What Should I Expect? Forum

[CaptainCrunch]

Let's say that happens but I were to find a way to go to a community college and graduate from there. Would EVERY SINGLE law school in the country still have me blacklisted even if several years had passed and I had added several notable accomplishments to my record in the meantime?

Hamlet, clearly your OCD is influencing your guilt. I can tell you're still plagued by it. Forgive yourself, your past dishonesty (at least part of it) has already been disclosed and you've still been accepted to law school. There is no purpose in disclosing more...

HOWEVER, I think you need more counseling for your OCD. Just look at the way you format your text to look neat and tidy... and your obsessive guilt. Law school may be hell for you if you don't get this under control... and worse still, you may find yourself in a desperate situation... and resort to cheating again.

Get some help. Stop formatting your friggin' text, and forgive yourself. The key to overcoming OCD is opposing every single one of those dastardly impulses and face the fear that they bring. Soooo... step 1, don't over-report. Step 2, type a response that breaks every single formatting rule in your head. And get help!

[fosterp]

You said you were caught once. Did your professor just not report it and just fail you?

[Hamlet2000]

You said you were caught once. Did your professor just not report it and just fail you?

No, I was brought before the Honor Council and they gave me an "F" for the course after I pled guilty to academic
dishonesty.

[Hamlet2000]

You said you were caught once. Did your professor just not report it and just fail you?

No, I was brought before the Honor Council and they gave me an "F" for the course after I pled guilty to academic
dishonesty.

Is there some significance to that?

[xyzzzzzzzz]

what did you end up deciding?

[Hamlet2000]

what did you end up deciding?

I'm willing to put a period behind it so long as the American Bar Association does not require
me to elaborate on whether or not my academic dishonesty was an isolated incident. If I am
asked to come before the Character & Fitness Committee and questioned about whether or
not my academic dishonesty was a one-time affair, I might as well be cheating all over again
if I commit perjury.

[sundance95]

What are you, at Medieval Flagellants' School of Law? You'll literally have no recourse but /self if you continue school, accumulate loads of debt (you noted you were out of state) and then commit career sepukku by unnecessarily screwing your bar C&F.

[Hamlet2000]

What are you, at Medieval Flagellants' School of Law? You'll literally have no recourse but /self if you continue school, accumulate loads of debt (you noted you were out of state) and then commit career sepukku by unnecessarily screwing your bar C&F.

You did see my post above, right? I'm only willing to continue my time in law school so long as there's a chance of
me practicing law in the near future. If it turns out that I'm going to be questioned about the time I cheated in
college; I might as well drop out, come clean to my the honor council at my UG, and then set about trying to add
whatever positive attributes I can to mitigate the smear on my record. In the Worst-case scenario, that's my plan.

[Hamlet2000]

With that being said, what is the likelihood that I will be brought before the Character &
Fitness Committee to address this matter?

[180orbust]

I am a little bit appalled at the state of morality in the future generation of the legal community. OP cheated, and is currently occupying a place in a law school that would otherwise have gone to someone with slightly less grades/LSAT who didn't cheat. You shouldn't drop out because you're afraid you might get caught by C & F. You should drop out because you do not deserve to be there. Because it is the wrong thing to do. Because you care about making things right.

If I were you, I would tell your undergrad and law school what had really happened, and tell them that you are willing to accept the consequences. Find a profession that isn't based on your academic record.

And to all of you who encouraged the OP to stay quiet and get therapy for OCD, I think you should be ashamed of yourselves. This is the reason why there is a stigma attached to the legal profession. Where is your integrity? Cheating for four years doesn't just go away because you've decided that, "now that I've made it this far, I'll never cheat again." That's a very convenient form of morality that is unfair to the OP's classmates who are trying to compete with someone for a job who should not be there in the first place.

Be mature and responsible, and do something that you can feel good about yourself for doing. The guilt won't go away just because you didn't get caught by C & F. Not divulging information they would want to know is just as culpable as lying if they ask you if it was an "isolated incident."

