Taking easy courses..

[Guest archchivalry]

Hello.

 

I got into science undergraduate program.

This program has a lot of flexibility so I can

choose languages course as well.

 

Let's say I'm a Japanese

and I was born in Japanese and lived there for 15 years

and come to Canada.

(So, my Japanese is better than English)

 

Will I be able to take Beginner's Japanese in university

course just to boost up GPA?

(By screwing up placement test on purpose..)

 

Will medical school think I "cheated" to get GPA

or something?

 

Thanks for replying one stupid question.

[Guest kodackmoment]

Theoretically, you can, I know of people who have. . . but ethically, it's up to you to decide if this is the hand you want to play. Some would call it strategy, others misrepresentation. Up to you really, but if your place of origin is ever on a form, it might give you away

[Guest CTU24]

I would be very careful w/ that b/c it could come out at an interview...especially open file interviews like U of T.

 

For instance, if you have on your sketch/essay 15 years in Japan and intro to Japanese on your transcript that could lead into an interview question...how would you justify that???

 

then again not all interviers are that meticulous, but mine know my file inside and out.

 

So besides the ethical issues that would prevent me from doing it, there's practical reasnos as well...not to mention that is such a waste of a univeristy education

 

 

Anyway, that's my story and i'm sticking to it.

 

CTU24

[Guest jehohertz]

Quote:

 

"Will medical school think I "cheated" to get GPA

or something?"

 

Well, I hope so because you did. Look, I've been in the IT world for 5+ years and have been programming since I was 5. Am I going to take an Intro to Computers or some course like that? Yes, I will ace the thing, I've taught computer courses at Conestoga College.

 

However if I _DID_ do that I sincerly hope the admissions people's BS-meter starts bleeping, sirens going off, bells ringing because obviously there was _no_ need for me to take that course. It would be completely lazy for me to do that and I sincerly hope our future doctors aren't lazy and cheating to get into med school.

 

You may want to review your ethics on this one. Sorry if this sounds harsh but seriously, look at it from outside yourself and I think you will find it at the very least a little slimy and underhanded.

 

Oh and don't be surprised if they do find out. I was involved in the hiring process of new sysadmins, tech support staff, etc. Those that lied on their resume it was _very_ easy to tell they didn't know what they claimed to know. My guess is somebody pretending to be stupid, even "screwing up placement test on purpose.." would just as easy to detect. What did we do with those people? Gave the 'ol "thanks for coming by" and promptly told our HR person not a chance in hell, they were liars.

 

The medical profession _SHOULD_ (I've been in the real world, I know should and do are to seperate things) pride itself on high ethics, and cheaters should question why they want to go into the medical profession in the first place. Those without should move the States and work on "Extreme Makeover" or "The Swan" or whatever new Frankenstein-like show is the flavour of the month.

 

Wow. 2 things that irked me today. Sweet.

[Guest lex]

If you want to play the numbers game, you’d be foolish to hide 15 years of experience in Japan and your fluency in Japanese in favour of a slight boost in your GPA that could be attained by taking a class beneath your abilities.

 

I imagine that members on an admissions staff would question a beginner’s Japanese language class. One might argue that misrepresenting your knowledge in a “backwards” or regressive manner is no less unethical as sending in someone else to take the MCATs in your place.

 

As mentioned by CTU, taking a beginner’s class would be quite a waste of your time. Take advantage of your time in university to learn and grow, not to show off what you already know. Don’t cheat yourself – if you have to resort to purposefully screwing up placement tests to get into medical school or any other similar activities, you may not be academically ready to handle the medical curriculum. Keep in mind that it’s not just getting into medical school that makes you a doctor – that’s just the first step. You have to perform well when you get in and there won’t be any easier classes to drop into once you’re there.

 

Ask yourself – if you found out that the surgeon who was about to operate on you or a family member had utilized deceptive techniques to make his way through his education, would you trust him/her?

 

OK, here’s a test. If you want to know if a medical school would think you were cheating:

 

Consider calling the medical school to ask them directly whether they’d be OK with whatever you were thinking of doing. You may find out that you already know the answer to your question.

 

 

edited to correct html

[Guest archchivalry]

Thanks guys and gals for reply

 

I'm just worried that I was going to

try to learn new language in university

and thinking about many people who

actually have sufficient knowledge with the language.

 

BTW, do language course counts as humanity course?

[Guest marbledust]

Among the strangest questions I have come across on this board...

