BobRoss
Dec 22, 2016
Undergraduate / Rampant cheating; everyone reaped what they sowed. Caltech ethical dilemma Essay [3]
Members of the Caltech community live, learn, and work within an Honor System with one simple guideline; 'No member shall take unfair advantage of any other member of the Caltech community.' While seemingly simple, questions of ethics, honesty and integrity are sometimes puzzling. Share a difficult situation that has challenged you. What was your response, and how did you arrive at a solution? (200 word max)
Sophomore year was exhausting, all tests were cumulative, and the tests were weekly. While everyone crammed for the tests and even hired private tutors, I never had problems doing well by just studying on a daily basis. Things were looking well as I headed into the finals, and I was as prepared as I could be.
I walked in one day during the finals week to find everyone studying the same thing, I didn't know why at first, but after looking around it became clear; they had the leaked final. I didn't know what to do at that point, all my work seemed so pointless since everyone had all the answers. I didn't want to notify a teacher as some people needed that grade to pass, but I didn't want to cheat because I valued my work over my grade. I decided I'd just take the finals and hope for the best, since I believed all my work will still be rewarded.
The teachers realized that there was rampant cheating after they saw the same answers on almost everyone, and they decided to redo the test. A lot of people were upset, but everyone reaped what they sowed.
Looking for ways to improve my essay, as it still feels underwhelming when I read over it. Thanks.
Members of the Caltech community live, learn, and work within an Honor System with one simple guideline; 'No member shall take unfair advantage of any other member of the Caltech community.' While seemingly simple, questions of ethics, honesty and integrity are sometimes puzzling. Share a difficult situation that has challenged you. What was your response, and how did you arrive at a solution? (200 word max)
Rampant cheating does not pay
Sophomore year was exhausting, all tests were cumulative, and the tests were weekly. While everyone crammed for the tests and even hired private tutors, I never had problems doing well by just studying on a daily basis. Things were looking well as I headed into the finals, and I was as prepared as I could be.
I walked in one day during the finals week to find everyone studying the same thing, I didn't know why at first, but after looking around it became clear; they had the leaked final. I didn't know what to do at that point, all my work seemed so pointless since everyone had all the answers. I didn't want to notify a teacher as some people needed that grade to pass, but I didn't want to cheat because I valued my work over my grade. I decided I'd just take the finals and hope for the best, since I believed all my work will still be rewarded.
The teachers realized that there was rampant cheating after they saw the same answers on almost everyone, and they decided to redo the test. A lot of people were upset, but everyone reaped what they sowed.
Looking for ways to improve my essay, as it still feels underwhelming when I read over it. Thanks.
