What are your thoughts on cheating on an exam?

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Gregor Wiesmann said:
OP, please, just withdraw from t' class. Take an Ethics course over t' Summer, and then re-take yer P Chem or choose a major that ye don't have to cheat in order to do well in. ye'll find that ye suddenly feel a lot lighter and t' sky seems more beautiful than before.
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Then OP would have a "W" on his transcript. How would OP explain that? I guess if he tells them the truth it would shed a very dim positive light on his character?
 
mehc012 said:
me've done plenty of ****ty things in me life, but none as ****ty as what ye've described here.
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Dramatize much? It's cheating on one college exam... jeez. I guarantee you most of the kids in my class probably don't even care. In fact, I'd say you and your wreckless driving are far more contemptible considering you are actually putting other people's lives in danger. Spare me the drama.
 
rifle4802 said:
Ok Shirley, believe whatever ye want. Fact be, wit t' right grades, MCAT and activities anyone can get into medical school. thar's no shortage of people wit good intentions and great interview skills who have USELESS stats - low gpa, low mcat, maybe even both. These people have no chance of gettin' in. Schools screen applicants out solely on t' basis of their numbers.

Havin' t' stats be harder than acin' t' interview. Most people can't get t' stats.
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Exactly right. Schools screen applicants out solely on the basis of their numbers. Which means that LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE PERSON they interview has the stats. How do you think they further decide?
 
vagitarian001 said:
Then OP would have a "W" on his transcript. How would OP explain that? me guess if he tells them t' truth it would shed a positive light on his character?
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Hey, I so believe in second chances. If the OP did drop the class, I would gladly buy him a cup of coffee if we ever met. I just don't like how he is acting like it's no big deal and stuff. What if the professor does find out? Would it be better if he dropped the class and then met with the professor to tell him he cheated? I bet if he did that, the professor wouldn't do anything to punish him.
 
rifle4802 said:
Dramatize much? it be cheatin' on one college exam... jeez. me guarantee ye most of t' kids in me class probably don't even care. In fact, me'd say ye and yer wreckless drivin' be far more contemptible considerin' ye be actually puttin' other people's lives in danger. Spare me t' drama.
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Clarify this
 
ERPCT said:
Exactly right. Schools screen applicants out solely on t' basis of their numbers. Which means that LITERALLY EVERY SINGLE PERSON they interview has t' stats. How do ye think they further decide?
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They mostly hand out interviews to people with the stats. Most people don't have the stats. If you have the stats and are granted an interview, you have around a 90% chance of getting in.

Getting an interview is almost as good as getting in. So long as you aren't a socially inept psycho, you should get in after an interview.
 
rifle4802 said:
They mostly hand out interviews to people wit t' stats. Most people don't have t' stats. If ye have t' stats and be granted an interview, ye have around a 90% chance of gettin' in.

Gettin' an interview be almost as good as gettin' in. So long as ye aren't a socially inept psycho, ye should get in after an interview.
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Nope. None of that is true.
 
...unless the professor knows that you cheated and didn't tell you that he knows and is waiting for the people interviewing you to ask you about it.
 
I am now convinced we have all been thoroughly trolled, so well played OP.
 
Gregor Wiesmann said:
Hey, me so believe in second chances. If t' OP did drop t' class, me would gladly buy him a cup of coffee if we ever met. me just don't like how he be actin' like it be no big deal and stuff. What if t' professor does find out? Would it be better if he dropped t' class and then met wit t' professor to tell him he cheated? me bet if he did that, t' professor wouldn't do anythin' to punish him.
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I agree that dropping and confessing would be the moral thing to do, but then OP would have to explain that "W" during an interview?
 
Gregor Wiesmann said:
OP, please, just withdraw from t' class. Take an Ethics course over t' Summer, and then re-take yer P Chem or choose a major that ye don't have to cheat in order to do well in. ye'll find that ye suddenly feel a lot lighter and t' sky seems more beautiful than before.
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Ok, and on what planet is a W looked upon more favorably than an A in the medical school admissions process? That's not how it works in the real world.
 
