Worried about institutional action

[Akon01]

Hey guys,

I was notified that there was evidence of me violating the student honor code. It's been 7 months of me fighting it since I did not cheat on my exam (we had a group phase and all my answers were the ones I discussed with my group, and I provided proof of this) but the main reason why I am being told I violated the code was because I looked at an online source that I didn't know we weren't allowed to look at. This website I looked at was one that I was allowed to use at my previous institution before I transferred to this school, so I thought it was okay for me to look at.

You may be wondering why I looked at this website? I was basically confused about a few concepts that we were being tested on so I was doing background research to help me understand while also using my notes to help me understand the concept. It ended up being that me accessing this website, despite not using anything I saw in my exam's answers (I provided proof that my answers were unchanged from what my group and I discussed) they are saying that I still violated the honor code. I got notification today that I will be getting a one-semester suspension for the summer, and I am appealing this because I think this punishment is disproportionate to what was done (me accessing a website I didn't know I wasn't allowed to access).

Regardless of what the end result of my appeal is (hopefully they'll lower this punishment), I know this counted as an IA from the day I got a notification from my school. I'm not applying to medical school yet, but I know this is something I will have to report. I will report it because I've always been someone that values honesty in everything I do. I'm the type of student that values hard work and honesty, so much so that I've told my Professors when they've entered in a grade higher on my online grade book than what they wrote down on my assignment.

Knowing all the information I've given you thus far, how bad do you think this harms my chances of getting accepted into a medical school?

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[drstranger]

Just because you didn't know it was cheating does not make it not cheating. My opinion at this point is to accept the punishment and show in the next year of schooling you have changed and how you learned from it. I do not think it is a deal breaker if you have no other red flags but it will make it harder. You might also have to delay applying to show you have changed and matured. I think @Goro and other adcom will be able to best answer this- sorry GORO ignore this I saw you already responeded

 

[Akon01]

Just because you didn't know it was cheating does not make it not cheating. My opinion at this point is to accept the punishment and show in the next year of schooling you have changed and how you learned from it. I do not think it is a deal breaker if you have no other red flags but it will make it harder. You might also have to delay applying to show you have changed and matured. I think @Goro and other adcom will be able to best answer this

Yes, I am not planning on applying for another year or two so I can build up my application and get more exposure to the field. Just worried about how to explain the situation without seeming like I am not accepting responsibility, which I 100% am.

Also, I'm not sure how cheating is looked at but in my eyes, based on what I see cheating as I didn't cheat because my answers on this assignment were not altered. I just made the mistake of viewing an unauthorized source in an attempt to understand a concept that confused me. Considering that I was confused about whether or not it was okay to view, it would have been better for me to double-check my syllabus or ask my peers about sources that we were allowed to use, or I should have emailed the question to my Professor.

 

[Goro]

Yes, I am not planning on applying for another year or two so I can build up my application and get more exposure to the field. Just worried about how to explain the situation without seeming like I am not accepting responsibility, which I 100% am.

Also, I'm not sure how cheating is looked at but in my eyes, based on what I see cheating as I didn't cheat because my answers on this assignment were not altered. I just made the mistake of viewing an unauthorized source in an attempt to understand a concept that confused me. Considering that I was confused about whether or not it was okay to view, it would have been better for me to double-check my syllabus or ask my peers about sources that we were allowed to use, or I should have emailed the question to my Professor.

The bolded is a prime example of pre-med lawyering. It doesn't go over well.

I just made the mistake of viewing an unauthorized source

What I'm worried about is some hardass thinking : It was your responsibility to know what was allowable and what was verboten

 

[Akon01]

The bolded is a prime example of pre-med lawyering. It doesn't go over well.

I just made the mistake of viewing an unauthorized source

What I'm worried about is some hardass thinking : It was your responsibility to know what was allowable and what was verboten

Yes, and that is the unfortunate truth. At the end of the day, I 100% should have done my due diligence of double and triple checking the assignment directions, syllabus, and if I was still confused, I should have emailed my Professor. In the case that my Professor didn't answer, I should have just let it be. Yes it was an honest mistake, but it was a mistake that could have been avoided and it was something that was completely and utterly wrong. Now I'm just worried about how to move forward :-/

 

[candbgirl]

So you did this search thing to clear up your confusion during the exam? The final (or test) was multi parts and some tasks were group and some individual?

 

[Akon01]

So you did this search thing to clear up your confusion during the exam? The final (or test) was multi parts and some tasks were group and some individual?

Yes, there were multi parts and this incident occurred during the group task. And yes, I did a search to clear up confusion about a concept I was still confused about!

 

[Doc_Ock]

Fight it tooth and nail to the end. Ask if they would be willing to wipe it from your record if there are no other incidents (which is generally standard).