Why Cheating Is Different in College

Why Cheating Is Different in College No matter what you did in high school when it comes to cheating, you should know that cheating in college is quite different. Its a really big deal. College administration takes cheating seriously. Its not unheard of for whole classes to be expelled for collaborating or outright cheating.  This happened recently at the University of Virginia when a large part of an economics class was caught cheating.  As a freshman, you will be introduced to the honor code at your college. It will outline the rules for your particular institution. Youll also see that colleges have honor courts, where students must go in front of a jury of peers and face charges. Not a pleasant experience for the first year of college. Why Cheating Is More Serious in College When youre caught cheating, even once, you lose all credibility with professors. This is a big loss in college. In high school, we can survive if our teachers lose confidence in us, or even if they dont like us. College is a different story.  Youre going to get to know your major professors pretty well, and youre going to need them for things like recommendations for internships, scholarships, awards, jobs, and special programs. To a great extent, your success will depend on their opinion of you. You cant afford to mess that up. Dont risk this important relationship and lose all respect. Professors are good at catching cheaters. They are smart, they put a lot of time and energy into creating assignments and tests, and they have more time and more resources for catching cheaters. They also have tenure and a little bit more flexibility than high school teachers when it comes to checking out their suspicions and following through with allegations. In high school, theres a tendency to treat cheating less seriously, perhaps because high school students are minors. In college, youre an adult. If caught cheating, youll pay adult consequences.   Your high school education may have been funded by taxes, but your college education is probably funded by you and your parents. Whenever you cheat, you are wasting time. If you cheat in college you are also wasting money. And not just a little bit of money. When you fail a class (and if you get caught cheating, youll probably receive a failing grade), you are losing the money you paid for tuition. This is likely many thousands of dollars! College is competitive. Fellow students will take cheating more seriously in college because they realize whats at stake. Theyre more likely to turn you in. Cheating is for losers. How would you feel if your parent was accused of cheating on the job? What if they were fired for it? Theyd feel the same way if you were caught cheating in college. You dont want to disappoint your parents!

Mastermind Groups

Mastermind Groups Last week I received a wonderful outpouring of understanding from my readers after reading Master Being Yourself. Thanks so very much. I do believe my new group of writers, a small group of like minds, is better for me. This same week, I was invited to a Mastermind Group. Sort of Karma-ish, I think. Here I am closing a painful door, yet another swings open. Id never heard of a Mastermind Group before, so I looked it up. a community of supportive colleagues who brainstorm together to move the members to new heights. Your mastermind group is like having an objective board of directors, a success team, and a peer advisory group, all rolled into one. See more at: thesuccessalliance.com/what-is-a-mastermind-group.html Mastermind groups have been around since the beginning of time, apparently. Benjamin Franklin belonged to a Junto, his title for such a group. Napoleon Hill in his timeless classic, Think And Grow Rich defines a Mastermind Group as, The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony. No two minds ever come together without there Like I stated last week, we have to be happy in our own skins. However, theres nothing wrong with seeking feedback from others, because we dont have all the answers. We dont have to accept that feedback as gospel, but we must learn to appreciate there are options to the limited answers we know. The key is being open-minded about those answers, and mature enough to pick and choose what we want out of the mix and not take anything personal. In other words, remember the goal is still to be happy. Thats why you need a critique group, or beta group, or editorial consultant. Thats why your publisher and agent need to be on your side. Think of such feedback like the hardware store. You have a project (you), and to determine how to build it to the best of your ability, you go into the hardware store and study all the optional tools. You research, ask questions of the experts working in the store, then make your selection, go home, and build your project. Always remember: Advice is optional. The ultimate choices of molding yourself are your own. Regardless how you build, be happy with the result.