Terrible mistake, will get an institutional action after acceptance

[abesapirstein]

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Hello SDN. Back in November, I was fortunate enough to get into one of my dream schools! Unfortunately, after that, I became very complacent with my grades and was at risk of getting a C or D in biochemistry if I didn't do really well on the final, which is worth 35% of the final grade. For the record, I was never planning to do anything wrong and was studying very hard for it. But my friend went to the professor's office hours and noticed that he was writing the final on his computer, which at that point was about 3/4 complete. He managed to take pictures of it when the professor left for some reason and sent them to me and other people. I did look at it and use it to study, I admit it. I felt like my back was against the wall. Somebody reported us and there's not really much I could do to defend myself because there was a whole email thread of discussion about the test questions that I was part of. I'm scheduled for a hearing after winter break, where I am told I will almost certainly get an institutional action. What should I do? If I tell the medical school I feel like I could get my admission rescinded. Is this something I legally have to report? I don't ever cheat. I feel so lost right now.

Edit: using new account for obvious reasons

 

[bananafish94]

You hear that kids? That's the sound of a waitlist moving. Rest in peacaroni.




In all seriousness though...this jerkoff gets an acceptance and I only have one II? Ugh.

 

[intangible]

If you tell the medical school, you'll have your admission rescinded. If you don't tell the medical school, you'll have your admission rescinded.

Sorry, compadre.

 

[abesapirstein]

You hear that kids? That's the sound of a waitlist moving. Rest in peacaroni.




In all seriousness though...this jerkoff gets an acceptance and I only have one II? Ugh.

I'm asking for serious advice. No need to be snarky about it. I got an acceptance because I earned it, and made a mistake that I'm owning up to.

 

[abesapirstein]

If you tell the medical school, you'll have your admission rescinded. If you don't tell the medical school, you'll have your admission rescinded.

Sorry, compadre.

Is this for sure? Is there anything I can do at this point?

 

[abesapirstein]

@Goro @LizzyM @gyngyn please help

 

[Lost in Translation]

What do you want us to tell you? That things will be alright?

Even if they were going to be, which they won't, the only ones that can confirm that is the school you've been accepted to.

Buena suerte.

 

[Goro]

Your friend should be expelled.

You should be suspended.

Your fate will be determined by how your school handles this. If you merely fail the course, with no other action, what will happen to your acceptance?

If the med school finds out about this, your medical career is over. It will be prudent to start working on Plan B. Acceptees are usually vetted by Admissions deans prior to matriculation.

 

[NoTownPreMed]

This may just be the dumbest thing a person can do, especially with an acceptance sitting there. My advice would be to admit fault and inform the med school of your wrong doing. It would suck for you to withhold this information only to get the boot after vesting a good chunk of money into the program.

 

[deleted480308]

You are likely done. There is almost no chance you don't get an IA for cheating but there is basically three options....

1) you luck out and don't get an IA......don't tell anyone and in which case you should buy a lottery ticket because you are the luckiest
2) you get the IA and tell the med school.....they likely, and justifiably, rescind your admission
3) you get the IA and keep quiet to hope the med school doesn't find out......you're then a cheat and a liar who at any point can have their time in med school cancelled and be thrown out for falsifying info

I would wait until the school decides if you have an IA (which you likely will) then tell the med school (who will likely throw you out). It's better to reclaim some integrity than continue down your current path

 

[ZedsDed]

Do you have a backup plan besides medicine? I'm sure lying is tempting for you but the school will likely find out anyway.

 

[Alkaloid]

Does the school have the email evidence. If so, this doesn't look good

 

[abesapirstein]

Thank you for the honest replies. Has anyone ever heard of something like this working out for somebody?

 

[jd989898]

If you were already accepted, why wouldn't you just take a C? Its not as if your grades are likely to get you rescinded as long as you pass everything. Why risk your career for almost no reward? Good luck, hope this is at least a lesson in the end.

 

[Psai]

I'm asking for serious advice. No need to be snarky about it. I got an acceptance because I earned it, and made a mistake that I'm owning up to.

You're not really owning up to it if you're not telling the schools you're accepted to

 

[Lawpy]

If anything, your friend who sent you the final should be expelled immediately for starting all this mess. All you can do is hope that the school won't given you an IA, but it's really unlikely since the email chain can/will be used against you. Sorry.

Although curious to hear what @efle thoughts are from a moral/ethical perspective

 

[Chlorini]

Your friend will get the worst of it...he/she will probably be expelled. That takes some nerve to do that.

