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Discussion

Academic Integrity question

Alright so I’m currently a junior pursuing my Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry. I am a premed but also strongly considering accelerated BSN programs at the moment. I have a 3.9 GPA 

when I was a freshman, I made a mistake. I had an open note test where I used my notes, but I forgot that up to that point in the class, the notes I write down weren’t in my own words. So when I got my grade back, I learned that I had committed plagiarism. After discussing what happened with my professor and the conduct committee, I received the following sanctions: a written warning, and a 0 on the assignment. Luckily these were the lightest sanctions, and they allowed me to use this as a learning experience.

So I know how to write about how this incident has made me stronger on an application. To put it simply, I changed the way I took notes. Instead of passively writing down text and trying to memorize it, I focus on my own interpretation of the text itself, and then write it down. It’s definitely a more active form of learning, so it’s had an effect on my studying in general. Additionally I serve roles at my school such as a volunteer peer leader and tutor, where we basically help students understand concepts for their classes and stuff. I also try to show them to study more actively, which is what I learned from my own experience.

 

So I just wanted to know if this incident would be like, enough for nursing schools to reject me, or if anyone has been accepted under similar circumstances. Like I said, I’m currently a premed, so I posed this same question to experts on student doctor network (SDN). They told me that medical schools will consider this more minor because it happened in my freshman year. But, knowing how hyper competitive medical school admissions has become, I may not get in anywhere just because.

 

I have looked into the nursing profession a lot, and I think I would really enjoy the role and perks that come along with it. That is why I have looked at accelerated BSN programs. So whether it’s that, or a Generic BSN, would this academic infraction be considered a dealbreaker? 
 

thank you for your time. 

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    I wouldn't think so- esp. since even here you have been able to reflect and own the error. You'll likely have to explain it- but otherwise I think you would be fine. 

    (I used to make admission decision for a nursing program- and I would have accepted you)

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    • Author
    1 hour ago, meanmaryjean said:

    I wouldn't think so- esp. since even here you have been able to reflect and own the error. You'll likely have to explain it- but otherwise I think you would be fine. 

    (I used to make admission decision for a nursing program- and I would have accepted you)

    I’m really glad you think so, and considering your experience and previous position, your reply was very encouraging. I just have two questions.

    1) So outside of the GPA, TEAS score, and prerequisites, what would you say is most important for applicants to have? By that I mean extracurriculars. For example, I was considering getting a CNA certification next Summer and working for a little while, hopefully part-time so I can at the same time as school. If there are any other high quality ECs, I’d really appreciate your thoughts.

    2) So apparently as of this cycle, NursingCAS has removed the questions about academic infractions, along with felonies/misdemeanors/etc. I was wondering how relevant this was, and I had assumed schools would ask these questions in a later part of the process. Would I be correct in this assumption, if you happen to know? 

     

    Thank you so much for your time. 

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    1. I think having some experience as a CNA is the most important besides your science GPA and TEAS. But every school looks at different things- so it is important to know the requirements of the schools you are considering. And DO consider more than one school. 

    2. Every school I know of will require a criminal background check at some point in the process. They also likely have questions on their applications that will screen for this. 

     

    I hope this is helpful- and good luck! 

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    • Author
    On 8/24/2021 at 4:00 PM, meanmaryjean said:

    1. I think having some experience as a CNA is the most important besides your science GPA and TEAS. But every school looks at different things- so it is important to know the requirements of the schools you are considering. And DO consider more than one school. 

    2. Every school I know of will require a criminal background check at some point in the process. They also likely have questions on their applications that will screen for this. 

     

    I hope this is helpful- and good luck! 

    Thank you so much for clarifying. Luckily I won’t have any felonies/misdemeanors/etc. to worry about, just this one academic infraction.

    Since I have heard this happen before, is it a good idea to apply for both a traditional BSN and an accelerated BSN at the same time? Apparently accelerated programs are highly competitive, so I guess this would be a “just in case” scenario. Also yes, I know that it’s smart to apply to more than one school (provided the requirements are the same), especially considering this incident. 

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    I would apply for ADN programs as well. Far lest costly, same NCLEX/ RN at the end- and since you have a previous degree- you can do an RN-to-BSN very quickly once you graduate. 

     

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    • Author
    On 8/26/2021 at 2:02 PM, meanmaryjean said:

    I would apply for ADN programs as well. Far lest costly, same NCLEX/ RN at the end- and since you have a previous degree- you can do an RN-to-BSN very quickly once you graduate. 

     

    Okay, definitely sounds like a good idea. 
     

    In your experience, did you find that applicants that had similar prerequisites but not the exact same would have those counted? For example, my local university (in which I’m currently enrolled) ABSN program requires “survey of Chemistry and lab” as a prereq, but I will have two semesters of general Chemistry +lab. Also intermediate human physiology instead of intro to physiology, general microbio instead of intro to microbio, etc. 

    I suppose that it wouldn’t be an issue to take those courses if I had to, it would just be less ideal due to the added time. Regardless, going by this trajectory I would be 23-24 by the time I applied to ABSN/ADN and this academic integrity violation happened when I was 19. Let’s hope enough years will have passed so that it’d be less of a concern than a more recent violation. 

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    Only the school can answer that. Generally- they will want to examine a syllabus for the course (the university should be able to provide this) to make sure the same content is covered - unless there is a transfer agreement between the two schools. But really only the schools can answer that. 

     

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    • Author
    4 minutes ago, meanmaryjean said:

    Only the school can answer that. Generally- they will want to examine a syllabus for the course (the university should be able to provide this) to make sure the same content is covered - unless there is a transfer agreement between the two schools. But really only the schools can answer that. 

     

    Okay, that definitely makes sense. It wouldn’t be a huge problem either, since it might only take a semester or two and I have gen ED requirements already. Hopefully, like I mentioned, it will add some distance between the incident and by a time that I apply. Thank you so much. 
     

    EDIT: it would take a semester or two IF I had to retake some of the exact requirements 

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