What would you do if a classmate cheated?

[OChemist]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I assumed they meant my new best friend I made at pharmacy school. It is hard to know how smart that person is because I don't know her yet but I sure hope she doesn't cheat.

oh.... crap...
I hope I dont have a friend like that. I usually have friends who motivate me, tell me they are going to aim a hundred and make me look like nothing. I in turn try to beat him in grades, healthy competition.

 

[tootoo30]

Cheating does affect everyone since everyone is graded on the same curve and everyone is fighting for the same residency spot. Well, its less so in pharmacy, but in dentistry everyone is fighting for a spot in Ortho and if someone cheated/mess up the curve you better bet I will be the FIRST one to tell.

Yeah that's easy to say, but if it was your best friend, trust me you would think twice about ratting her out. You can say what you want but everyone would reconsider, so I just told the truth.

 

[SHC1984]

Yeah that's easy to say, but if it was your best friend, trust me you would think twice about ratting her out. You can say what you want but everyone would reconsider, so I just told the truth.

Yeah...if its my best friend I would reconsider too, thankfully my best friend is already married to a doctor with two kids so I don't have to worry about her cheating on an exam!

 

[DoctorDancer]

You better tell the prof. A)messed up curve B) if they are cheating off of you and you have the same answers YOU could be accused of cheating.

I had a fellow student cheat off of me in undergrad during a lab practical (an identifying practical). I did speak with the prof after class and explain to him that I felt there was something going on with the girl next to me, but I was not sure. Turns out she did cheat, admitted to cheating, had EXACTLY the same answers as me for the entire test (even misspelled the same word as me, come on!), and was subsequently kicked out of the program.

You are not doing anyone a favor by not speaking up. The student wont do well in the long run if they are resorting to cheating, the curve will suck, and the prof just might start making the tests more difficult to compensate-- and worse case scenario is that YOU could be punished for cheating.

(ps they arent exactly a great friend if they are messing with your scores/life that way)

 

[farmD4me]

Tell on the person 👍

I've been wrongfully accused of cheating while sitting near my supposed "friend" who decided to copy my answers during a test. I wasn't even aware of it until the professor called both of us in for questioning where she admitted to copying!! This was a test where you write down the names of those to your left and right.

 

[CaptainPicard]

Absolutely. It's different in this situation because it isn't illegal to cheat on a test.

Some schools make you sign agreements that include not cheating and reporting cheaters.

 

[CopToEM]

On interview panels for law enforcement jobs this is a common question. It's generally in the form of, "you saw a fellow Officer take money from someone's home on a call. How would you handle this situation?"

I suspect that the 'correct' answer to the question in a pharm school interview is very similar to the 'correct' answer on a police panel.

You report it to a superior or, in this case, the professor. You don't tell the student first out of respect or any form thereof. The person lost the right to your respect when he undermined the hard work of others by taking the easy road out.

If you DON'T report that you know someone cheated then it sets you up for disciplinary action as well... depending on your honor agreement of course. By not disclosing what you know you're putting at risk all of your hard work to cover up for someone who's getting by through dishonesty.

It may seem childish and you may feel like a tattle tell but you're probably doing the person a favor.

 

[runnerjsn]

. I would not turn in anyone for anything unless the person was doing something that was going to hurt someone else. I HATE tattletails. Mind your own business. The school cheater is not going to hurt anyone but himself. How is he going to pass boards, finals etc.... It will catch up with him. If you're talking about drugs, it could ultimately hurt someone else and needs to be dealt with (hopefully the person can get help). I told my kids not to tattletail or they would both get in trouble. Because it will lead to people lying about someone cheating for their own gain. It's up to the teacher to assure that no one is cheating and they need to do their job. IF you saw someone take money, that's another story, it's illegal and if you saw it you would be colluding in the crime if you didn't report it.

 

[mtnlion44]

I had the best friend version of this question during my interview. I wanted to say what they wanted to hear but I couldn't lie. I know I'm not turning in my best friend over an exam. Now maybe if she did it multiple times I would reconsider but for a one time thing, there is no way. So I told them I would talk to my friend and try to convince her to do the right thing. I thought that answer might cost me a spot but they liked me anyway. The question did make me wonder how many people really would turn in their best friend and how many just lie in the interview.

I answered the same way. I feel that the best friend thing is put in there to make it so you are forced to come up with a more nuanced response. They want to know that you are not a absolutist and that you value relationships. I answered that I would confront the friend directly and then inform the professor that there were people who had copies of the exam, without directly turning my best friend in for this first offense. There is a story at CCNY about a chem prof who was so rigid in his grading that a student ended up getting deported bc. they got a D+ with the prof. being fully aware of the stakes. No gentleman's C- for you, pack your bags. Yes I am aware of all the arguments you could make on either side, but this is where the human factor should enter the picture and humaneness is an important quality in PAs. .