Unintentional Plagiarism 1st Semester of Freshman Year

[applying4med]

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[Ruhroh]

The chances schools ever find out if you don't report it are probably low. On the flip side, if any schools do find out, you are probably ****ed everywhere and you will never become a doctor, period. Your call though.

 

[TriagePreMed]

The chances schools ever find out if you don't report it are probably low. On the flip side, if any schools do find out, you are probably ****ed everywhere and you will never become a doctor, period. Your call though.

This.

 

[applying4med]

I was told that it would not be a problem because my incident was both minor and in the first semester of freshman year. I did not receive a poor grade in the course nor is it even shown on my external transcript because it was not a big issue. Wouldn't it show honesty if I were to self-report it?

 

[def1]

I was told that it would not be a problem because my incident was both minor and in the first semester of freshman year. I did not receive a poor grade in the course nor is it even shown on my external transcript because it was not a big issue. Wouldn't it show honesty if I were to self-report it?

Perhaps but I think its better to avoid it all together. If its not on your transcript there is no way they will find out.

 

[antonius89]

I don't understand why you would report it.

 

[applying4med]

Is it possible for the committee letter to disclose such information?

 

[theseeker4]

Is it possible for the committee letter to disclose such information?

Possible, of course. Unless you have a guarantee in writing that they won't disclose or mention anything about the incident, the dean saying it won't be on your transcript is meaningless. If all he did was tell you verbally it wouldn't be reported, they could easily report it and say you misunderstood. Even if you have a guarantee in writing that it won't be on your transcript, that isn't a guarantee it won't be mentioned on a committee letter, etc. Your call, good luck!

 

[DAPI]

Send an official transcript to yourself and see what it says.

Either way though I would probably report because a LOR writer may be compelled to mention it saying it was no big deal. And asking your LOR writers not to mention it is basically asking them to mention it, so either way you don't know if they will or they won't.

 

[JeremiahStone]

So essentially, schools will only know if I report it myself. Will this affect my chances of getting into a top tier medical school? My record has been completely clean since then.

Rachel had written me a letter.. Alfred burned that letter.. So I never knew what Rachel had said in writ letter.. Ending? Everyones happy, and Rachel's dead.

 

[theseeker4]

Rachel had written me a letter.. Alfred burned that letter.. So I never knew what Rachel had said in writ letter.. Ending? Everyones happy, and Rachel's dead.

 

[wjdtjrdnjs]

Assuming that LOR writers are not professors from your freshman year, I doubt they will know of the incident since it has been so long.

 

[wjdtjrdnjs]

Send an official transcript to yourself and see what it says.

Either way though I would probably report because a LOR writer may be compelled to mention it saying it was no big deal. And asking your LOR writers not to mention it is basically asking them to mention it, so either way you don't know if they will or they won't.

I believe OP said that the official transcript will not show the incident

 

[applying4med]

The official transcript would not mention anything. However, I am unsure whether or not the committee letter may shed some light on this incident--although it does not seem likely.

I called Yale Medical School admissions yesterday and I was told that an incident like mine, 1st semester student with sloppy citations, inexperience with college paper writing, is something I should not worry about. Any thoughts?

 

[DAPI]

I believe OP said that the official transcript will not show the incident

Thanks Sherlock, but I wouldn't trust the dean just cause he said it wouldn't be there. The OP'er needs to make sure it's not on there if he/she is not going to report it.

Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile.

 

[aspiring20]

I was caught for plagiarism that I had not intended my first semester of freshman year and I've learned greatly from the experience; it was my first time writing a lengthy paper with citations and I left out an important footnote. The Dean was very understanding and decided to not mark my external transcript (The transcript that will be sent out to medical schools) with an incident of academic dishonesty. However, he decided that I receive no credit for the assignment, and left the grading for the class up to my professor (Professor let me make it up and I got an A in his class).