[xyzzzzzzzz]

I am a little bit appalled at the state of morality in the future generation of the legal community. OP cheated, and is currently occupying a place in a law school that would otherwise have gone to someone with slightly less grades/LSAT who didn't cheat. You shouldn't drop out because you're afraid you might get caught by C & F. You should drop out because you do not deserve to be there. Because it is the wrong thing to do. Because you care about making things right.

If I were you, I would tell your undergrad and law school what had really happened, and tell them that you are willing to accept the consequences. Find a profession that isn't based on your academic record.

And to all of you who encouraged the OP to stay quiet and get therapy for OCD, I think you should be ashamed of yourselves. This is the reason why there is a stigma attached to the legal profession. Where is your integrity? Cheating for four years doesn't just go away because you've decided that, "now that I've made it this far, I'll never cheat again." That's a very convenient form of morality that is unfair to the OP's classmates who are trying to compete with someone for a job who should not be there in the first place.

Be mature and responsible, and do something that you can feel good about yourself for doing. The guilt won't go away just because you didn't get caught by C & F. Not divulging information they would want to know is just as culpable as lying if they ask you if it was an "isolated incident."

Be as appalled as you would like, but it is still OP's decision. We can't make it for him.

[180orbust]

I'd like to add that I apparently have a very different idea of morality than most people, and that "the right thing" is a subjective question that has more to do with your own conscience than what some guy posts on the internet. I'm not telling you what I think because I want you to change the way you live your life. That's your decision to make. I'm sharing my opinion because I think you wanted to hear what other people really think, rather than just be told "don't worry, it's okay, feel better."

Some people view school/grades as a means to an end, with that end being a job, or money, or whatever. I think the way you get there is more important than the destination. Then again, I'm not the one in your shoes, so who knows if I would have the balls to do as I suggest. Good luck.

I don't think you're a bad person. But when you decided to stay quiet about the cheating, you did so with the understanding that you risked feeling guilty about it for the rest of your life. Now that you are suffering those consequences, I don't think you can make it go away just by promising not to cheat anymore.

[Patriot1208]

I am a little bit appalled at the state of morality in the future generation of the legal community. OP cheated, and is currently occupying a place in a law school that would otherwise have gone to someone with slightly less grades/LSAT who didn't cheat. You shouldn't drop out because you're afraid you might get caught by C & F. You should drop out because you do not deserve to be there. Because it is the wrong thing to do. Because you care about making things right.

If I were you, I would tell your undergrad and law school what had really happened, and tell them that you are willing to accept the consequences. Find a profession that isn't based on your academic record.

And to all of you who encouraged the OP to stay quiet and get therapy for OCD, I think you should be ashamed of yourselves. This is the reason why there is a stigma attached to the legal profession. Where is your integrity? Cheating for four years doesn't just go away because you've decided that, "now that I've made it this far, I'll never cheat again." That's a very convenient form of morality that is unfair to the OP's classmates who are trying to compete with someone for a job who should not be there in the first place.

Be mature and responsible, and do something that you can feel good about yourself for doing. The guilt won't go away just because you didn't get caught by C & F. Not divulging information they would want to know is just as culpable as lying if they ask you if it was an "isolated incident."

The self righteousness in this post is appalling.

[northwood]

OP Live and Learn. Throwing away your career and life goals over something in the past wont make it better. It will just make your life worse. Do you understand fully what the consequences of your actions are? Since you are remorseful, you know what you have to do to prevent this from occuring in the future ( get help for your ocd, and take the time off as necessary to learn how to manage your ocd). While throwing your life away and coming clean about your past is a noble act, doing so wont solve any problems or ease your guilt.

If you really want to feel better about it, make sure to do somehting in your life that will help solve cheating, or soemthing similar. Stand up for the little guy getting screwed over when they're only trying to do right. Give back to your community. Or something positive. just fully understand what is going to happen to you if you come clean.