Institutional action for alleged plagiarism. Should I report it on my med school apps??

[doc1994]

Hey y'all. I'm applying to MD and DO schools this coming cycle. I'm conflicted as to whether to mention my "institutional action" on the applications. My sophomore year of college I got in trouble for alleged plagiarism of a lab report. Supposedly I didn't cite the primary literature article I used when writing a lab report. My professor reported it to the dean, and I had to meet with her to discuss the situation. But since it was my first offense, no action was taken (i.e. it didn't go on my personal record and I didn't fail the course). If you were me, would you discuss this on your apps, or just leave it out? I'm worried because I'm getting a committee letter from my school, so I'm not sure if they know about this alleged incident and if so, if they will mention it in the letter. Your thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated!

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[chaim123]

Hey y'all. I'm applying to MD and DO schools this coming cycle. I'm conflicted as to whether to mention my "institutional action" on the applications. My sophomore year of college I got in trouble for alleged plagiarism of a lab report. Supposedly I didn't cite the primary literature article I used when writing a lab report. My professor reported it to the dean, and I had to meet with her to discuss the situation. But since it was my first offense, no action was taken (i.e. it didn't go on my personal record and I didn't fail the course). If you were me, would you discuss this on your apps, or just leave it out? I'm worried because I'm getting a committee letter from my school, so I'm not sure if they know about this alleged incident and if so, if they will mention it in the letter. Your thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated!

You need to go to the Dean / Office of Student Conduct and ask if it rose to the level of a reportable action. If it did, then yes.

 

[HomeSkool]

Hey y'all. I'm applying to MD and DO schools this coming cycle. I'm conflicted as to whether to mention my "institutional action" on the applications. My sophomore year of college I got in trouble for alleged plagiarism of a lab report. Supposedly I didn't cite the primary literature article I used when writing a lab report. My professor reported it to the dean, and I had to meet with her to discuss the situation. But since it was my first offense, no action was taken (i.e. it didn't go on my personal record and I didn't fail the course). If you were me, would you discuss this on your apps, or just leave it out? I'm worried because I'm getting a committee letter from my school, so I'm not sure if they know about this alleged incident and if so, if they will mention it in the letter. Your thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated!

Per AAMC rules, you're required to report any institutional action, even if it doesn't appear on your transcript:

Institutional Action: Medical schools need to know if you were ever the recipient of any institutional action resulting from unacceptable academic performance or a conduct violation, even if such action did not interrupt your enrollment, require you to withdraw, or does not appear on your official transcripts due to institutional policy or personal petition.

You'll include an explanation of the situation and any action taken, and if admissions committees feel it was an honest mistake they'll view it with much more leniency than if it were willful academic misconduct.

It saddens me to have to say this, but some SDNers have demonstrated serious moral poverty in the past: even if you think you might get away with lying, it's wrong to lie. You're applying to enter a profession that takes integrity very seriously; how can you possibly justify lying on your application? Unfortunately, the fact that you're on here hinting at a willingness to lie but worried that you might get caught makes me question the calibration of your moral compass, but we can burn that bridge later. Tell the truth on your application or risk your LOR writers and preadmissions committee telling it for you. The first option makes it more difficult to get into med school, but the second makes it nearly impossible. And it goes without saying that if you're found after matriculation to have falsified your application, that would almost certainly be grounds for dismissal.

Be honest, and prove that the IA really was the result of a misunderstanding by a fundamentally honest person.

 

[deleted915763]

if you think that the school won't / can't find out unless you tell them, then do not tell them.

 

[MD-2022]

I would report it, as I have heard of a case when an acceptance was even rescinded.

 

[Jdp00921]

When you say "supposedly," I'm not sure what you mean. Did you cite or did you not cite the article? Either way, if it was just an error on your part and you forgot to cite or didn't realize you needed to cite, I don't think that's a huge deal. Now if you basically paraphrased or copied from the article directly and just didn't want to cite, that's a different story.