My incident of academic dishonesty is noted on the internal transcript, but that will not be sent out to medical schools. So essentially, schools will only know if I report it myself. Currently, I am a senior at a top undergraduate school with a high GPA and MCAT score, and the Dean told me not to worry and expects that I report the incident... Will this affect my chances of getting into a top tier medical school? My record has been completely clean since then.

the AMCAS asks for any institutional action taken, regardless of whether or not they are noted on the official transcript. of course, what constitutes an "IA" will vary from school to school, and there is plenty of gray area open for interpretation.

the best case for you is to approach your dean directly. show him the exact question asked on the AMCAS, and ask him how you should approach it. since you mentioned that the dean is expecting you to report the incident, i would err on the side of caution and report it. it may have a slight impact on your prospects since it is an academic violation (which are taken more seriously than alcohol or even minor drug violations), but i really don't think it'll prevent you from getting in.

you should send a PM to LizzyM and ask for her opinion on how to address this incident.

good luck.

 

[Pattycake25]

I was caught for plagiarism that I had not intended my first semester of freshman year and I've learned greatly from the experience; it was my first time writing a lengthy paper with citations and I left out an important footnote. The Dean was very understanding and decided to not mark my external transcript (The transcript that will be sent out to medical schools) with an incident of academic dishonesty. However, he decided that I receive no credit for the assignment, and left the grading for the class up to my professor (Professor let me make it up and I got an A in his class).

My incident of academic dishonesty is noted on the internal transcript, but that will not be sent out to medical schools. So essentially, schools will only know if I report it myself. Currently, I am a senior at a top undergraduate school with a high GPA and MCAT score, and the Dean told me not to worry and expects that I report the incident... Will this affect my chances of getting into a top tier medical school? My record has been completely clean since then.

Be honest. Med schools will give huge weight to the fact that both the professor and the dean accepted your explanation, which was quite understandable. Not to mention that this happened a long time ago. Being forthright is the right thing to do.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Be honest. Med schools will give huge weight to the fact that both the professor and the dean accepted your explanation, which was quite understandable. Not to mention that this happened a long time ago. Being forthright is the right thing to do.

Also the fact that the committee is giving him a letter. If I were the OP, I'd be honest about it regardless of immediate consequences. but I do see greater chances of this being overlooked than not.

 

[aspiring20]

Also the fact that the committee is giving him a letter. If I were the OP, I'd be honest about it regardless of immediate consequences. but I do see greater chances of this being overlooked than not.

you can't be certain that this incident will be mentioned in the committee letter. every school is different in what they'll mention. the first thing OP needs to do is to figure out if his/her school took "institutional action" against him.

if what happened qualifies as an IA, it must be reported regardless of where/if it shows up anywhere. but if it isn't an IA, then OP doesnt have to disclose it, and he can do it with a clear conscious

the AMCAS has it in bold something along the lines of "if you are unsure whether or not you were subject to an IA, contact the relevant office at your school for confirmation of your record" OP needs to follow this direction and figure out if he recieved an IA

 

[Pattycake25]

you can't be certain that this incident will be mentioned in the committee letter. every school is different in what they'll mention. the first thing OP needs to do is to figure out if his/her school took "institutional action" against him.

if what happened qualifies as an IA, it must be reported regardless of where/if it shows up anywhere. but if it isn't an IA, then OP doesnt have to disclose it, and he can do it with a clear conscious

the AMCAS has it in bold something along the lines of "if you are unsure whether or not you were subject to an IA, contact the relevant office at your school for confirmation of your record" OP needs to follow this direction and figure out if he recieved an IA

Actually, this is absolutely true. Keep in mind, though, that the dean did discipline him (that assignment was insubmissible, he had to do it) and told him he ought to report it, so odds are this was an IA. Still, if it's not, no harm no foul!

 

[TriagePreMed]

you can't be certain that this incident will be mentioned in the committee letter. every school is different in what they'll mention. the first thing OP needs to do is to figure out if his/her school took "institutional action" against him.

if what happened qualifies as an IA, it must be reported regardless of where/if it shows up anywhere. but if it isn't an IA, then OP doesnt have to disclose it, and he can do it with a clear conscious

the AMCAS has it in bold something along the lines of "if you are unsure whether or not you were subject to an IA, contact the relevant office at your school for confirmation of your record" OP needs to follow this direction and figure out if he recieved an IA

I was meaning to say that his school is writing him a letter regardless of what happened, not that the letter would contain a mention of it.

 

[Sometimes]

This may be a little unorthodox, but I think it might be a good idea to call a few schools (that you have no intention of ever applying to), ask to speak with someone in admissions, and discuss your situation with him/her (as if you intend on applying there). I think it would be good to get an actual med school's prospective...remain anonymous (of course).

 

[positive8]

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