Bob CollinsA fairly surprising percentage of the best and the brightest got where they are by cheating.
The Harvard Crimson reports that 10 percent of the incoming freshmen at Harvard admit to cheating on exams, and 40 percent acknowledge cheating on homework. Presumably, the question never came up at the admissions interview.
Recruited athletes were even more likely to admit to cheating — 20 percent admitted to cheating on an exam, compared to 9 percent of students who were not recruited to play a varsity sport at Harvard. Twenty-six percent of recruited athletes said they had cheated on a paper or take-home assignment, compared to 16 percent of non-recruits.
Across the board, the incoming freshman class reported higher rates of cheating than did Harvard’s Class of 2013 in a Crimson senior survey conducted last spring. In that survey, 7 percent of graduating seniors said they had cheated on an exam, and 7 percent said they had cheated on a paper or take-home test. Thirty-two percent of graduating seniors said they cheated on a problem set or homework assignment during their undergraduate careers.
Men were more likely to cheat than women, the survey indicated.
Twenty-six percent of the incoming freshmen — a plurality — said they intend to concentrate on economics or government.
Early this year, Harvard quiz teams were stripped of their championships after it was revealed they cheated.
