What would you do in this ethical scenario?

[PrepMatch]

Michael tells you that he wants to take a "Spanish 101" course to boost his GPA even though he is a native Spanish speaker. Native speakers are not allowed to take the course by school policy. What do you do?

(This scenario is from PrepMatch.com, the free peer-to-peer CASPer preparation platform that allows you to practice hundreds of scenarios for free. PrepMatch is a non-profit partnered up with the Student Doctor Network that aims to make the admission process more equitable)

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[LunaOri]

So? What’s your answer, OP?

 

[PrepMatch]

So? What’s your answer, OP?

We want to generate discussion so there is no right answer

 

[KnightDoc]

We want to generate discussion so there is no right answer

How has that been working out? I would love a little CASPer direction as much as the next person, but I'm not sure that blind leading the blind peer discussion is going to meet my needs.

While there might be no "right" answer, there is certainly an answer that generates a higher score than other answers!! Or, does Altus just randomly assign scores based on nothing?? (I'm sure many prior test takers will swear they do just that!!)

 

[PrepMatch]

How has that been working out? I would love a little CASPer direction as much as the next person, but I'm not sure that blind leading the blind peer discussion is going to meet my needs.

While there might be no "right" answer, there is certainly an answer that generates a higher score than other answers!! Or, does Altus just randomly assign scores based on nothing?? (I'm sure many prior test takers will swear they do just that!!)

Haha it's definitely not random but may seem like it at times! The scoring system is usually 1-9 per scenario but the exact criteria of how they score is kept a secret. Altus does mention on their website that:

"
Applicants who placed in higher quartiles may have done so for a number of reasons, based on the competencies Casper is designed to measure. These might include:

• Effort: they may have tried harder to respond to questions (for instance, they may have explained their position fully, or used the full amount of time before moving on to the next question, compared to those who applicants who place in the first quartile)
• Empathy: they considered all perspectives in a meaningful way
• Equity: they show the same high degree of respect for the experiences and needs of others
• Communication: they demonstrated above-average ability to effectively articulate their ideas
• Familiarity with the medium: they familiarized themselves with the format of the test (video, typed response, etc.) and were able to successfully navigate these aspects of the test.

"

Not very specific but still gives you some insight! We encourage you to join PrepMatch.com to get free feedback on your answers from a variety of peers. We promise you won't regret it

 

[spicymeatball]

In this scenario, who am I in relation to Michael?

 

[KnightDoc]

In this scenario, who am I in relation to Michael?

Why would that change your answer? You are the person he told his unethical plan to!! Presumably, you are neither the professor nor the registrar!

 

[FutureInternist]

If he’s the first in his family to go to college, or have plans for med school, does that make him more sympathetic? And hence our answer would be to be more empathetic? 🤔

 

[spicymeatball]

Why would that change your answer? You are the person he told his unethical plan to!! Presumably, you are neither the professor nor the registrar!

I think it matters. Ethical dilemmas aren't black and white. If you are in a position of power, you can be held responsible for the actions of this student. If you're an acquaintance sitting next to Michael in class, are any of us going to search out someone to make sure he is unable to take said Spanish class?

 

[nidgehog]

If I am a friend of Michelle, I would advise her not to take the course even though it is an easy grade. I would tell her it is unethical since you are at an unfair advantage and will recieve a high grade regardless, which would boost your overall GPA unfairly. If she does not listen, I would also note to her that if she was caught, it would be against the policy of the school which would in turn lead to disciplinary actions against her. This would reflect poorly on her transcript as well, affecting her future. I would not report Michelle to any figure of authority as I believe it is not my place to do so. I would take to her personally to get her to understand what she is doing is wrong and unethical, instead of relying on authority to act on it.

 

[BeMoConsulting]

Hello,

This is an interesting ethical question. Essentially you will want to showcase that you are not coming in too judgmental or jumping to conclusions, but that you are ethical and will act in an ethical manner. A good structure to use is to: 1) gather information, 2) offer 2-3 hypotheticals which can showcase that you have thought of a range of possibilities, and 3) come to the decision that is the most ethical and does the least amount of harm.
The first thing to do would be to gather information by having a conversation with Michael. You can then lay out a couple of hypotheticals based on the information you glean. For example, "I will ask Michael if he is having trouble maintaining his GPA". If he is worried he is not doing well, maybe there is something you (as a friend) can do to help (which showcases collaboration and problem solving skills). Maybe sitting down with Michael to help him organize his schedule and perhaps even changing the timing of certain courses. Ideally you can help Michael decide not to do this in the first place by helping him. You can also explain why the is problematic (against school policy, not fair to the other students, etc). This is where the hypothetical comes in. On one hand, maybe Michael will take your advice and look to reorganize his schedule or take a different course that could boost his GPA. But on the other hand, what will you do if Michael does not listen to your advice? You can state that you would give him the chance to report this himself and if he won't, that you would report it, as it is unfair to other students and may affect Michael negatively down the road.

