Should I tell my professor that the boy next to me was cheating off my final?

Question

So I am a Jr. in college and I took my math final about 3 days ago. During my final, I caught the boy sitting to my right blatantly cheating off of my paper on four occasions. My test was 2 pages mult. choice and the rest was full answers and problem solving. Throughout my whole test, he made me feel uncomfortable. I am not a "goody-goody" teacher's pet. I am actually not that great in math anyways... Why he would cheat, I do not know. All I know is that this has been a moral dilemma and I really feel robbed b/c I really did work hard and studied. Should I write my teacher an email and let her know what happened? I just do no want her to think I was an accomplice.

Answer 1

A face to face with the teacher would be better - explain just what you wrote that "you feel robbed and that you worked hard and studied" - I really like math, although I am not too great at it, if I did all the work, why should someone else benefit from it.
Any teacher worth their salt would take what you said into consideration and know that it would be difficult for you to come to them with something like this. A real accomplice would sit back and try to back peddle their way out of it it the teacher came to you with their suspicions.

Answer 2

In general, unless I would see a crime committed (not a misdemeanor like a parking violance) I do not believe in the proverbial "tattle telling" However, in this case, this moran is involving you. DO NOT say a word to him at first. If you give him a chance, he will screw you again. He really sounds like a user. But since he did involve you, you need to go to the professor and describe objectively what happened. Be sure to add about feeling so uncomfortable about the whole thing. Do it soon because the prof will wonder what took you so long and start thinking maybe you too were involved inthe cheating efforts. Stay away from the moran, don't ever sit next to him again if you can avoid it. But if he sitts next to you in the future, unavoidably, tell him you are on to him and he better not try anything. And say that very harshly and sternly. He will respect nothing less, being an insensitive idiot.
Yes you do need to report him because if your papers are too identical the prof may suspect both of you for cheating. He is sneaky and untrustworthy but not to bright. Keep in mind you can outsmart him.

Answer 3

Yes you should say something to your professor about it. Just realize something might not be done because it will be hard to prove, considering math is a subject you get right or wrong. Unless your test are exactly identical in answers, there really isn't much that can be done to prove that he cheated off of you. They can't put someone on probation just based off an accusation. While it is not fair, there are always going to be people trying to cheat the system. While something might not be done about it the professor can now keep on eye on this guy during test times.

Now here are some ways you can protect yourself. First off if you don't have assign seats don't sit next to the boy. If you do ask your professor if you can move. If you are stuck next to this boy put your book bag between you or if you have to revert to elementary school, put up an empty folder between the two of you. Cover the perimeter with your arm. Do whatever you have to to put a block between your paper and this boy.

Answer 4

Yes, if your professor gets any sign that your papers are too alike it could be you who gets the blame for cheating. The professor will have no way of knowing who's telling the truth. Ask the professor to keep it confidential. Most likely what will happen is that professor will make it impossible for him to cheat off of you again. Or he will catch him in the act and he'll be none the wiser that you turned him in.

Answer 5

Are you able to move to a different seat, or take your tests at a different time than this person, its kind of a gray area when it comes to cheating because a lot of people do cheat. Do things to make yourself feel comfortable, really what do you think the teacher will do if you do go to him/her?

Answer 6

This is a hard one. If you do not tell then if she notices the same answers she will think you were part of it, or even cheated off his paper.
Then again if you say something then this boy will be looked at and you will be suspected anyways...

If you feel robbed (which you should be) go a head and say something. Why should a cheater get away with it and you get a bad rep if it does get noticed?
I hate cheaters!!!

Answer 7

Don't worry about it. For a multiple choice test, they're not going to notice anything that would possibly implicate you as an accomplice. Furthermore, the guy next to you isn't going to get reprimanded or anything, because it's he-said-she-said. Just let it go and study for your next exam. Karma will take care of the guy next to you.

Answer 8

No. This is your neighbors problem. You might have a high score and the professor may not know. So why would you want to take a different test again?

Answer 9

I would say something. A college degree indicates a level of knowledge that people rely upon to gauge a person's level of competency when hiring for a job. If that person got their degree fraudulently (by cheating their way through school), they could end up hurting someone.

Answer 10

Tell indeed. The cheater was probably a desperate young man who knew he had no chance of passing the course. Do not jeopardize your hard work by possibly becoming a suspect in the instructor's mind.