Academic Cheating and Social Relationships

qx3kbenzene
Tue, 25 Apr 2006 11:10:48 +0000

Thanks to everyone who replied. It’s very eye-opening to read details about general test taking processes.

At my current school, the exams are almost always timed and stressful. In the end, it tests more so your speed than your knowledge. From what I’ve read in this thread, it seems that Caltech really trusts its students to uphold certain virtues. This is extremely unique, I’d said. The honor system at my school is completely student run and has an harsh punishment (yea, there’s only ONE punishment). If you are found guilty of cheating, lying or stealing, you are permanently expelled from the university (with very limited capacity for appeals). I found this disturbing because students are rarely given second chances for once-in-a-lifetime-type mistakes. Also, the fact that it is student run makes the processes seem hypocritical at times.

I believe that most students will cheat at least once in school, regardless of how smart or proud they are. Therefore, I think it’s encouraging to see that while some students have cheated at caltech, most of the students have not cheated repeatedly.