 

[labratchronicles]

Isn't it always easier to just be honest about core characteristics, like the languages you are native in? What step in Michelle's application will she list that her family hailed from a Spanish speaking country, or that she is bilingual? Spanish education is an important step for non-spanish speakers to show their chops. My stepfather is multilingual, and I don't think he would recognize my limited bilingualism until I got a degree or verified it through special circumstances. The potential benefits of knowing two languages fluently in a field that needs bilingual professionals sufficiently outweigh the GPA boost (at best) and the flagrant waste of time (at worst) that Michelle's enrollment in this class might fulfill.

 

[IAmTheBest35]

who cares, anybody can take any class they want. the rule is dumb. that would be my answer.

 

[Radishguy]

who cares, anybody can take any class they want. the rule is dumb. that would be my answer.

I wonder if Casper takes that into account in their calculation. This rule is, as you say, dumb and may be unethical in itself. After all, if someone is bilingual, they did have to learn two languages at some point. Why should someone who waited until college to learn a second language receive credit for it, but someone who took initiative and learned it prior to college not be allowed to earn credit? If you spent your entire undergrad working on some big problem, then went into a PhD with a head start on your thesis based on your own individual, unpublished work, would that be unethical? If the school had a rule against doing so, would that be unethical? How are languages any different? I would tell Michael to be careful. There is a risk that he would be discovered violating the rule and be punished for it, even if the rule itself is unethical. I would also tell him to think about how it might look on an application in the future. If someone saw that he was a native speaker and still took the language classes, they would probably realize it was in order to raise his GPA and might look negatively on that regardless of whether they knew of the rule.

What I would not do is turn him in to anyone for two reasons. 1.) this is his choice, and the only thing I should do is counsel him with the best advice I can give. 2.) snitches get stitches and end up in ditches.

 

[IAmTheBest35]

I wonder if Casper takes that into account in their calculation. This rule is, as you say, dumb and may be unethical in itself. After all, if someone is bilingual, they did have to learn two languages at some point. Why should someone who waited until college to learn a second language receive credit for it, but someone who took initiative and learned it prior to college not be allowed to earn credit? If you spent your entire undergrad working on some big problem, then went into a PhD with a head start on your thesis based on your own individual, unpublished work, would that be unethical? If the school had a rule against doing so, would that be unethical? How are languages any different? I would tell Michael to be careful. There is a risk that he would be discovered violating the rule and be punished for it, even if the rule itself is unethical. I would also tell him to think about how it might look on an application in the future. If someone saw that he was a native speaker and still took the language classes, they would probably realize it was in order to raise his GPA and might look negatively on that regardless of whether they knew of the rule.

What I would not do is turn him in to anyone for two reasons. 1.) this is his choice, and the only thing I should do is counsel him with the best advice I can give. 2.) snitches get stitches and end up in ditches.

thats pretty much what i said, but the way i put it was more concise.

 

[Wiseman2020]

I wonder if Casper takes that into account in their calculation. This rule is, as you say, dumb and may be unethical in itself. After all, if someone is bilingual, they did have to learn two languages at some point. Why should someone who waited until college to learn a second language receive credit for it, but someone who took initiative and learned it prior to college not be allowed to earn credit? If you spent your entire undergrad working on some big problem, then went into a PhD with a head start on your thesis based on your own individual, unpublished work, would that be unethical? If the school had a rule against doing so, would that be unethical? How are languages any different? I would tell Michael to be careful. There is a risk that he would be discovered violating the rule and be punished for it, even if the rule itself is unethical. I would also tell him to think about how it might look on an application in the future. If someone saw that he was a native speaker and still took the language classes, they would probably realize it was in order to raise his GPA and might look negatively on that regardless of whether they knew of the rule.

What I would not do is turn him in to anyone for two reasons. 1.) this is his choice, and the only thing I should do is counsel him with the best advice I can give. 2.) snitches get stitches and end up in ditches.

Your reason number 2 and back and forth convo with "IAmTheBest35" gave me a good laugh out loud. Thank you kind sir.

 

[mike-sheree]

Mind your own business and keep a mental note if you ever need to deal with the jerk again.

 

[Dr Meow]

If I'm talking to a friend:
There's the answer Casper wants, and THEN there's the realistic answer.
Casper wants you to be like "oh! I must tell him not to take the class! It'll be unfair to other students and throw off their statistics and curves. Fair this fair that fair fair fair BS new age "no child left behind" BS where you want to normalize to mediocrity". WHILST AT THE SAME TIME sounding neutral and presenting all the possible sides. This is what is called "politically correct".

Realistic answer is this "Life isn't fair. And you shouldn't be punished for being better than everyone else at a skill. Screw that ******* rule and take that class"