I’m considering applying to a religious college for a grad program. They have a code for students part of which it is required they do not gamble. My entire income comes from horse races or which I would be paying for the program up front without financial aide. I could technically take the two years off from horse betting however I’m wondering how these codes stack up? For one, would such a program require my tax information to learn where my money comes from if I’m not asking for financial help? Two, is there a way that a school could learn that I gamble without me volunteering that info to either the school or fellow students? As in could they access my tax information or again would it be normal for a school with such a policy to request my tax returns prior to starting the program? Thanks
How do you intend to pay your living expenses while you’re in school? Are you going to continue to gamble? If you get a degree and the school finds out you violated their honor code, they could rescind your degree. Why don’t you find a grad program where you don’t have to lie about how you make a living?
I have no idea whether they would ask for your tax returns, but off the top of my head, I’d say that asking for everyone’s personal tax info and that of their parents in order to investigate their sources of income seems unlikely.
They absolutely cannot access your tax information without your permission.
I’m a little confused. Are you concerned that they’ll find out you were gambling before you were a student? Is that even a violation of the student code?
Or are you planning on trying to secretly gamble while you’re a student?
Are you sure this is a school where you will be comfortable?
If you lie it’s a really poor way to build your base of ethics for a successful business career. Honesty over MBA. Or just go to another school. Integrity and ethics are what you do when no one is watching. You have it. Don’t give it away.
Why are you even considering this specific program? What do you think you would gain by studying there that you cannot gain studying at a different institution?
Clearly, it is not a good match for you if you have earned your income in a way that is specifically forbidden by the institution. You need to find a different place to study at.
Why go to a school whose code you don’t agree with?
austinmshauri: I can pay upfront out of pocket and take two years off without gambling. I would return to the activity after the program. however it would be nice to be able to get away with it during off periods so to buffer my account. As for taking my degree away, how would they figure out? This is what I’m trying to figure out. I’m not going to be telling them nor peers about how I make my money. So the only way they can figure out is if my name is published to a winning (like winning the lottery which I don’t play) or if they request my tax returns to determine my source of income. Of which the only reason why I can see them asking for such information is for financial aide purposes. So what I’m asking is have people heard of schools doing background research around income sources when the student pays out of pocket?
millie: its against code to gamble while a student (on or off campus). thanks for thoughts on the school’s likelihood to investigate income source. it would be nice to be able to continue to gamble during off periods to maintain a certain level of funding. I do not know how the school would or could learn about my income unless I was seeking aide which I am not.
privatebanker; understandable. But I view ethics differently. I’m okay with lying if it is convenient and manageable. Judge me how you will, but that’s the way I am.
happymom and bopper (and others who asked a variation of this); I’m looking for a school with low protests. My undergrad and another grad program I did were at schools that were constantly in protests and the student body overwhelming were far far left. For this degree program I would like to be at a school with a more conservative student body and low protest frequency. What I plan on taking away from the degree is primarily knowledge of the subject I will be studying which I apply to my gambling career (for example my one masters is in statistics). Sure one can just read up on it themselves, however I feel interacting with profressors is an important quality towards gaining different insights and perspectives.
Thanks everyone for the answers, I appreciate it. New here so I wasn’t sure if it would be answered or not.
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privatebanker; understandable. But I view ETHICS differently. I'm okay with lying if it is convenient and manageable. Judge me how you will, but that's the way I am.
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I do not think that word means what you think it means.
I didn’t capitalize ethics. ethics via basic definition from google which fits my understanding of the word “moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity.”
moral via google search, “concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human character.”
Morals can differentiate by individual. You have vegans who refuse to eat meat as a very common example. Thus because morals can differentiate per individual so does one’s ethics. My reply to privatebanker is that our ethics (and basic morals) are different. So what he points out, “If you lie it’s a really poor way to build your base of ethics for a successful business career.” I disagree with this as I’m personally fine with lying when it is necessary. Thus to me from this perspective it’s fine if it’s a “poor” way to build a base of ethics because to me I view it as an approriate tool making it ethical.
I expect that this university would be more than happy to make an example of you and kick you out if they learn that your are gambling while they consider you to be a student, or rescind your degree after graduation if they learn that you had gambled while they considered you to be a student. If you don’t mind losing any friendships formed while studying, or losing your degree, then go ahead with this plan.
But frankly, instead of parsing the meaning of ethics, morals, lies, etc. you ought to look around for a place that is conservative enough for you vis a vis protests, but not religious. Chances are that if you check out the statistics (sometimes called biometrics) program at the agriculture college in your home state, you will find a learning environment that approximates what you have described as being preferable.
Fair point happymom and thank you for the kind reply. I’m not trying to get into an argument on here, but was replying to the reply is all. I suppose I should have ignored it. All I’m trying to do is reply honestly so people can better answer what I was trying to figure out is all. Take care.