High school students have the pressure of classes and maintaining a solid GPA while juggling extracurricular activities as well. Being overloaded with work or forgetting to review for a test can make the thought of cheating an attractive last-ditch effort in a stressed student’s mind.

With advanced technology, high personal standards and the need to impress colleges, it seems as if cheating has become a more frequent option for students in high school. Even considering all the pressures a student feels to perform well, more harm than good will come from working with a classmate during an individual test or assignment.

As students bring more stress upon themselves, they seem to only care about their grades, utilizing any technique that they can get their hands on to snag that A, even if it means possibly facing negative consequences in the future.

According to collegexpress.com, about 75 to 98 percent of college students have admitted to cheating in high school at some point. This demonstrates the aspect that any student, even the kindest and most down-to-earth students are willing to do whatever it takes to maintain a good GPA. The website’s research also revealed that even the most naturally high-achieving kids have cheated before. This implies that individuals in this day and age are much more focused on what their grade point average is than how they actually get and understand the information that is being presented to them.

We’ve all at some point lost sight of the importance of school — which is part of the process of learning — and instead became consumed with where the future will take us. While future goals are important to keep in mind, they will come if the present is handled in the right manner, which involves not copying others’ work and showing your own growth and progress. Good grades will come if you stay focused and try to grasp the information that is given to you.

Speaking of the future, cheating won’t do you any good in college. Say your best friend lets you cheat off them in class, chances are they won’t be by your side while you take an entrance exam to get into a top college. Curriculum material builds off previous lessons and eventually it becomes too hard to catch up with the new material that is being presented. Colleges don’t want any “fakes” admitted. Sometimes scholarships will be given to those who cheated their way through high school instead of the people that actually put in the time and effort.

While in the moment it seems like a good idea, cheating presents more cons to an individual and their future than pros. You won’t always have someone at your side to assist you with tests and quizzes. Eventually, students have to learn to buckle down. As long as a person pays attention in class and does their own work, then they can accomplish anything and no cheating will be required for any reason.

Cheating has become such a common occurrence that everyone should reflect on their behavior and try to improve their academic integrity. People need to understand the difference between right and wrong. There are consequences short and long term that will come if students decide that cheating is the best option. When faced with the temptation of cheating, try to think of whether or not this the best thing for your education and how this might hurt you in the future. Cheating, and these suggestions, should not be taken lightly.