It is good advice OP, you just don't want to do it because you take responsibility for what you did. I have 2 W's from classes that were too hard so I had to swallow my pride and get out. It is something a future d@ctor would do, because I'm sure a good part of being a doctor is admitting when you don't know how to do something or when you mess up.
 
Gregor Wiesmann said:
Explainin' a W be far easier than explainin' cheatin'.
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I feel like OP would have to explain that he got that "W" from dropping because he cheated. So If OP were to confess, he would have a "W" and have to tell them he cheated. so he would be really screwed. OP would be moral though lol.
 
ERPCT said:
Just as a side note, unrelated to t' rest of this thread, me think t' whole "W" thin' be way overblown. me had 2 or 3 withdrawals, was never asked about it, and got into multiple places. me don't think it matters that much at all.
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It seems like it only really matters when there is a pattern to the W's (shows lack of forethought) or a large amount (5+)
 
vagitarian001 said:
me feel like OP would have to explain that he got that "W" from droppin' because he cheated. So If OP were to confess, he would have a "W" and have to tell them he cheated. so he would be really screwed. He would be moral though yo ho ho.
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I was just thinking that if I was on the Admissions Committee and found found out that the applicant cheated, I would be very impressed that they decided to withdraw from the class. That's what a real man would do. I don't know though.......he could say that he was struggling with the class and decided to drop it, which wouldn't be lying.
 
yeah ERPCT, if only trolling was a skill he could document and tells adcoms about XD
 
rifle4802 said:
Dramatize much? It's cheating on one college exam... jeez. I guarantee you most of the kids in my class probably don't even care. In fact, I'd say you and your wreckless driving are far more contemptible considering you are actually putting other people's lives in danger. Spare me the drama.
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It's more the blatant disrespect for your prof and the other students.

Wreck-less is right, though. I don't approach the 'reckless' designation, and I don't tailgate or weave. I'm not in the slightest concerned that I'm endangering others.
I DO go pretty fast on the motorcycle, but I'd love to see you explain how I'm endangering other lives while doing so. My own, sure (though once you cross 50 you're pretty much hosed on the bike, so what's the diff?)
 
mehc012 said:
I didn't say that. You used underage drinking and speeding as examples of 'deception'. They were terrible examples.

Furthermore, the difference is not whether YOU did it or I did it...the difference is what was done.
I'd be cool with you speeding or drinking underage. I would not be cool with you OR me cheating on an exam. They are not analogous infractions.
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Well, I guess it's too bad that you aren't the arbitrator of right and wrong then. How come you get to decide which rules are "cool" to bend and which aren't? On the subject of ethics, I don't see any reason why someone who shamelessly brags about putting other lives at risk by speeding holds any credibility. Seriously... speeding worse than cheating? That's classic!
 
Saxappeal1 said:
I know a man who got waitlisted at every med school he applied to with a 37 3.8 because of something like a dumb mistake he was really remorseful for. But, this is a much bigger mistake that speaks volumes against your character, and you aren't remorseful at all, plus your numbers are lower? Good luck OP
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In other words, someone completely inept at interviewing got rejected by schools because he... wait for it... sucked at interviewing!

Is that supposed to be surprising?
 
When did I say anything about interviewing? You know people can be rejected AND be good at interviewing if they have a red flag like this
 
rifle4802 said:
Well, I guess it's too bad that you aren't the arbitrator of right and wrong then. How come you get to decide which rules are "cool" to bend and which aren't? On the subject of ethics, I don't see any reason why someone who shamelessly brags about putting other lives at risk by speeding holds any credibility. Seriously... speeding worse than cheating? That's classic!
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Penalty for going 5mph over the speed limit: you won't even get pulled over. If you do, maybe $100.

