42 percent of incoming Harvard freshmen cheated in past: survey

42 percent of incoming Harvard freshmen cheated in past: survey

Well, at least they're honest about being cheats.

A survey by the Harvard Crimson says 42 percent of incoming Harvard freshmen admit they've cheated on a homework assignment or problem set in the past. One in 10 copped to having cheated on an exam.

The jocks especially have a lot to answer for. The Crimson's survey found that those recruited to play sports for Harvard were more likely to have cheated in the past than other students.

Additionally, male freshmen were "twice as likely as their female counterparts to have cheated on an exam and one-and-a-half times more likely to admit to cheating on a paper or take-home assignment."

The number of students who admitted to cheating pre-Harvard is higher than those who graduated from the university last spring. In a similar survey, 7 percent of Harvard's class of 2013  admitted to cheating on an exam, paper or take-home test during their undergraduate years. Thirty-two percent said they had cheated on homework or a problem set at Harvard.

The survey, which covered other topics including student finances, sexual experience and drug use, comes a year after Harvard was embroiled in a cheating scandal that resulted in dozens of students being forced to withdraw.

Incoming freshmen would be well-advised to learn from their mistakes.