What was your participation in the e-mail thread? Were you a silent lurker? Or were you a "Hell yeah! Way to go [insert soon-to-be-expelled friend's name]! Can you re-send page 3? It didn't download..."

Either way, it won't be good. You really don't have to do anything until after the hearing/decision. You'll probably lose a few friends, too.

 

[ZedsDed]

If anything, your friend who sent you the final should be expelled effectively for starting all this mess. All you can do is hope that the school won't given you an IA, but it's really unlikely since the email chain can/will be used against you. Sorry.

Although curious to hear what @efle thoughts are from a moral/ethical perspective

What is there to discuss? This seems pretty straight forward to me. OP ****ed up, badly.

 

[bananafish94]

Does the school have the email evidence. If so, this doesn't look good

You're done for

 

[Lawpy]

What is there to discuss? This seems pretty straight forward to me. He ****ed up, badly.

I agree but i was wondering whether there was a philosophical argument as to whether those who receive the illegal info are slightly better off than those who acquired and distributed the illegal info.

 

[ZedsDed]

Thank you for the honest replies. Has anyone ever heard of something like this working out for somebody?

I can't imagine any profession (law, medicine, nursing, engineering, etc) overlooking this...

 

[Lawpy]

You're done for

Why did you ninja edit your post and respond to someone outside of the OP?

 

[efle]

If anything, your friend who sent you the final should be expelled immediately for starting all this mess. All you can do is hope that the school won't given you an IA, but it's really unlikely since the email chain can/will be used against you. Sorry.

Although curious to hear what @efle thoughts are from a moral/ethical perspective

I have no sympathy for OP nor can I think of any good ethical defense. Receiving an accept beforehand changes nothing about this in my view, and I don't care at all about how someone came upon the opportunity (from a friend vs stole it themselves vs whatever) only that they took it.

 

[IlDestriero]

I'm asking for serious advice. No need to be snarky about it. I got an acceptance because I earned it, and made a mistake that I'm owning up to.

You didn't "make a mistake", you cheated. You should be expelled. I'm a believer in the single sanction. I suspect the medical school will rescind your offer.
As they say in my old southern home, "you done ****ed up real bad ma'an."
Good luck. BTW, Not telling the school and having them find out later would be even worse and would lead to expulsion and flushing your dream forever, so proceed with extreme caution there. They will review your final transcript as part of the routine vetting process.
One more learning point for the readers, you'd still get in with a C, so don't become so lazy you earn a D.
PS your friend is really stupid because even if you do get this kind of info, you don't share it, and even if you're stupid enough to drag others down to your level, you do it on the way down low, with zero evidence.
If someone did this to "help" me and emailed me without my consent, the only way out would be to dime them out to the honor committee and the professor before you took the test.
I am curious about how they got caught. Probably 2/2 some "friend" who felt guilty about being on the email string, or some "friend of a friend" who mouthed off to someone else who had an old score to settle. Vengeance is a dish best served cold, and it's very cold in space.

 

[Lawpy]

I have no sympathy for OP nor can I think of any good ethical defense. Receiving an accept beforehand changes nothing about this in my view, and I don't care at all about how someone came upon the opportunity (from a friend vs stole it themselves vs whatever) only that they took it.

Well there goes the optimism. Sorry OP 🙁

 

[bananafish94]

Why did you ninja edit your post and respond to someone outside of the OP?

@abesapirstein said in the original post that there's email evidence

 

[abesapirstein]

Your friend will get the worst of it...he/she will probably be expelled. That takes some nerve to do that.

What was your participation in the e-mail thread? Were you a silent lurker? Or were you a "Hell yeah! Way to go [insert soon-to-be-expelled friend's name]! Can you re-send page 3? It didn't download..."

Either way, it won't be good. You really don't have to do anything until after the hearing/decision. You'll probably lose a few friends, too.

Not the most active participant but I was not silent. I said what I thought the answers were for a few questions.

 

[ZedsDed]

Not the most active participant but I was not silent. I said what I thought the answers were for a few questions.

Out of curiousity, what are you planning on doing?

 

[abesapirstein]

I have no sympathy for OP nor can I think of any good ethical defense. Receiving an accept beforehand changes nothing about this in my view, and I don't care at all about how someone came upon the opportunity (from a friend vs stole it themselves vs whatever) only that they took it.

I'm not looking for an ethical defense, I know what I did was inexcusable. Is there any kind of conditional acceptance that they might offer?

 

[Lawpy]

Your friend will get the worst of it...he/she will probably be expelled. That takes some nerve to do that.

