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How Do I Stay Honest? A Student-To-Student Guide

• Make a commitment to yourself that your education is a valuable tool which you need to succeed in life. Academic dishonesty does nothing to strengthen this tool.
• Get acquainted with your professors, by doing this, you develop trusting relationships that will benefit you in the long run. For example, they will be more than willing to help you out by writing reference letters for jobs and graduate school.
• Understand that all of the information you learn in college will be relevant to you at some point in your life. For example, at your new job your boss is very interested in politics. If you were paying attention in your college political science class, you have an advantage over others who were not paying attention. You can hold an intellectual conversation with him or her, something that others may not be able to do.
• Create a competition for grades with yourself (e.g. try to do better next time) not with other students.
• Keep away from tempting situations:

*Do not sit by students known to cheat.

*Don't get together to do homework or work on a term paper with students who don't
  seem honest.

*Always be prepared for tests!

*Know when homework or papers are due and make sure that you leave yourself enough 
  time to complete them.

• Realize that integrity will get you further in life then unearned good grades ever will.

Good Luck and remember that there are others like you who wish to maintain a standard of integrity. Danielle Brown-Garcia, B.A. Psychology, 1997