Plagiarism at its Best

Adam Wheeler, a former Harvard University student, pleaded not guilty to 20 counts of fraud in a plagiarism case. Wheeler, who submitted references and applications for the Rhodes and Fulbright scholarships, was caught with falsified information. A Harvard professor who was reviewing his application noticed that many of Wheeler’s “completed” works was similar to that of another professor. After further investigation, the professor discovered that the majority of Wheeler’s application had been plagiarized. Following this discovery, Wheeler’s file was under scrutiny by officials and new accounts of plagiarism were found out. Wheeler had allegedly fabricated teacher recommendations, college transcripts, lectures he supposedly taught. Furthermore, Wheeler had received over $45,000 in grants, scholarship, and financial aid money when at Harvard using false information.

This case shows the growing problem of students using false information or plagiarizing on applications. When applying for college, one should always be honest because once the real truth has been discovered, there’s no going back.

University Advisors