My Professor thinks I was cheating

[jorge921995]

So I had my first chem exam today and I had some notes written on my hand from something else earlier on in the day and I didn't wash it off. Then when I turned my exam in, a TA saw it and reported it to my professor. He took a picture and was telling me how he had to file an informal complaint or something like that. The thing is, when the TA approached me about my hand, I panicked easily, like I always do, and couldn't explain what I had to, saying it was notes from earlier. They were very smudged so I couldn't prove that I wasn't cheating. He said to go to his office tomorrow to talk about it. Please, I'm literally crying as I type this and I'm so scared I won't be able to go to any med school, this is already my second time taking Chem and I did really well on my first exam, he sends out the key right after and I got an 80% compared to last semester, but this stupid mistake my shatter my dreams. What should I tell him.

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[Noomm]

Damn that sucks bro. I really don't know what to say. Assuming you're telling the truth, I hope that God above sees you and protects you from anything bad happening out of all of this.

 

[jorge921995]

I'm a sophomore this semester, btw.

 

[edgerock24]

and I had some notes written on my hand from something else earlier on in the day

...what kind of grown adult writes stuff on their hands like that?


Anyways, I think your best bet is to admit that you had nonsense written on your hand, but state that it was unrelated to the class material. You should have explicitly shown the TA your hand on the spot to reveal that your doodling was unrelated to chemistry.

However, you cannot do that now. Just be honest. Say it was a dumb decision by you and nothing of the sort will happen again. Do anything to avoid a IA, even if it means taking a 0 on the exam, or taking an F in the class.

And for God's sake, stop writing stuff on your hands. You aren't 10 years old any more. Best of luck.

 

[jorge921995]

UPDATE:


So relieved. He filed a complaint that he says will not affect me going into med school and that I could have removed from my record by my last semester and it'll be as if it never happened. He also gave me a 0 on the exam which I could make up for when I retake my final. Whatever I get on my final, I'll get as that grade.

 

[Goro]

Explain it to the professor as you did here and fall upon his mercy. Maybe s/he'll give you an F for the course and keep it the IA off your file. On the other hand, you might very well get suspended.

But as of right now, by your explanation alone, I'd reject you outright if I saw what you wrote in the IA box on a med school admissions form. You displayed a lack of responsibility, did something really stupid, and then panicked over it.

In the future, make better choices.

So I had my first chem exam today and I had some notes written on my hand from something else earlier on in the day and I didn't wash it off. Then when I turned my exam in, a TA saw it and reported it to my professor. He took a picture and was telling me how he had to file an informal complaint or something like that. The thing is, when the TA approached me about my hand, I panicked easily, like I always do, and couldn't explain what I had to, saying it was notes from earlier. They were very smudged so I couldn't prove that I wasn't cheating. He said to go to his office tomorrow to talk about it. Please, I'm literally crying as I type this and I'm so scared I won't be able to go to any med school, this is already my second time taking Chem and I did really well on my first exam, he sends out the key right after and I got an 80% compared to last semester, but this stupid mistake my shatter my dreams. What should I tell him.

 

[gyngyn]

UPDATE:


So relieved. He filed a complaint that he says will not affect me going into med school and that I could have removed from my record by my last semester and it'll be as if it never happened. He also gave me a 0 on the exam which I could make up for when I retake my final. Whatever I get on my final, I'll get as that grade.

Regarding Institutional Actions, AMCAS indicates:
"You must answer Yes to this question 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 or require you to withdraw. You must answer Yes even if the action does not appear on or has been deleted from your official transcripts due to institutional policy or personal petition."
Italics, mine.
https://services.aamc.org/AMCAS2_2009/WebApp/Help/WebHelp/Institutional_Action.htm

 

[Noomm]

Regarding Institutional Actions, AMCAS indicates:
"You must answer Yes to this question 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 or require you to withdraw. You must answer Yes even if the action does not appear on or has been deleted from your official transcripts due to institutional policy or personal petition."
Italics, mine.
https://services.aamc.org/AMCAS2_2009/WebApp/Help/WebHelp/Institutional_Action.htm

That's so dumb.

