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Scholarships, internships and grad school spots are a scarce resource. Students who cheat can secure a higher GPA with less effort. That effort can be redirect

Scholarships, internships and grad school spots are a scarce resource. Students who cheat can secure a higher GPA with less effort. That effort can be redirected towards looking for internships and improving grad school applications. So I fail to see how cheaters are only “hurting themselves”. Morality aside, if you pursue a cheating strategy your pay-off will be much higher when we consider the scarcity of resources available to students.

ghaff 6y ago
That's why I wrote "mostly." Some reasonable measures to deter casual cheating may well be worthwhile. At some point though you draw a line where you start hurting honest students more than cheaters. You're not going to prevent it 100% absent draconian measures.
read_if_gay_ 6y ago
> Students who cheat can secure a higher GPA with less effort. That effort can be redirected towards looking for internships and improving grad school applications. This is definitely not the reason why most people cheat. > Morality aside, if you pursue a cheating strategy your pay-off will be much higher As with any kind of lie, you will have to cheat more and more to compensate for previous cheating, and eventually your little web of lies will come back and bite you in the ass.
- ativzzz 6y ago
  The first part certainly is why they cheat; higher grades allow easier admissions to jobs and better schools. > As with any kind of lie, you will have to cheat more and more to compensate for previous cheating, and eventually your little web of lies will come back and bite you in the ass. Completely disagree. People cheat to climb the ladder of life without having to put in the work or having the resources required to do bypass that ladder. However, once you climb the ladder high enough, it is much harder to fall back down. Sure you're not going to be a good doctor if you cheat your way through med school but if you cheat your way through undergrad and get into a better program with better resources, more driven peers and better professors, you are better off regardless.
  - read_if_gay_ 6y ago
    At least the cheaters I know cheat because a) they’re unable to pass without cheating and/or b) they’re avoiding putting in effort. The jobs are part of the goal, but that’s true for basically everyone that attenda college. I don’t know anyone who cheats and invests all the saved time into grinding Leetcode. > if you cheat your way through undergrad and get into a better program with better resources, more driven peers and better professors, you are better off regardless. Until you end up doing a surgery. You can’t cheat the real world. Your lack of knowledge will show eventually, and then it’ll limit your opportunities.

ghaff 6y ago

That's why I wrote "mostly." Some reasonable measures to deter casual cheating may well be worthwhile. At some point though you draw a line where you start hurting honest students more than cheaters. You're not going to prevent it 100% absent draconian measures.

read_if_gay_ 6y ago

> Students who cheat can secure a higher GPA with less effort. That effort can be redirected towards looking for internships and improving grad school applications. This is definitely not the reason why most people cheat. > Morality aside, if you pursue a cheating strategy your pay-off will be much higher As with any kind of lie, you will have to cheat more and more to compensate for previous cheating, and eventually your little web of lies will come back and bite you in the ass.

ativzzz 6y ago
The first part certainly is why they cheat; higher grades allow easier admissions to jobs and better schools. > As with any kind of lie, you will have to cheat more and more to compensate for previous cheating, and eventually your little web of lies will come back and bite you in the ass. Completely disagree. People cheat to climb the ladder of life without having to put in the work or having the resources required to do bypass that ladder. However, once you climb the ladder high enough, it is much harder to fall back down. Sure you're not going to be a good doctor if you cheat your way through med school but if you cheat your way through undergrad and get into a better program with better resources, more driven peers and better professors, you are better off regardless.
- read_if_gay_ 6y ago
  At least the cheaters I know cheat because a) they’re unable to pass without cheating and/or b) they’re avoiding putting in effort. The jobs are part of the goal, but that’s true for basically everyone that attenda college. I don’t know anyone who cheats and invests all the saved time into grinding Leetcode. > if you cheat your way through undergrad and get into a better program with better resources, more driven peers and better professors, you are better off regardless. Until you end up doing a surgery. You can’t cheat the real world. Your lack of knowledge will show eventually, and then it’ll limit your opportunities.