What was your participation in the e-mail thread? Were you a silent lurker? Or were you a "Hell yeah! Way to go [insert soon-to-be-expelled friend's name]! Can you re-send page 3? It didn't download..."

Either way, it won't be good. You really don't have to do anything until after the hearing/decision. You'll probably lose a few friends, too.

Not the most active participant but I was not silent. I said what I thought the answers were for a few questions.

Purely out of hypothetical considerations (input from @efle @ZedsDed would be nice), if you were a silent participant of the conversation and forwarded the email chain to the Dean/professor etc. would it be a net positive in the end for implementing the sting operation?

 

[abesapirstein]

Out of curiousity, what are you planning on doing?

I don't see lying as an option, seeing as I'll have to send them my transcripts anyway. I guess I have to beg for forgiveness and see if there's anything I can do to avoid this on my transcript, otherwise hope for a deferred/conditional acceptance or something like that.

 

[efle]

I'm not looking for an ethical defense, I know what I did was inexcusable. Is there any kind of conditional acceptance that they might offer?

My guess would be your best bet is pleading with your school to do anything other than slap you with a cheating IA. If you make clear that you are going to lose your career for this and regret it, someone may go easy on you thinking that's too severe a punishment.

 

[deleted480308]

I'm not looking for an ethical defense, I know what I did was inexcusable. Is there any kind of conditional acceptance that they might offer?

the thing is, all acceptances are conditional. Conditional on reasonable grades, passing a background check, drug screening, not getting arrested, not cheating etc...

 

[Alkaloid]

You're done for

@abesapirstein said in the original post that there's email evidence

I saw that, but it wasn't clear exactly who had access to the emails. Nonetheless, cheating at this point was stupid. Not sure what I have to do with this

 

[efle]

Purely out of hypothetical considerations (input from @efle @ZedsDed would be nice), if you were a silent participant of the conversation and forwarded the email chain to the Dean/professor etc. would it be a net positive in the end for implementing the sting operation?

I believe so, I think students have a duty not only to refrain from cheating but also to report it when they see it. Perhaps do it anonymously with the student names removed, if you're not ready to see your friends lose their dream career, since that should at least prompt the prof yo write a new test and protect exam integrity.

 

[bananafish94]

I saw that, but it wasn't clear exactly who had access to the emails. Nonetheless, cheating at this point was stupid. Not sure what I have to do with this

Indeed

EDIT Wait...totally misread your original question. It's been a long day at work. You are most certainly not done for, with your acceptance! That was directed at our poor huckleberry friend here.

 

[El-Rami]

I can't imagine any profession (law, medicine, nursing, engineering, etc) overlooking this...

I have no knowledge of OP's religious views, but maybe (s)he could consider attending a seminary in order to become a minister of some sort. From what I've seen, ministry is a profession that is far more willing to forgive/believe in redemption for more serious offenses than others. Depending on OP's religious views and motivations for pursuing a career in medicine, they can still help people with their spiritual needs.

 

[bwc]

You are going to have to report it to the medical school yourself. Even if no mark appears on your transcript to indicate this, they can still find out through a dean's letter or something like that once you are set to matriculate. Confess to it, take responsibility for your involvement, describe what you have learned from it. That's better than trying to hide it.

 

[Lawpy]

I believe so, I think students have a duty not only to refrain from cheating but also to report it when they see it. Perhaps do it anonymously with the student names removed, if you're not ready to see your friends lose their dream career, since that should at least prompt the prof yo write a new test and protect exam integrity.

Ah but the advantage is that the person who reports the cheaters also has the old final for extra practice (on top of being praised by professors and Deans for being sincere). While the cheaters are royally screwed for committing the illegal act and tagging the reporter into the convo.

 

[IlDestriero]

I don't see lying as an option, seeing as I'll have to send them my transcripts anyway. I guess I have to beg for forgiveness and see if there's anything I can do to avoid this on my transcript, otherwise hope for a deferred/conditional acceptance or something like that.

The assumption will be that you have cheated on other things as well. Why would anyone cheat on an exam when they already have the golden ticket? There will be no conditional acceptance if there is an IA as there are 500 people on the waiting list that almost made the cut and don't have any red flags.
That's the reality. No U.S. school will overlook this cheating. None.
You need to get out without an IA or pack your bags for the Caribbean. They will probably overlook cheating if your check clears.

