Over 90% of the students who appeared before the Ethical Conduct Boards of four rural colleges in Israel during the 2002-2007 academic years on charges of academic dishonesty were Israeli minorities, while they only comprised 35% of the academic populations of those colleges. This study examines demographic factors as determinants of academic honesty perceptions among Arab-speaking students in rural colleges in the north of Israel. Three hundred and sixty-seven college students responded to a three-part questionnaire revealing that the Israeli Arab speaking minority students rely on academic dishonesty as a means of survival in college. Cultural and economic pressures, with high expectation to graduate from their close circle of acquaintances, are behind the desire to succeed, regardless of the means.