Academic dishonesty question - advice needed

[DataCurious7]

Hi everyone,

As the title suggests, I am an undergraduate currently and had an academic violation due to working with a classmate on a take-home open note examination. It goes without saying, but I am ashamed of this and it won't be happening again ever. Since it was my first ever (senior currently), there will be nothing on the transcript except a D in that course.

I am applying to professional Masters programs (in data analytics) and already applied to 4 before this happened and still have about 10 more to go. Of course, I will not be lying anywhere on my application or otherwise. 

My Profile: Research experience (published article), 3 internships, 1 major/2 minors, leadership positions in campus clubs, GPA: ~3.80 after the violation

I had a few questions, however.

1. If I do get acceptance in any school I have applied to already, unless they ask to explain my bad grade, should I bring up the misconduct on my own? Should I do it right now or wait until a decision comes out?

2. For my current schools, the wording on the academic dishonesty question is very confusing. One says "have you ever been dismissed or placed on probation?" which for me would still be a no. Do I say no and not mention it or do I say yes anyways? If I say and they don't follow up to ask about my bad grade, do I ever disclose it then? 

3. Should I take a couple years to go in industry and put some distance before I apply? Most of my programs are intended for people with 0-3 years of experience. Or should I apply right now and if I get rejected then apply in a couple years?

4. Can I approach the instructor of this course to ever get a statement for my applications saying I learned from my mistake? I really do regret it because she had a good course and I was thinking of potentially asking her if I can do anything to get a statement saying I learned from this (not right now but later). This would be really helpful in applications should they ask to submit an explanation. Again, not sure if professors do this.

5. Any other tips? I heard some students also talked with their college dean who provided a statement of support but I was not sure on that either.

I would really appreciate any advice on this, thank you!

 

[Sigaba]

Hi, @DataCurious7. I think that the challenge you have to overcome on a personal level is how you reconcile the letter of a query about academic dishonesty with the spirit of the question. This challenge is compounded by the possibility that your sensibilities will shift over time.

• If you answer a question exactly as asked, you will remain vulnerable to the consequences when/if decision makers find out that you weren't as clear as you could have been.
• If you answer based upon the spirit of the question, you risk disclosing information that could have remained private and unnecessarily jeopardize your opportunity for admission. At the same time, such a disclosure could send a positive message about your commitment to academic integrity.

My recommendation is that you read the fine print of the codes of conduct for your current school and your preferred programs. Is there as much room between an "academic violation" and being "placed on probation" as the text suggests? What are you willing to risk by parsing the words that closely? Can you get kicked out from a new program if what you did at a previous stop comes to light?

I also recommend that you read the extra fine print that comes with any "I accept" check box for terms and conditions of submitting an application. Are you consenting to an ongoing background check.

Something to bear in mind is that in your specific case, the D grade may actually be a tell. If you typically have very high grades, and you have a D that is the only low mark that term....

 

[DataCurious7]

@Sigaba, thank you for the advice.

Yes, that is the internal debate I am having in deciding which route I take. I am thinking of discussing this with my academic advisor, would that be a good idea?

As you suggested, I started researching about conditions of accepting an offer and it seems that not all universities have a clear guideline. Although, I will assume that they all want this information at some point. And yes, so far I only had 1 B+. This semester will add this D and a B-, both in advanced courses that are not generally considered easy.

I think I most likely will just end up including the information because as you said, it may help my application if I take a proactive approach even if my situation is not as severe as described by the question. This way, I can explain my letter grade before they ask and clear up any doubts. It will have a negative impact but I think it may hopefully add a layer of depth too.

Also, should I reach out to my instructor? I have had brief conversations with them in office-hours and post-lecture. I feel that even a single sentence statement from them attesting to my improvement, if included in my application, may improve my explanation instead of just me self-explaining my own actions.