Penalty for cheating on an exam: An F (think how much tuition went into that course...that's your fine), a black mark on your record, definitely not going to med school.

I didn't make those punishments. Those reflect the generally-accepted severity of the associated crimes. I am not the one dictating the 'uncoolness' of the rules.
 
Saxappeal1 said:
When did I say anything about interviewing? You know people can be rejected AND be good at interviewing if they have a red flag like this
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"Like this?" To my knowledge I have no red flags. This is not a red flag on my application because they won't know about it. It will be just another A on my transcript. To get in, you need As... lots of them.
 
rifle4802 said:
Dramatize much? It's cheating on one college exam... jeez. I guarantee you most of the kids in my class probably don't even care. In fact, I'd say you and your wreckless driving are far more contemptible considering you are actually putting other people's lives in danger. Spare me the drama.
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lol.

Explains why the 3.92 isn't a 4.0, I guess.
 
Gregor Wiesmann said:
I was just thinking that if I was on the Admissions Committee and found found out that the applicant cheated, I would be very impressed that they decided to withdraw from the class. That's what a real man would do. I don't know though.......he could say that he was struggling with the class and decided to drop it, which wouldn't be lying.
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Idk man... that sounds very idealistic but highly unrealistic. I'm pretty sure most ad coms would not approve of cheating regardless of how much you want to repent. I disagree with this plan completely. What is done is done
 
rifle4802 said:
What are you talking about? "Clarify this," "Expand on that"... what exactly is unclear about my posts? My arguments are spelled out very clearly.
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Sorry the pirate language made it difficult to decipher your posts. Can you provide a very brief summary (you can quote your previous posts)? All this sidetracking from other members on moral philosophy is deviating from the main point and I get confused what you're saying.
 
Saxappeal1 said:
It is good advice OP, you just don't want to do it because you take responsibility for what you did. I have 2 W's from classes that were too hard so I had to swallow my pride and get out. It is something a future d@ctor would do, because I'm sure a good part of being a doctor is admitting when you don't know how to do something or when you mess up.
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We'll have to disagree on this. To me it's absolutely horrible advice. No twisted rationalization can justify choosing to take a W over an A. That is simply not how this game is played.

Will one or two Ws tank your application? Probably not, but it will certainly not look better than an application with zero Ws.
 
medic86 said:
lol.

Explains why the 3.92 isn't a 4.0, I guess.
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Yeah... because I'm on my phone quickly typing out responses and don't have time to correct minor typos to appease grammar Nazis? Please...
 
Saxappeal1 said:
Oh, and stop referring to becoming a doctor as "the game" because it sure as hell isn't a game.
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The entire admissions process is a game with rules to play by. These rules include getting a sufficiently high GPA and MCAT score and adequate volunteering/shadowing experience.

Seems simple, but the GPA/MCAT part can't be done by most kids. That's why most people do not have the qualifications to get into medical school.
 
rifle4802 said:
The entire admissions process is a game with rules to play by. These rules include getting a sufficiently high GPA and MCAT score and adequate volunteering/shadowing experience.

Seems simple, but the GPA/MCAT part can't be done by most kids. That's why most people do not have the qualifications to get into medical school.
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Ok I just finally found your argument. So, you're saying the process is strictly a numbers game?
 
I almost want to take the effort to look up every pchem professor at every traditional 4 year university and mass email them with your first post and they will quickly figure out who you are

I got free time waiting for my own grad school to start. I hate cheaters like you. Be careful OP, too bad you can't delete this thread you'd be surprised how many people might take the effort. In fact why don't we split up the work sdners? Lets each pick a state and find all the pchem professors and tell them what a scumbag this guy is
 
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Saxappeal1 said:
Don't you feel the slightest bit guilty?
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What I've done is not the slightest bit out of the ordinary. Somewhere else in another school, heck, probably in my own school, there are people doing all sorts of things to get that "competitive edge" over their peers.

