 15 min break and gave us the final. Historic stuff really

 

[Hi Just Lurking]

It was a mess, they made a completely new exam, we took the exam then they allowed us a 15 min break and gave us the final. Historic stuff really

They really took time out of their day to punish haha

 

[deleted1069873]

Hey there all. Hope you are doing well. I am in quite a sticky situation and I just wanted to ask you all for advice before taking any drastic moves.

I recently was caught cheating on multiple science classes during my undergrad thru a Discord server. I have never cheated nor had any mark on my record before this. We were on quarter system and our school officially went online due to COVID-19 around March. Since the format was switched online, me and a couple friends decided to work on the exams together. This proceeded into the next quarter where we helped each other more with the classes. I never really saw it as a big deal given that basically everyone in all of our classes was using their notes and practice problems and working with their lab groups on the exams. However, someone within our server did not pass and decided to retaliate by telling the school that we were cheating. I was marked for cheating on two chem classes and two bio classes. I have not received any punishment yet but I do not know what to expect at this point. My question is do I still have a chance at dental school given that i was caught for four of these classes, even though they were all online. Should I still pursue my dental prereqs? I am already signed up for physics this fall but is it worth attempting if i basically have to restart half the year of bio and chem classes?

I know what I did was not right, and I definitely learned no matter what to just do the damn work myself and not be helped out by others, but I need to know if it is still worth pursuing or if I should switch career paths at this very moment. Thank you for your time.

We all make mistakes. I know this is scary right now, but if your school gives you a conduct violation, you may be able to petition to have your record cleared. This would be similar to the expungement of an arrest record. Learn from your mistake and don't cheat again. See if you are able to petition and if you get your record cleared, the school will then not report that you had any violations of conduct.

 

[pookey123]

I am lucky to not have had any experiences involving cheaters in undergrad. sadly dental schools are full of cheaters and many have done much worse than what you have done. that doesn't excuse you though. hope you learn from what you've done. depending on the final outcome you may still have a shot at dental school if that is still what you truly want to do

dental school sucks so don't beat yourself up at the missed opportunity if that ends up being the case. you have every right to do something else with your life

 

[hungrydoc710]

I think you're screwed. Too many kids without red flags.

 

[deleted1069873]

I think you're screwed. Too many kids without red flags.

I definitely don’t think he’s screwed. A good friend of mine got in with a mediocre gpa and a conduct record.

 

[nicoleninja]

From my past experiences people who cheated before are likely to cheat again (sadly you did not prove that wrong.), and in the long run if you encounter some difficult exams (and you will ) in D school, you might cheat again instead of sacrificing some nights’ sleep. Rethink carefully why you want to do dentistry because being accepted by a dental school is just a start of your roughest academic journey. Good luck.

 

[TanMan]

I wouldn't count him/her out too much yet. Nepotism runs deep in dental school and if he/she has connections or has the financial resources to influence admissions, he still has a relatively good chance. Ideally, if you get caught cheating, you shouldn't be in a healthcare profession, but such is life.

 

[ShortShortsDad]

Depends on what gets put on your record but it’s not encouraging, if your record reads anything like what you described honestly most schools will be a hard absolute never. I sat on some admissions committee meetings as a dental student (all TAs also helped interview applicants and if there were questions/concerns we’d be invited to go to the admissions committee meeting) and at my school something much more mild than your situation would immediately get rejected without a seconds consideration. I remember one applicant had a note in his file that he had a disciplinary meeting with an undergrad dean because his roommate agreement stated what temp they had to keep the dorm at and he increased the temp by 1 degree and his roommate reported him... my dental school rejected him on ethics or conflict resolution concerns. Completely ridiculous but that’s why that story stuck with me. Some schools care a lot more than others but that’s an example of how serious they take it.