 

[gyngyn]

That's so dumb.

You have to know the rules to follow them.

 

[rocklobstr]

...what kind of grown adult writes stuff on their hands like that?


Anyways, I think your best bet is to admit that you had nonsense written on your hand, but state that it was unrelated to the class material. You should have explicitly shown the TA your hand on the spot to reveal that your doodling was unrelated to chemistry.

However, you cannot do that now. Just be honest. Say it was a dumb decision by you and nothing of the sort will happen again. Do anything to avoid a IA, even if it means taking a 0 on the exam, or taking an F in the class.

And for God's sake, stop writing stuff on your hands. You aren't 10 years old any more. Best of luck.

Not sure an F in a pre-req class that you've taken twice is much better than an IA... And if you take the AAMC rules very literally, getting an F for cheating (not saying whether she actually did or not) could very well be considered an action taken against you (i.e., an IA)

 

[Goro]

An IA for cheating is lethal; poor grades can be, but they also can be overcome.

Not sure an F in a pre-req class that you've taken twice is much better than an IA... And if we're being literal, getting an F for cheating could very well be considered an action taken against you (i.e., an IA)

 

[rocklobstr]

An IA for cheating is lethal; poor grades can be, but they also can be overcome.

Agreed, my point was that if you get an F for cheating, then you have both an IA for cheating as well as an F, which is like a double whammy. My suggestion would be to get the situation straightened out if they can, so that they have neither of those on their record (assuming they didn't actually cheat).

 

[md-2020]

Sounds to me like you were cheating, and are now trying to get away with it.

 

[rocklobstr]

Sounds to me like you were cheating, and are now trying to get away with it.

I don't think its unreasonable that someone may have written something unrelated on their hands (though I don't know where they were at school that they didn't have any paper to write down something). It was definitely a poor choice though, and it's a very real possibility that they did try to cheat.

 

[edgerock24]

Agreed, my point was that if you get an F for cheating, then you have both an IA for cheating as well as an F, which is like a double whammy. My suggestion would be to get the situation straightened out if they can, so that they have neither of those on their record (assuming they didn't actually cheat).

F's can be overcome most drastically by the DO grade replacement policy.

 

[jorge921995]

UPDATE:


So relieved. He filed a complaint that he says will not affect me going into med school and that I could have removed from my record by my last semester and it'll be as if it never happened. He also gave me a 0 on the exam which I could make up for when I retake my final. Whatever I get on my final, I'll get as that grade.

 

[gyngyn]

UPDATE:


So relieved. He filed a complaint that he says will not affect me going into med school and that I could have removed from my record by my last semester and it'll be as if it never happened. He also gave me a 0 on the exam which I could make up for when I retake my final. Whatever I get on my final, I'll get as that grade.

See my post above.

 

[rocklobstr]

Sounds like the institute (professor) took an action against you. You have to report any IAs regardless of whether they were removed from your record or not

 

[intangible]

Interesting. I had my first chem exam yesterday too, and someone in front of me got broiled by the professor for using his phone during the test. He was kicked out, too. The more he tried to explain himself, the more the professor would say "you're done." Here's the kick: the professor is also the head advisor at our pre-health committee.

 

[jorge921995]

How would I defend myself in my personal statement? It really was a stupid mistake. I'm so down today, and I feel so depressed and I can't even go to the gym.

 

[jorge921995]

The worst part is the I actually got a 100 on the exam.

 

[gyngyn]

How would I defend myself in my personal statement? It really was a stupid mistake. I'm so down today, and I feel so depressed and I can't even go to the gym.

Just explain what happened.
Don't do it in the PS. There is a special box for explanation of IA's.

 

[jorge921995]

But how will they look at me? Is an IA a death knell? Do they actually take your explanation into account?

 

[rocklobstr]

But how will they look at me? Is an IA a death knell? Do they actually take your explanation into account?

Yes, they take the explanation into account. Own up to it. Say what you did, why it was wrong, what you learned, and what you would do differently if a similar situation arose.

 

[jorge921995]

Does this happen to a lot of students?

 

[gyngyn]

Does this happen to a lot of students?

No.