If you snooze, you lose. Only a fraction of the population has what it takes to get into medical school. As much as you may hate to admit it, it IS a competition... a game if you will, and not everyone wins. Most will lose (get rejected or drop out of the pre-med track to pursue another career because they don't have the grades).

Fact is, you only get one shot at this. If you blow it in college, you can't go back and do your classes all over again. You're stuck with your lackluster GPA that will keep you from fulfilling your lifelong dream of being a doctor.
 
rifle4802 said:
I had my physical chemistry exam last week and, well... let's just say a quite unexpected and interesting turn of events took place at the end of class. I'm right on the borderline of an A/B with an 89.3% before this test. Our classes are normally 75 minutes long, except this time the fire alarm went off about 15 minutes into the test.

You know how the fire drill works so I'll spare you all the trivial details (ended up being a false alarm anyway), but it took half an hour for us to get back to class. The a-hole prof tells us to go back to finishing the exam despite the fact that we lost out on nearly half the time we're normally allotted. With basically 30 minutes left to complete nearly 3/4 of the test, I'm rushing just to make sure I finish on time and had to make several utterly blind and random guesses. More importantly, this was an unusually difficult exam, far moreso than any other I've taken, and even if I had the normally allotted 75 minutes, there was virtually no way I was getting an A.

At the end of class, no one is finished... not ONE person! After several complaints the prof finally comes to his senses and sees that we were all jobbed. He decides to let us finish the exam the next time we have class (which is 2 days later) and so instructs us to turn our partially complete exams in. Though this wasn't planned out ahead of time in any way, I decide to stuff the exam in my notebook and then wait until the line gets to be very long. Both the prof and the TA are busy collecting exams and don't have a clear line of sight on me. Plus, several kids who were at the front of the line and had already turned in their test were walking out of class, so I blended in with them perfectly. So I walk out of class with an exam I'm sure I would have gotten no better than a C on. My uncle happens to be a PhD analytical chemist, so I give him a call and tell him that I was really struggling with some homework problems and needed some help. He proceeds to breeze through the entire exam (which he believed was merely homework) in half an hour and I now essentially have the answer key to the test.

The key to this whole thing is that our exams are open notes, and so the next day that we have class, the prof and TA are handing out everyone's exams to finish... everyone's except mine. I told them I turned it in along with everyone else (when, in fact, I really took it home to find all the answers and wrote them all in my notes). Our prof is on the older side and our TA barely speaks a lick of English... point being that they're very "science smart" but a little slower on the uptake when it comes to street game, reading people, etc. They both look genuinely puzzled as to how my exam somehow vanished into thin air and offer to give me a brand new one of the same version, concluding that they must have accidentally lost my exam somehow. The most hysterical part of this whole thing was how guilty they felt, profusely apologizing for what in their minds was an injustice done to me, since everyone else had only half the exam left to finish and I had to do it all over again.

I tried my best to look genuinely frustrated and disappointed that I had to re-do the entire test and grudgingly accepted that there was nothing else that could be done. I played those suckers like a fiddle and I was now in possession of a brand new copy of the test along with the answer key in my notes.

Just got back the grade - 99% after the curve with a class average of 44%. I had to intentionally get a few questions wrong to avoid arousing unwanted suspicion (nobody gets perfect scores on these tests).

I've never done anything like this before in my life... mostly out of fear of getting caught and what the repercussions would be on my future.

Anyway... anyone ever done anything similar? And what are your thoughts on occasionally having to "play dirty" to win the game?
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Just saving this before the "delete"

dieanotherday said:
I almost want to take the effort to look up every pchem professor at every read 4 year university and mass email them with your first post and they will quickly figure out who you are
I got free time waiting for my own grad school to start. I hate cheaters like you. Be careful OP, too bad you can't delete this thread you'd be surprised how many people might take the effort. In fact why don't we split up the work sdners? Lets each pick a state and find all the pchem professors and tell them what a scumbag this guy is
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OP can always edit the initial post with a '.'
 
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