<p>I've been enrolled in TNCC (a local community college) for two years with the goal of transferring to the College of William and Mary under their guaranteed admissions agreement. That agreement sets criteria that will earn you admission to the transfer school if they are met. I have exceeded all of them. I've got a 3.9 gpa and have taken all the required classes. However, the agreement also states if you have been convicted of a crime they have the right to deny you, and I have been convicted of several including two felonies for forgery and grand larceny.
I know that when most people hear the term "felon" they get a picture of a hardened criminal who has served time in prison. I totally understand the reasoning for that, but that is absolutely not the case for everyone who has been convicted. I am 23 years old, help my mother support herself work full time and still managed almost straight A's for 2 years (I got one B), I don't drink, do drugs, gamble, or any other risky activity one may relate to a convicted felon.
When i was younger I made some incredibly stupid decisions that wound up getting me convicted of 3 felonies and 3 misdemeanors before I was 21 years old. My crimes are not violent or drug related, but all involve some sort of theft. I was young and stupid and had no idea that I was destroying my entire life before it even began.
I applied to William and Mary as a transfer student after exceeding all the guaranteed admissions criteria including being honest about my past. I explained what happened in a very detailed essay and did everything I could to show them I am no longer that person, (I mean really...is anyone the same person they were when they were 19-21 years old? I hope not) but got bad news the other day in the form of a rejection letter. </p>
<p>Now my question: I want to appeal their decision. All the criteria for guaranteed acceptance was met barring only my criminal history, so it's pretty obvious why I was denied, but I have no idea what chances I have of winning an appeal or how to even start one. It really is upsetting because I think I would be an awesome fit for W&M and I've worked so hard to make it happen just to have it all thrown away because of poor decisions I made in my past. Can anyone give me any advice or guidance on this? </p>
<p>***Also, with regard to the mental image of a felon statement. I have never been to prison, and the longest I have even spent incarcerated was less than 24 hours before I was released on my own recognizance. It’s a shame that the justice system mandates that all felonies remain on your record for your entire life. Violent crimes, crimes involving children, or any other particularly heinous crime should absolutely remain there forever, but situations that are not like that should not. Because I stole something worth more than 200 dollars and committed forgery before I was 21 years old I will have barriers to face for my entire lifetime. Every job application, college application, and even voting or opening certain businesses are difficult or impossible to do or end favorably for me because of this. I am not a criminal, and simply want to make a good life for myself and my loved ones, but since I stole when I was 19-21 years old I will fight the same uphill battle that others who have been violent or malicious to others will (rightfully) have to face.</p>
<p>You can always appeal. Who makes this guarantee? W&M or the community college you attend? Also, perhaps you have, but have you looked into how much it costs to go there? We looked at several colleges for our daughter, and William and Mary was by far the WORST with providing financial aid. It was crazy the difference…almost $30,000 more to attend there than several other elite target schools for us. Good luck. Do you have other school choices?</p>
<p>This is a very hard subject to address. If all you have said is true, I am truly sorry. However you must see this from the admission’s perspective. They are reading text on a page much like I am now. It is hard to give the benefit of the doubt when you have history giving a reason to not give that to you. I don’t think there is much you can do to be honest. Think about it. Say you really did change, and you were no longer that person you were before. Why should they admit you when they have someone else who has exactly the same qualifications but doesn’t have a criminal record? I myself would not admit you. I am being as honest as I can. This is simply my own opinion, which I am guessing would be similar to their train of thought. I really don’t know what you can do. Is there anyway to appeal your felonies? I’m not very familiar with these kinds of things but I think there are ways to reduce them or eliminate your criminal history. </p>
<p>@stepay, He is guaranteed admission as an in state student by maintaining at least a 3.5 average in community college. It’s an agreement between the colleges and VA CC’s. Annual cost for W&M is about $27k in state.</p>
<p>Were all the charges related to one act? I looked up expungement and you don’t appear to qualify. It’s generally for misdemeanors. You can apply to the governor to obtain a pardon. The governor’s office gives out a lot of them; I’m not sure about the current governor. A pardon would close your criminal record to the general public.
and you could truthfully state you have no convictions. The state website that details on it seems to be down right now. I would think if you show good grades, a work ethic, youthful indiscretion, and community involvement you’d get consideration. I think this site would explain it but as I said it’s down now:</p>
<p>One thing you are probably running in to that all VA colleges have an honor code that condemns lying, cheating and stealing. Moral turpitude. Stealing is considered worse than drug possession under honor codes. It wouldn’t be wise to lie on applications (and you didn’t) because with the internet any citizen can run your name through court web sites and find convictions. The have to go to each county or city separately unless they have special software.</p>
<p>In addition I wonder if you could call a parole office and ask if there are any colleges that will offer you a spot. They should be familiar with programs available.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your responses. @OspreyCV22 Unfortunately they are not all related to one event, and I was in fact guilty and pled accordingly, so being granted a pardon on all of them would be unlikely. However, it looks like it would be my only hope of having a normal shot at not only school, but careers, so it won’t hurt to try.
The honor code your talking about is exactly what I’ve ran into. It’s a shame because I truly do live up to it already, and in doing so I was honest and forthright about my bad decisions that were made before I even thought about going to college, let alone what their honor code stated.
