I’ve cheated before.

Weekly, or sometimes daily, I’ve cheated, depending on how packed my schedule is at the moment.

I’ve been doing it for years and now I’ve decided to come clean.

I don’t steal answers to a test or buy essays online.

I’m cheating by doing the minimum amount of school work needed to get by.

There have been days when I didn’t complete my 50-page reading. I would get by with a quick read of the Wikipedia page for the topic, then participate in class discussion. I have written 15-page research papers the night before the due date. And I have finished assignments minutes before class started.

I’m not a bad student. I’m not dumb. And I am not lazy. I sometimes live at the law library or MLC during the semester. But sometimes life just catches up to me and I find myself with papers, hundreds of pages to read, presentations, quizzes and a test coming up. I do what I can, and then figure out how to slide by on the rest.

I joke that I am most productive when I have a fast-approaching deadline. I say that hours, not days, are all I need to finish my assignments. And I’m right.

I am very productive the night before a deadline, but that’s only because I have no other choice. And I can finish an assignment but remember not a thing of the topic.

I know you can relate. You’ve probably done it, too.

But why do I end up cramming for all-nighters? My failure to manage time, lack of discipline and my overloaded calendar are parts of the problem.

It’s not always like this. I sometimes get work done days or weeks in advance during daylight hours. But I know that my method – memorizing the material for a test but not actually learning – has turned me, like many students, into students of grades, not students of learning.

Many of us begin each semester figuring out exactly how much work we need to do to get our desired grade.

Every semester, I aim for a certain GPA, working toward the right balance of grades, awards, internships, leadership positions and test scores that will get me admitted to my dream law school.

And I do get the grades and the accolades, but I now realize I’m cheating myself of a quality education.

My situation is not unique. Many of us have more than one major, a job, leadership positions and family problems that overwhelm us.

Add everyday adult responsibilities and something that resembles a social life and I give you one overworked, stressed student.

And unless you have been living under a rock, you know finding a job will not be easy as the economy continues to shed hundreds of thousands of jobs every month.

What to do?

If we want a fighting chance against having to live with our parents again, we have to aggressively look for jobs and here is how we must change our ways.

In job searches we can’t lie.

We can’t hand prospective employers proof of our UGA degree and not possess the knowledge, understanding and quality that degree signifies.

So, let’s not just say our education is our first priority. Let’s prove it.

Stop Facebooking in class. Do the reading. Finish your assignments. Participate in class discussion.

Pursue knowledge, not just grades. Study for tests, don’t cram. Say no to procrastination.

Go beyond the minimum. Manage your time. Adjust your work schedule to free your best studying hours.

Now do all of that.

I will stop cheating.

Will you?

- Yasmin Yonis is a junior from Lawrenceville majoring in newspapers and international affairs