Overall, if it was a simple error and is explained as such, I can't imagine you would be screened out. You'll likely just be asked about it I would think.

 

[Goro]

My school has rejected people who got outed by letter of recommendation writers. They would write things like Joe has grown so much since the cheating incident.

The problem was, Joe didn't mention the cheating incident in the IA box.

 

[878956]

Unfortunately, the medical school game is a dirty game that by no means is played fair and many people cheat to get acceptances I know two people who have cheated, got caught and are at Harvard Medical school. Despite the moral platitude people are holding here. I wouldn't mention it if you don't have to. If you mention it, you won't get in EVER! But if you don't, you have a good chance of getting away and putting this whole medical school application BS behind you.

 

[Osminog]

My school has rejected people who got outed by letter of recommendation writers. They would write things like Joe has grown so much since the cheating incident.

The problem was, Joe didn't mention the cheating incident in the IA box.

Would he have been rejected if he had mentioned it in the IA box? Almost certainly not... so he didn't really lose anything.

 

[Goro]

Would he have been rejected if he had mentioned it in the IA box? Almost certainly not... so he didn't really lose anything.

I don't particularly remember the exact IAs, but my gut is telling me that they were relatively minor ones, and yes we would have accepted the candidates if they were honest.

 

[TypeADissection]

Hey guys, I invented a new word this weekend: plagiarism.

 

[Skiiiiiing]

Hey y'all. I'm applying to MD and DO schools this coming cycle. I'm conflicted as to whether to mention my "institutional action" on the applications. My sophomore year of college I got in trouble for alleged plagiarism of a lab report. Supposedly I didn't cite the primary literature article I used when writing a lab report. My professor reported it to the dean, and I had to meet with her to discuss the situation. But since it was my first offense, no action was taken (i.e. it didn't go on my personal record and I didn't fail the course). If you were me, would you discuss this on your apps, or just leave it out? I'm worried because I'm getting a committee letter from my school, so I'm not sure if they know about this alleged incident and if so, if they will mention it in the letter. Your thoughts and advice are greatly appreciated!

It was referred to the dean, who agreed it was an issue..not the case of a frivolous referral.

You are using a committee letter.

Frame it as "in the interest of full disclosure"

 

[Goro]

Unfortunately, the medical school game is a dirty game that by no means is played fair and many people cheat to get acceptances I know two people who have cheated, got caught and are at Harvard Medical school. Despite the moral platitude people are holding here. I wouldn't mention it if you don't have to. If you mention it, you won't get in EVER! But if you don't, you have a good chance of getting away and putting this whole medical school application BS behind you.

Unfortunately, there are several comments in here that are so ignorant of the medical school application process that it rises to the level of malignancy.

First off, Plagiarism come sin several shades of grey. Forgetting a few footnotes is sloppy but forgivable. Copying and pasting entire chunks of Wiki is not. Pre-meds with zero experience of med school admissions should not be commenting on what would be lethal for a med school app.

As mentioned above, Admissions deans do due diligence on med school acceptees, and one of the reasons is, illustrated right here in this thread. The Deans seek to screen out out people who are dishonest/misrepresent themselves, which is far worse than forgetting some footnotes, honor code violations or sharing home or lab work.

A dirty game indeed.....to people who are already dishonest.

 

[Goro]

Soon to be out Goro's new book "50 Shades of Grey" where he goes to great pains and whips everybody into shape.

The Prince of Punnery has no need to lash out.

 

[JustAUser]

The criteria of "you think" is far, far too simplistic and inconclusive. Indeed, this goes beyond "any doubt." If one professor in one letter attached to the committee letter makes a passing reference to an "incident" in professor's X class, even defending the applicant, and the applicant hasnt mentioned it, it will be raise a waving bright red flag. For example "I have found applicant X to be a excellent, ethical and trustworthy student" could easily prompt the question why did this writer bring up truthful? Perhaps a hidden IA the applicant hasnt mentioned?