That’s a great idea about the parole office. I will call them on monday.
My heart has been set on W&M the entire time in community college and I didn’t even apply to transfer anywhere else. I was hoping they would see me for who I am today and see everything I’ve done to make it there. I had letters of recommendation from an attorney (not one that represented me) who is a graduate of their law school, the director of a Juvenile Detention center that I volunteer at and help get kids on the right track, my boss, and 2 of my instructors, and they still said no.
Do you think I have a chance at winning an appeal with the admissions council there?
I don’t have the money to uproot myself and continue to help my mother with her bills, so any universities out of the hampton roads area would require a miracle to be able to relocate to, let alone get admitted to. </p>
<p>To begin, I’m about as staunch a “law and order” individual as you can imagine (and, I’ve occasionally been criticized on CC for my general conservatism and unforgiving values). I’m a retired senior naval officer and Lockheed Martin executive, my father was a career FBI Special Agent, and (as you would probably expect) I have little tolerance for poor performance and/or comportment . . . and even less for criminal activity. However I want to congratulate you on turning your life around. You have earned admission to W&M (in my opinion) and I believe your criminal past will never reoccur.</p>
<p>In addition, I’d like to offer a suggestion. There’s little doubt that the ONLY reason your W&M transfer was denied is your criminal record – you have accepted responsibly for this and fully acknowledged it in you W&M application. Further, you’re likely smart (you write quite well, and that is important). One can only suspect that your legal problems resulted in “automatic” rejection, and – critically – no official at W&M ever invested the time to discover the “real – reformed, far more-mature and far more-trustworthy – you.”</p>
<p>I’d try to change that; I recommend you request an appointment with a SENIOR W&M official, not with an “admission bureaucrat,” who will obviously be defensive. I’d go so far as to suggest that ask your state legislators to intercede and request/demand that you be heard, if necessary (remembering that W&M annually receives considerable funding from the Commonwealth).</p>
<p>When you sit down with, for example, W&M’s provost – and the meeting is sure to be BRIEF – the only points to be made are:
W&M has clearcut CC transfer policies and you have met/exceeded every one of them.
Is it reasonable – or fair – for your entire future to be compromised by serious youthful errors, but ones that you have so clearly put behind you?</p>
<p>I wish you good luck. You should be proud of what you’ve accomplished in recent years. Whether or not you matriculate at W&M, your long-term future is bright, because you haven’t made self-serving excuses, but you have reformed your life.</p>
<p>@ospreycv22 - Ah yes…hard to think of W&M as getting lots of money from the state. I don’t live in VA which is the main reason it was so expensive for us.</p>
<p>@TopTier
Thank you very much for your response. Given your background and expressed values, I truly appreciate your encouraging advice. I was very upset over this decision, so much that I had essentially thrown in the towel, so to speak. I will be having a conversation with a dean of admission tomorrow afternoon to get a more elaborate explanation for my rejection. She has been on my side throughout the admission process, and, hopefully, will provide me with the avenues to the senior officials that you mentioned.</p>
<p>@youneverknow41: Thank you for your kind remarks and I offer every good wish for tomorrow’s meeting. I know you understand this, but please NEVER GIVE UP. You’ve already accomplished the hardest elements required for your enduring success, certainly you – and everyone else, for that matter – will have occasional setbacks, but in the long-run you’re going to be very fine shape. Attitude, values, HARD WORK, integrity, and concern for others are a near-guaranteed formula for success, happiness and satisfaction.</p>
<p>I spoke with the admissions dean this afternoon. She told me that everything was perfect in my application and I could not have done anything better. However, she said the committee was concerned that not enough time has passed since my trouble, and was worried about how I would respond to the stress of W&M’s academic rigor. The time factor is obviously not somthing I have control over, but my healthy response to stress could possibly be demonstrated. I was told that if I applied again in the fall I it wouldn’t hurt and I would have a 50/50 chance, also, she stated that persistence is taken into consideration. when reviewing applications. </p>
<p>I’m not sure of how to demonstrate my commitment to positive behavior under stress without them allowing me to do so as a student enrolled. I have worked full time and attended community college full time for 2 years, including Summer classes, with no break. That has produced a considerable amount of stress, and has been handled well, but aside from that I can’t think of any other clear ways to demonstrate my commitment to positive behavior under stress.</p>
<p>Any suggestions?
I will re-apply in the Fall, but also apply to a couple back up schools just to be safe, and want to have shown them that I respect their concerns and have made a clear effort to make them feel more comfortable accepting me. </p>
<p>Thanks in advance for any and all suggestions. </p>
<p>You know – I think the 2 years is the problem. I know you have totally turned your life around, but two years isn’t muh time. I work with individuals who have felonies and they have to do felony packets (letters, references, etc). I am glad you went to talk to the Dean of Admissions – but I wish they would have given you more to go on. Can you take another year to show that you really have changed? Can you get your probation officer/parole officer to make a call or write a letter on your behalf. Did the Dean of Admission give you any other suggestions on how to increase their confidence in you being able to handle college? I feel for you – I know this is a set back – but it is temporary. You can and will find a school that will take a chance on you. Please don’t give up. </p>