

Always have been, as I’ve seen during my UCLA days of people buying exam answers from previous weekends and paying for papers, etc… I’m glad I never bothered, mostly because of dignity but what because I was poor (although those correlate). Rich people have plenty of ways to game the system, though.
No, it makes very very little difference, I graduated late by about two years and took a gap year after that, too (most people getting PhDs take a gap). People getting into the workforce immediately usually don’t have a huge advantage, either, although they go get a little more pay since they work slightly longer in their lifetime.
What’s generally more important is how you position yourself after graduation. Internships if business, lab if grad school, etc. It’s very easy to shoot ahead or fall very behind, though, as life after graduation is pretty much a matter of luck.