 

Ethical questions aside, even if you could fake it through the placement exam how would you handle the course? An introductory course assumes the student's have no prior exposure to using the language. When you are called upon to speak out loud in Japanese, what would happen? The prof would quickly know whats going on - they are generally experts in the language. If the instructor chose to make an issue about it, I would imagine this could fall under academic integrity or misconduct guidelines at some schools, which could result in disiciplinary action.

 

Is it worth risking your academic career to get one A? I'm not exagerating. These issues are taken seriously.

[Guest peachy]

Wow, you haven't even started university yet and you're already looking out for dishonest ways of taking bird courses?

 

If you think you're a reasonably bright person, then why don't you trust yourself to take regular courses in which you will learn something and do well enough to get into med school? This may astonish you, but lots of people actually do it! Surprising, isn't it! :eek

[Guest aneliz]

Faking a placement test at the school where I did undergrad was classified as 'academic dishonesty' and punished equivalently to handing in a copied essay or sneaking notes in to an exam, etc. Most language profs are VERY good at picking up non-beginners in a beginner course...because they ARE on the lookout for them...you are not the only person to think up this strategy for whatever reason.

 

People that were caught 'faking' in language course (which does count as humanities) were FAILED for that course and had a note put in their record about academic dishonesty.

 

Also be aware that most med schools have a disclaimer about submitting 'false or misleading' information as part of your application - in most cases they will disqualify you and/or rescind any acceptance that you may have gotten.

 

While cheating may seem tempting in the short term, it is NOT in your best interests to cheat - the possible long term consequences (course failure, academic dishonesty charge, automatic rejection from a med school, etc make it just not worth it.

[Guest 007]

I agree with ALL that's been said above. To answer your latest question...yes, language courses do fall under the humanities label.

[Guest marbledust]

I'm just worried that I was going to

try to learn new language in university

and thinking about many people who

actually have sufficient knowledge with the language.

 

This statement doesn't make any sense to me. Are you saying you want to study a language in university and are afraid that others have the same idea as you, ie faking a placement exam, and you will be at a disadvantage? Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

If that is what you are saying, that will not happen. Introductory language courses at the university level assume no prior knowledge of language and are for those just beginning with the language. Hence the placement exams - if students have previous knowledge, of for example Russian, the test will indicate what level (introductory, seond year, etc) of Russian they should enroll in. This is why it would be considered unethical and dishonest to flub a placment exam on purpose.

 

If you are interested in a language course I would encourage you to do so. They can be great fun, although a lot of work. But in any course you take, language or otherwise, I would focus on my own performance and learning rather than the other students around me - you will do better and enjoy school more.

 

As an aside, in all the language courses I have taken there were many people who got As, but you generally do need to work at it because for every class the range for A grades began around 93% - and this was across 3 different post-secondary institutes. Languages are not always a quick easy GPA booster. But very worthwhile to take

[Guest antissa]

I think maybe he meant since he was already at a disadvantage for english (because he's fairly new to it whereas everybody else is already proficient at it) so he needs an advantage in Japanese

[Guest marbledust]

Well...taking one class in Japanese and getting an A won't, unfortunately, help with problems that may arise in other classes due to difficulties with English. Doing relatively poorly in other classes won't be offset by an A in Japanese. You can't really look at it as the other students having an "advantage" due to the fact that they are native English speakers. It also doesn't reflect upon your intelligence obviously of you find the courses tough.

 

If it is a concern for you, try to book an appointment with the counselling services at the university you are attending/planning to attend. They can help refer you to on-campus services (tutoring, etc) that may be able to address the language issue. It's better to look into this sooner or later and even before the school year begins if possible.

[Guest aneliz]

Regardless of whatever 'disadvantages' you may have in some courses, it is no justification to cheat.

 

Using that logic, someone who can't spell but is brilliant at math would be justified in 'faking' a math placement test and then taking high school equivalent level math, math for arts students, etc to boost their GPA because they may not get the highest marks in written-work based courses.

 

Cheating is still cheating...and is wrong...regardless of the motivation.

[Guest Gem2005]

Hi there,

 

I agree with everything that was said, cheating will get you in much more trouble. In addition, med school is a vocation (hard work, commitment, trust, playing with people's lives...) and the first thing before grades that will throw you off, is if you singlehandedly proove that you dont always use your best jugement or ethical values.

 

I think you need to think more about taking courses that will be a managable load for each semester, and working hard to get the best possible grades. Furthermore, if you want to take a few easy courses, there are soooo many of them, and having been exposed to course material does not mean that course will not be easy!