Hi everyone,
During my junior year I was caught for plagiarizing. What had happened was that I had copied a few sentences verbatim from a friends study guide that we both put into an assignment. Our professor followed his "policy" (1st yr as a prof btw) and referred both of us to the dean. I took responsibility and was put to deferred suspension. Ultimately I received a B- in the course. Now I'm graduating in June and am applying this year but am losing a lot of sleep over this as the days come closer.
How do you guys think it will affect my chances to schools that I would likely get into with my GPA/LSAT?
Is there something I should do now to better my chances?
I plan on writing a addendum accepting responsibility and showing how I've grown from the incident.
Thank you all your responses will be greatly appreciated.
Comments
Your best course of action is to put in the time and work to really max out your LSAT score. Give them numbers that they can't refuse.
No sense in losing sleep over it, unless there is something you can do about it. Right the addendum, accept responsibility, maybe even inform them that you are now more cautious when it comes to writing papers, assignments, etc.
I don't know it's just that I'm getting mixed responses. Some say it is nothing and can even be used to better sale yourself with the addendum space. Some say that it's a deal breaker. But I do appreciate y'all and what you think about me looking into hiring a consultant solely for this reason?
And plagiarism is a tricky thing. There's a lot of things that are technically plagiarism that most people wouldn't sweat in an undergrad paper. Like, if you make a mistake in your bibliography/works cited, then everything you used from that source is technically plagiarized. You can even plagiarize your own work, it gets really tricky. I had one teacher with a zero tolerance policy and before we could even set foot in her classroom we had to pass a comprehensive plagiarism test. It seemed excessive, but plagiarism can be so subtle, I think a lot of undergrads probably do it without even realizing it.
That being said, plagiarism is plagiarism and there's not really any shades of grey, even in the case of a mistake. Should your professor have handled it differently? Maybe. But that's not an option for you. You've got to be really careful how you deal with this in your addendum. Even subtle little remarks intended to explain the context of the offense can come across as downplaying the seriousness of it, or worse, your responsibility for it. If you submit an addendum that does that, you are going to really hurt yourself.
That's why I wanted to know how my particular case of plagiarism would effect my case but I guess that's almost impossible to know unless there are others that have plagiarized in similar ways or there are adcomms on here that have oversaw applications with similar misconducts.
Anyways, I feel for you and really wish you the best in the application process. That one mistake shouldn't completely destroy your entire professional life. Just follow our advice, hire a consultant and you'll be fine .
What companies or people do y'all think I should look into hiring?
Do you guys know of any that may specialize in cases like mine?
Btw, any idea when the BR group commences for the September test?
The Sept group is off to a great start getting organized early and developing a BR schedule:)
I'm really glad I saw this because I was going through this exact same thing last year and it was impossible to find anybody that had gone through something similar. I was charged with academic dishonesty and received the standard two semester suspension at my school. It was the worst thing I've ever gone through. But the good news is that you can still get into a really good law school with a really generous scholarship. I've been accepted to every school I've applied to in the T25 and received very generous scholarships from most of them.
I really don't think you need to hire a consulting person. I didn't and my case of plagiarism sounds more serious than yours. Here's my advice:
1. Every application will require you to submit an addendum explaining what happened and how it was resolved. DO NOT MAKE EXCUSES. You were charged with academic dishonesty. I don't care if it was the professors 1st year and that it was only one sentence. Own up to it, admit you made a mistake and write about how you've grown from the incident. If you do not qualify and lessen the seriousness of the incident, schools will be pretty forgiving.
2. Knock the LSAT out of the park. At the end of the day, law school admissions is a numbers game. Schools want to raise their GPA/LSAT medians so they can rise in the rankings. If you have a strong LSAT score and/or a strong GPA, they'll care a lot less about your plagiarism. I took the LSAT 3 times and eventually scored in the 95th+ percentile. Had my score been in the mid 150's, I think schools would've been less understanding.
3. I think this goes without saying, but you have to absolutely avoid any other C&F issues at all costs. Law schools are pretty forgiving when it's just one mistake, but if you show a pattern of lapses in judgement, it's going hurt you.
4. I took a gap year and worked/volunteered during it. I'm not sure it was necessary, but the more time you can put between your incident and law school the better.
5. Keep your head up and don't dwell on the mistake. It fucking sucks. Believe me, I know. But you'll be okay. Get a kick ass LSAT score, write an honest/ forthcoming addendum and watch the acceptances roll in.
PM me if you'd like to ask me any specifics. Best of luck!
What do you guys think, is about a page okay?
How much detail should I provide about the incident?
@jot12345 if you don't mind, how long was yours?
Mine was almost exactly 1 page (double space, 12 pt font). Like one sentence over, I believe.
You should be as specific and detailed as possible. Remember, this will come up again once it's time to sit for the bar, so you need to be as transparent as you can. Include dates, suspension length, and the reinstatement process.
A rough outline of mine was:
- Date/ description of the plagiarism. Date/ description of the charge and suspension.
- Acknowledgement of plagiarism. Acceptance of the severity of the incident. Acceptance of the punishment.
- Context/background/circumstances that led to my lapse in judgement. How I've learned from the incident and what I've done since the incident.
- Date/description of the resolution and re-admittance into the University.