 

[deleted480308]

I have no knowledge of OP's religious views, but maybe (s)he could consider attending a seminary in order to become a minister of some sort. From what I've seen, ministry is a profession that is far more willing to forgive/believe in redemption for more serious offenses than others. Depending on OP's religious views and motivations for pursuing a career in medicine, they can still help people with their spiritual needs.

I will say the best children's pastor I ever met was once thrown out of georgia tech for cheating when he was younger

 

[LizzyM]

Hello SDN. Back in November, I was fortunate enough to get into one of my dream schools! Unfortunately, after that, I became very complacent with my grades and was at risk of getting a C or D in biochemistry if I didn't do really well on the final, which is worth 35% of the final grade. For the record, I was never planning to do anything wrong and was studying very hard for it. But my friend went to the professor's office hours and noticed that he was writing the final on his computer, which at that point was about 3/4 complete. He managed to take pictures of it when the professor left for some reason and sent them to me and other people. I did look at it and use it to study, I admit it. I felt like my back was against the wall. Somebody reported us and there's not really much I could do to defend myself because there was a whole email thread of discussion about the test questions that I was part of. I'm scheduled for a hearing after winter break, where I am told I will almost certainly get an institutional action. What should I do? If I tell the medical school I feel like I could get my admission rescinded. Is this something I legally have to report? I don't ever cheat. I feel so lost right now.

Edit: using new account for obvious reasons

If you read the AMCAS Instruction Manual 2016, you will recall that institutional actions that occur after the AMCAS is submitted must be reported. (page 27)

Failure to provide accurate information in answering this question or, if applicable, in completing the form provided by the school[KP4], will result in an investigation. Medical schools require you to answer this question accurately and provide all relevant information. Medical schools understand that many individuals learn from the past and emerge stronger as a result. Full disclosure will enable the medical schools to more effectively evaluate this information within the context of your credentials. If you become the subject of an institutional action after certifying and submitting the AMCAS application, you must inform your designated medical school(s) within 10 business days of the date of the occurrence.

Sadly, the assumption is that you cheated all through college, received a high GPA and got caught at the end. A school asks itself, "do we want a known cheater here? " If you were the medical school decision maker, how would you vote?

 

[bananafish94]

Ah but the advantage is that the person who reports the cheaters also has the old final for extra practice (on top of being praised by professors and Deans for being sincere). While the cheaters are royally screwed for committing the illegal act and tagging the reporter into the convo.

Honestly, if I received this email, I feel like I wouldn't have a choice but to report it. Depending on the number of people in the thread, the assumption would be that it would somehow get out and only the person that initially reports it survives unscathed.

 

[NoTownPreMed]

It always never end up too well when the story starts off with "my friend".

 

[Lawpy]

Honestly, if I received this email, I feel like I wouldn't have a choice but to report it. Depending on the number of people in the thread, the assumption would be that it would somehow get out and only the person that initially reports it survives unscathed.

Simple solution: all the recipients of the email sent by the cheater will simply forward the cheater's email to the Dean/profs etc. The cheater gets axed, while the recipients save the attachment for extra practice, since the final would inevitably change.

What is wrong with this approach?

 

[Obscure]

I don't see lying as an option, seeing as I'll have to send them my transcripts anyway. I guess I have to beg for forgiveness and see if there's anything I can do to avoid this on my transcript, otherwise hope for a deferred/conditional acceptance or something like that.

I'd recommend looking for other options. Do you have a Plan B?

I cannot imagine that any medical school will be willing to accept a dishonest applicant.

 

[ZedsDed]

I agree with elfe and banana

 

[ZedsDed]

I have no knowledge of OP's religious views, but maybe (s)he could consider attending a seminary in order to become a minister of some sort. From what I've seen, ministry is a profession that is far more willing to forgive/believe in redemption for more serious offenses than others. Depending on OP's religious views and motivations for pursuing a career in medicine, they can still help people with their spiritual needs.

I have no idea. I think it's safe to assume that the vast majority of higher education out there is closed off to OP.

 

[bananafish94]

Simple solution: all the recipients of the email sent by the cheater will simply forward the cheater's email to the Dean/profs etc. The cheater gets axed, while the recipients save the attachment for extra practice, since the final would inevitably change.

What is wrong with this approach?

Valid point, I suppose everything would depend on how much time had passed and how active people were already. At my school, it only needs to be "more likely than not" that someone is guilty.

 

[MerYangBey]

Am I the only one who feels bad for OP? what he did is totally wrong and stupid... but i still feel bad that he could lose his acceptance and no longer have a chance to be a doctor. That's really sad. OP I hope you get a second chance.
Good luck