TeenHealthFX - Answers - Cheating For College

Education, Academics and School Issues / Question
Published: November 4, 2003

Dear TeenHealthFX,

Hi, I used to go to a public school where I had A's and B's. Now I am currently a sophomore at a very strict private high school. I am not doing very well, like a 2.2 GPA so I started to cheat during history class. My buddy and I always correct each others test so we always end up with A's. I am a 16 year old guy and I am feeling a bit guilty about this. BUT! I don't want to stop because usually I get D's for history class. I tried working hard but I can barely make it to the C range.I want to go to a good COLLEGE! What do you guys think that I should do? By the way there is NO WAY that I can get caught, my history teacher is like blind even if you stick your middle finger at him.

Signed: Cheating For College

Dear Cheating For College,

TeenHealthFX thinks that you probably know what is the right thing to do in this situation, and that is to stop cheating during history class. The fact that you feel guilty about what you're doing means that you know that it's wrong to cheat, and even though it's going to be hard to do, you really need to stop. Despite the fact that you think your teacher can't tell what you and your friend are doing, he may have an idea and most high schools have very strict policies for cheaters. In addition, some of your classmates might realize what's going on and tell on you - it's not really fair to them that you're getting A's and not doing the work, so they might feel the need to be honest and give your teacher an idea about what' going on. Colleges look VERY unfavorably upon cheaters, and it can be a real challenge to get accepted somewhere with a cheating violation on your record.

Even though it' important to go to a "good" college, you have to remember that different colleges are "good" for different reasons. Grades are not the only thing that colleges look at in accepting students, and other aspects of a person, like their extracurricular involvement in sports or clubs, outside interests and social skills are also give weight. And, remember that college is probably going to be harder than high school. If you're cheating now to get the grades to get you into college, you might struggle a whole lot more when you get there. The grades most colleges look for in their applicants are pretty representative of the kind of work that they expect from their students - so if you go to a place with A's you didn't earn, you might be in over your head in the classes there. And, cheating in college is a very big deal if you get caught- a lot of schools will expel you for at least a semester, or perhaps even more, depending on how seriously they take their honor code (some schools make you sign a form before every exam that states that you did not cheat on it).

Even though it seems like cheating is the best way for you to get the grades you want to have on your transcript for when you apply to college, it's really not. There are real risks associated with getting caught, and FX imagines that it's not really fun to feel guilty all the time about it. Even though you might not want to ask for help, most schools do have tutoring programs to help students, or you could even try meeting with your teacher to give you some tips on how better to study for his exams and such. It'll be much more worthwhile and satisfying to you if you get A's because you earned them and you won't have that guilty conscience to deal with.

Signed: TeenHealthFX