I'm just curious, but what if the professor mentioned truthful because the student reported acts of dishonesty that were occurring in the class and not because they had previously engaged in academic dishonesty and shown considerable improvement? Would that also be somewhat looked down upon?

 

[Skiiiiiing]

Unfortunately, the medical school game is a dirty game that by no means is played fair and many people cheat to get acceptances I know two people who have cheated, got caught and are at Harvard Medical school. Despite the moral platitude people are holding here. I wouldn't mention it if you don't have to. If you mention it, you won't get in EVER! But if you don't, you have a good chance of getting away and putting this whole medical school application BS behind you.

Meh. What OP describes is a nothing burger to probably 6/10, 4/10 it's minor. If he doesn't disclose and it shows up elsewhere, trash can.

 

[doc1994]

When you say "supposedly," I'm not sure what you mean. Did you cite or did you not cite the article? Either way, if it was just an error on your part and you forgot to cite or didn't realize you needed to cite, I don't think that's a huge deal. Now if you basically paraphrased or copied from the article directly and just didn't want to cite, that's a different story.

Overall, if it was a simple error and is explained as such, I can't imagine you would be screened out. You'll likely just be asked about it I would think.

By "supposedly" what I mean is that I cited to the article that I was referring to, but since (in the words of my professor) I used more than 4 consecutive words verbatim from the article, the words should have been in quotes, which I did not use. She was basically being super nit picky about the plagiarism rules and decided to bust me. Honest opinion: is it just me, or was that super petty on her part?

 

[doc1994]

It didnt deserve more than a comment fom the prof pointing out that you shouldnt do that. A prof who escalated this to a dean seems way overkill. I would guess the dean met with you mostly to placate the prof.

Yup, pretty much. Also, I'm not the only person she "caught." She told me this happens every semester with a few of her students. Two of my good friends also received the same punishment and are both also contemplating whether to report it on their apps or not. So even though I made a mistake in not correctly quoting the sentence, this has more to do with her being psycho and less with me being dishonest. I'm also still conflicted on whether I should report it or not lol

 

[LizzyM]

Ask to review your academic record in the dean's office. If something is written there, it might come out at some point. If there is nothing in writing in your file (and you have the right to see everything that the school has on you, the federal law goes by the acronym FERPA) then no doubt the dean made a mental note of this (oh, that picky lab teacher again!!) an let you go in peace to sin no more.

 

[Jdp00921]

By "supposedly" what I mean is that I cited to the article that I was referring to, but since (in the words of my professor) I used more than 4 consecutive words verbatim from the article, the words should have been in quotes, which I did not use. She was basically being super nit picky about the plagiarism rules and decided to bust me. Honest opinion: is it just me, or was that super petty on her part?

Some people are just losers. Sorry that happened. This backs my first comment even more-so, however. I would put it because I'm sure most if not all admissions committee members would see it just as everyone here does - unnecessary overkill. If it isn't recorded in your academic file, it just makes you appear more honest about something that likely won't change anyone's view of you anyway.

 

[Goro]

It didnt deserve more than a comment fom the prof pointing out that you shouldnt do that. A prof who escalated this to a dean seems way overkill. I would guess the dean met with you mostly to placate the prof.

More than overkill, It's outright sadistic.

 

[chemdoctor]

My school has rejected people who got outed by letter of recommendation writers. They would write things like Joe has grown so much since the cheating incident.

The problem was, Joe didn't mention the cheating incident in the IA box.

That is so terrible... It's CRINGE worthy

 

[Goro]

That is so terrible... It's CRINGE worthy

My clinical colleagues take professionalism VERY seriously!

 

[Goro]

Quick question about Institutional Actions.
If you met with a committee about a possible honor code violation but were then found that there was NO wrongdoing on my part, there were NO actions taken against me. Would the meeting count as an institutional action? Would I be required to report the meeting, even though no actions were taken against me and my name was cleared?

Do meetings about potential violations count as an action?

Sounds like a no

 

[chemdoctor]

My clinical colleagues take professionalism VERY seriously!

But man... imagine the atmosphere in the room when they found out