DD paid £130 to get an assignment done for her.

[Piggie90]

DD went away this long weekend and completely ignored her college research project before she went away. Cut a very long story short, she used some of her birthday money (18th) to pay a company (didn't even know they existed) to write a 2500 word project for her.

AIBU to never lend her a penny again? I'm actually fuming.

[ilovesooty]

Probably wasted money. There is quite sophisticated software to identify plagiarism now.

[AhoyDelBoy]

Ooof. I’d be wild too! Not to mention the potential repercussions.. Are you going to encourage her to tell the college? I’m not in the UK so don’t really know what you guys class as ‘college’. Presumably it’s not University but some post school qualification?

[AlexaShutUp]

YANBU, it's cheating. Sadly, these essay mills are becoming very common.

I hope she gets found out. I'd be inclined to tell the college what she has done. There may be consequences, but if she gets away with it this time, she'll almost certainly do it again.

[AhoyDelBoy]

Oh yes and what ilovesooty said. When I did my first degree (graduated 2008) it didn’t exist but when I started study again a few years ago they run your assignment through special programmes to identify plagiarism. She’s fucked basically. I’m surposhe didn’t know about that? We always got a big talk about plagiarism etc

[Purpletigers]

Did you pay for her trip away ? I wouldn’t be giving her any more money either . If she’s caught what will happen ?
Considering the American college scandal I’m sure this happens a lot more often than we realise.

[AhoyDelBoy]

Surprised*

[englishdictionary]

I get that you are mad, what she has done is awful but I can't quite tie it in with your question about lending her money :/

[Disquieted1]

Some would dob in their own child, get her kicked off the course and ruin her future. Not sure I agree with that!

The alarming thing is that she feels that the quick fix, throwing money at an issue, is how to get on. She needs a lesson in what life is really about.
I wouldn't give her another penny. She needs to learn that you have to work for success, not buy it.

[AlexaShutUp]

The anti-plagiarism software only flags up matches, i.e. work that has been copied. It would only flag up a purchased assignment if the same or similar work had been submitted previously. So an "original" assignment could easily slip through undetected. Still, there is a risk that the teacher may recognise that it isn't your dd's own work.

I believe that there is a newer version of the software being trialled to try to address the problem of essay mills. I think it analyses the style of writing and looks at whether it is consistent with other samples of the same student's work. No idea how effective it is though.

[ElizabethMainwaring]

Hi. If she is caught she may well be kicked off the course. I know someone who was doing a BEd and did this. She also wasn't allowed to return to the university years later.

[Piggie90]

Yes all her assignments go through turnitin but this company is apparently "turnitin" friendly". Such a joke they even exist.

Yes, I chipped in some of the money for her break away as part of her present. I just feel to waste money when I do help her when I can, for example I help with her bus pass money and lunch money, to waste so much on that because "she was out of time" makes my piss boil.

[WTFisThat]

I know someone who paid a Chinese student to do their dissertation for them (not at the time, but 2 years hence). I've also heard of students buying ADHD meds to help them focus. No idea if they work.

[howmanyleftfeet]

I've also heard of students buying ADHD meds to help them focus

A lot of undiagnosed ADHD about!

Also, the power of placebo is not to be underestimated...

[Topseyt]

It is disgraceful. It is cheating. Yes, I would tell college tutors about it if I could.

In the end though, it is herself she is letting down.

I hope the work gets a really low mark, so that she realises she has wasted her £130.

[BinkyBaa]

Yanbu for being annoyed, I wouldn't tell the tutors though.

If this gets found out, theres a fair chance it'll ruin her life and block her from higher education.

If the anti-plagiarism software catch her out, then it's all her fault.

If you tell the tutors yourself, then I wouldn't be surprised if she blamed you and it ruined your relationship too.

[wigglesniggles]

Ingenious but high risk. She's copped out. I can't imagine they won't notice the project is not hers. Why did she ignore it?

[ElizabethMainwaring]

Has she already submitted it Piggie90?

[Tavannach]

Won't she get turfed off her course when they find out?
Because your DD hasn't actually done the assignment she hasn't got the knowledge she would have gained from doing it herself. I would think that would become obvious over time.

[RamblinRosie]

They can also compare other assignments she’s done and see if the style is consistent. She’ll be caught, if not this time, then next.

You WNBU to withdraw support, she’s cheated , she does not deserve her qualification.

If she does, somehow, manage to cheat her way through, she’s cheating any future employer.

[Humpy84]

I don’t think you should dob her in, the consequences are too great and will be noted possibly on her academic transcript forever, Just shame her and go through the possible repercussions. She needs time management skills and to speak to a counsellor about this. She also needs to address what she wants out of this course and her life goals, values etc. Does she care about her future occupation and being good at it or is it all for show ? If not that, what about her future earning potential from being good at her job ? She needs to learn and appreciate the value of education.

[Rosesaredead]

They probably won't find out, these articles are tailor-made unless she used a crap company. Good for her, it's just one assignment. Using her initiative! 🤷

[Rosesaredead]

Also if you did report her she'd be immediately expelled as per most uni and college rules so that would be massively unreasonable and she'd probably cut you out of her life

[Sweetpea55]

It's cheating. Disgusting

[Adversecamber22]

That level of cheating would have involved a meeting and would have resulted in expulsion at both the Universities I worked in.

[CallItLoneliness]

I would check the rules of her college, if you can. I work in a (well-regarded) university outside the UK and for a first offence students get an educational meeting (we can't even give them 0 for the assignment, which pisses me off no end, but that's another story). It does mean we can throw the book at them when we catch them a second time, though--if the rules at her college are like this, then I would dob her in.

Having said that, my experience is that the ones who cheat get their comeuppance eventually anyway; they're usually not as crafty as they think they are.