Please Help...Need Advice

[DentistG]

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Hey guys,

So, I need advice for a friend of mine (he doesn't use SDN). He has already been accepted to a dental school and is waiting to hear back from a few others. Just recently, he was caught by a professor for trying to take a final exam for his roommate (although he was caught before he actually started the final). Although he really did not want to do it, he felt extremely pressured to take it since his roommate was getting sick the night before and had been with his roommate for 4 years and considered him his best friend. At the time of this post, my friend has not heard back from the school's judicial system, but was told by the professor that the incident had been reported.

He basically wants to know how to go about this situation with dental schools? He has not officially been charged with anything (but he believes he most likely will be). Should he report the incident as soon as possible, or wait until he has been officially charged, or until the entire case is resolved? or not at all? Do you think dental schools would understand the situation (his roommate extremely stressed, getting sick, throwing up, begging him to take the final, etc.)? Also, my friend says that he easily could have run, since the professor did not know him, and told his roommate to tell the professor that his ID was stolen. In this case, neither person could have actually been charged with anything (except his roommate would fail for missing the exam). However, my friend is a good person who does not have any violations of any sort in his life. He felt the right thing to do was confess because he immediately felt guilty for trying to take his roommate's final. Based on all this information, would dental schools possibly understand? or would it be better to not inform the dental schools? do dental schools require some sort of disciplinary update before starting school?

I know this is a lot of questions and information, but my friend wanted to put most of his situation on here for good responses. Please help him out because I have no idea how he should approach this situation.

Thanks!

 

[Kahr]

I would at least wait to see what the school does officially. In the instance that he simply gets a slap on the wrist, there would be no reason to mention it. However, if it goes on file officially as something significant, it may end up at the dental school somehow? Maybe when they request final transcripts?

In any case, if it were to go on file officially, then I'd consult a college counselor and my parents, and most likely speak to a dean or associate dean at the dental school. You wouldn't ever want to be caught hiding something like that, but that's just my opinion, and really, I think any feedback you receive here shouldn't be taken too seriously.

 

[r2thekesh]

I doubt this goes well. If it happened to me. I would prep e-mails for schools about what happened. Then once the school makes the decision I would send out an e-mail to the school I was accepted at to preempt the school finding out on its own. If your school has a law services, I would think about setting up an appointment to help write the e-mail/letter. Look over all the questions you answered about stuff like this for the schools on AADSAS, any secondaries, and the agreements/consent forms that you signed/digitally signed.

 

[amanda9717]

Since you were kind enough to create an account to ask this on behalf of your friend, maybe you could also anonymously call the school in question and see what their policy is for this type of situation.. 😉

 

[futuredoc1004]

Friends helping out friends....... The kindest thing I can say about your friend is that he is a fool on two counts. First, he put himself in jeopardy by taking an unacceptable risk. Secondly, he confessed when there was no case against him, only suspicion - so he really went out of his way to give the facts that will lead to a finding of academic dishonesty which will follow him forever. He compounded his own problem. He didn't need to lie, just keep his mouth shut.

What to do? At this stage, watchful waiting. He may be able to get himself out of this jam as he only had intended academic dishonesty but did not act upon it! This is an important distinction that may just save his skin. He needs to consult the ombudsman to find out the likely procedure, the process, his rights, his rights of appeal, etc. and what the ombudsman recommends to reduce the damages. Note that some ombudsmen are idiots and give poor advice so he must use independent judgment at all times. He also should consult legal aid that may be available as her can use timely and experienced advice. Sometimes, expensive can be cheap - his futue is on the line and cost should be the least concern. Of course, his friend should - but won't - cover all his expenses!

The moral & lesson: unacceptable risks are precisely that.

 

[DentistG]

I appreciate the advice given so far. My friend understands that it was an unacceptable risk, but he felt extreme pressure from his roommate. He was genuinely concerned about the health of his roommate, who was literally throwing up and sick. Although most other people may have still had the common sense to still say no, my friend literally could not think about the consequences of his actions. Seeing someone who he cared for deeply in that kind of condition made him forget about the severity of the situation. I can definitely understand where he is coming from, and he hopes that schools could understand as well. He has never cheated in his life and incredibly regrets his decision. He has been depressed since the incident and cannot think about anything else. If anyone could please offer more advice (maybe if they know of similar situations and how dental schools handled them), it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

 

[TalkingTom]

the sick kid should have just emailed the professor.. i personally have had a test moved due to illness

 

[destinedsirius]

the sick kid should have just emailed the professor.. i personally have had a test moved due to illness

+1 for this, but now its too late. i'd say don't mention to schools until it goes officially on the record.

 

[hmmmmm]

Hey guys,

So, I need advice for a friend of mine (he doesn't use SDN). He has already been accepted to a dental school and is waiting to hear back from a few others. Just recently, he was caught by a professor for trying to take a final exam for his roommate (although he was caught before he actually started the final). Although he really did not want to do it, he felt extremely pressured to take it since his roommate was getting sick the night before and had been with his roommate for 4 years and considered him his best friend. At the time of this post, my friend has not heard back from the school's judicial system, but was told by the professor that the incident had been reported.

He basically wants to know how to go about this situation with dental schools? He has not officially been charged with anything (but he believes he most likely will be). Should he report the incident as soon as possible, or wait until he has been officially charged, or until the entire case is resolved? or not at all? Do you think dental schools would understand the situation (his roommate extremely stressed, getting sick, throwing up, begging him to take the final, etc.)? Also, my friend says that he easily could have run, since the professor did not know him, and told his roommate to tell the professor that his ID was stolen. In this case, neither person could have actually been charged with anything (except his roommate would fail for missing the exam). However, my friend is a good person who does not have any violations of any sort in his life. He felt the right thing to do was confess because he immediately felt guilty for trying to take his roommate's final. Based on all this information, would dental schools possibly understand? or would it be better to not inform the dental schools? do dental schools require some sort of disciplinary update before starting school?

I know this is a lot of questions and information, but my friend wanted to put most of his situation on here for good responses. Please help him out because I have no idea how he should approach this situation.

Thanks!

he dun goofed