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Hi all-
I would love some tips on substance in honing my explanation of a regrettable academic integrity incident I subjected myself to in my undergrad. Also if anyone has any insight into how badly I'm screwed trying to apply to T20-50 schools that would be much appreciated.

"In my undergraduate study I committed an infraction against academic integrity policies. During the fall of my senior year in the course (X), when completing a mathematical homework problem set, I made the mistake of improperly referring to an online studying forum for a solution. The same question on the assignment happened to have been previously solved in the forum. My use of the resource was apparent because the math was incorrect, and that wrong answer was widely referred to by my other classmates in the work they submitted. My professor noticed the pattern and sought out the online source. I was accused by the professor via email and an accompanying accusation form, admitted guilt to the engineering school’s academic support office, and received an informal warning from them. The professor gave me and each guilty party a zero for the assignment. The infraction was kept internal to the college, so no records exist in my student conduct file.

I understand the seriousness of my actions. The work I submitted was not an accurate representation of my effort or grasp of the material. Further, seeking to earn the same credit for the assignment as someone who completed it fully through their own work and capabilities was unjust and for that I'm remorseful. Despite this lapse in judgement, I appreciate the high ethical standards required of those in the law and commit myself to abiding by them."

Other potentially pertinent facts fyi (that maybe are worth including?):
-the semester in question was 2018 and I have earned a master's degree elsewhere since then
-like 50 people were subject to the same issue
-I had the prof the following semester and we made up
-any files the engineering school had were apparently shredded at the end of the sem

You can shorten this quite a bit, which will help with the somewhat disingenuous tone that comes across now. Just give a quick 1-2 sentence summary of what you did (cheated on an assignment by getting answers online), 1 sentence on the discovery (you were caught and immediately admitted guilt), 1 sentence on the punishment (0 for the assignment, no record), and 1-2 sentences wrapping up (sorry you did it, learned your lesson).

The "other pertinent facts" are absolutely not worth including. No one cares how many other people got caught or if you and the professor are now BFFs. These addenda need to be short and to the point.

If this is your only cheating/plagiarism issue, I don't think it's going to be a bar to admission anywhere.

cavalier1138 wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:37 am

The "other pertinent facts" are absolutely not worth including. No one cares how many other people got caught or if you and the professor are now BFFs. These addenda need to be short and to the point.

I would note that a letter of recommendation from the professor in question could be helpful here. They'd actually have the credibility to talk about mitigating factors.

cavalier1138 wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:37 am

1 sentence on the discovery (you were caught and immediately admitted guilt)

Thanks for the critique. I'm surprised it sounds disingenuous... it is something I've beaten myself up over but I guess I tend to be verbose in my writing and that's not called for here. Do you think it's not helpful to include how I was caught though? The wrong answer provided by multiple people creating a pattern? I feel like that provides context they would want to fully comprehend the incident and otherwise, they might be confused and think I'm withholding damaging details.

The Lsat Airbender wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 07, 2021 12:52 pm

cavalier1138 wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:37 am

The "other pertinent facts" are absolutely not worth including. No one cares how many other people got caught or if you and the professor are now BFFs. These addenda need to be short and to the point.

I would note that a letter of recommendation from the professor in question could be helpful here. They'd actually have the credibility to talk about mitigating factors.

I thought the same thing but she was apparently let go so I've got no contact info

ArcticMonkey wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 07, 2021 2:42 pm

cavalier1138 wrote: ↑

Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:37 am

1 sentence on the discovery (you were caught and immediately admitted guilt)

Thanks for the critique. I'm surprised it sounds disingenuous... it is something I've beaten myself up over but I guess I tend to be verbose in my writing and that's not called for here. Do you think it's not helpful to include how I was caught though? The wrong answer provided by multiple people creating a pattern? I feel like that provides context they would want to fully comprehend the incident and otherwise, they might be confused and think I'm withholding damaging details.

There’s nothing confusing about not providing details beyond “I submitted a solution that I found online.” Adcomms don’t need to know more about how you were caught. It sounds like you want to put in the info that other people did this too because it feels mitigating, but it’s not.

You don’t need to point out you’ve done a master’s since then; that will be self-evident from your application materials. It also doesn’t matter (for assessing the event) that you and the prof “made up,” but to the extent it’s relevant, they’ll be able to see that you had another class with that prof after where you did fine. I’m not sure you need to have the prof talk about mitigating factors; I think the significance of the incident is clear from the description and the penalty. Informal warning and 0 on the assignment makes clear it’s not a really major infraction; you could have had something put formally in your record, failed the class, or been suspended or in theory expelled. I’d be surprised if you couldn’t find the prof by googling, though, to the extent you think they really would be a good reference.

My opinion differs from those offered above by other posters.

My impression was that your proposed explanation was thorough, sincere, and direct. Your response as written alleviates the need for a follow-up explanation.

Nonetheless, academic dishonesty--even though somewhat minor--could result in an automatic rejection especially during an admissions cycle with a sizable increase in applications.