Advice for a transfer in a bad situation

<p>I know everyone is going to say I deserve what I get, but I will completely admit it was really stupid and take responsibility for what I did I just had no idea of the magnitude of what I was doing.</p>

<p>I went to Northeastern, on scholarship, for a year after high school (2007-2008). In my time there I did horribly academically and got in trouble a couple of times. The year ended with me getting in trouble one last time and I was facing some very serious consequences so I preempted them by withdrawing about a week before spring finals. So all in all my record from NEU has a sub 1.0 GPA and 1 disciplinary infraction (the others remain pending because I withdrew before they could rule on them).</p>

<p>For the fall '08 I attended community college and feel I did very well, grades haven't come yet but I expect they will be good. Here's where the problem comes in: I applied to Boston University for spring '09, but I omitted NEU from my transcript. Although I did include my semester at CC which at BU makes me a transfer. I did this on only my assumptions and no prior research. My feeling was that if they didn't find out I'd get in based on my high school and CC grades, and if they didn't find out during the application process I'd be in the clear. If they did they would reject me and keep me from applying again. At the time I would have been fine with that.</p>

<p>The twist is that I got accepted. That's when I did some research, mainly on these boards. When I got the letter I was pumped beyond belief, and I'm all ready to send in my housing deposit but after reading a little I'm very worried. From what I've seen people say even if they don't find out during the application process, they will DEFINITELY find out soon after. My question is should I just go to school and pray to every god there is that it works out or would I go to Boston for a week only to find out they looked me up and kicked me out? I'm afraid I've just taken myself from a bad spot to an even worse spot.</p>

<p>I realize this is a long and unamusing post, and I thank you if you've made it this far. I'm just looking for a little advice. I'm fine with you calling me an idiot, cause I am, as long as you have something else to offer.</p>

<p>Catch 22:</p>

<p>If you say nothing, they could rescind your admission in the coming years and kick you out after months of work or worse, revoke your degree post-graduation if they ever found out, as you essentially lied by omission.</p>

<p>If you tell them now, they could rescind your admission now.</p>

<p>I don't think you're an idiot and hate that one bad semester can damn us all for eternity. Your upward trend tells me and everyone else that you improved yourself and sought to better your situation. Talk to someone who is in a position to tell you what your options are and what is tactically the wisest choice. Good luck and I wish you the best.</p>

<p>well i wouldnt condemn you for a poor performance your first semester in college...you didnt do well, worse things have happened...i would never look down or up on somebody because of their academic performance...however, when you lie to a school in order to be accepted, you have just taken that spot away from somebody who actually deserves that spot, who was waiting eagerly to hear their decision like the rest of us, only to find out that they didn't get in because some imbicile decided to lie on their application...that crosses the line from academic performance into basic morality...because you cheated, somebody else won't get into their dream school. Unlike wayward trojan who I laud for having more patience for people like you, I sincerely hope that whether you rescind your application or whether they find out later that you have lied that you get blackballed from attending another 4 year institution...</p>

<p>and NO i, nor anybody, should give you advice on how to more efficaciously cheat the system...You have some nerve coming onto this board asking people to give you advice on whether or not you can sucessfully cheat your way into college at the expense at somebody else.</p>

<p>Thanks trojan for coming at this more from the logic side instead of the moral side.</p>

<p>Duffle I agree with you, I screwed up. Like I said, at the time I didn't realize the magnitude of my action, but the simple fact is I already took that action. And it may make me a terrible person but now that I've put myself in this situation I've got to look out for myself. Both out of self-preservation and selfishness. Its about a week before move-in so if I turned down the acceptance now would someone else get the spot? If yes then I seriously would be a dirtbag to go, but if no then it wouldn't affect anyone except myself. What's done is done, I'm just trying to see where to go from here.</p>

<p>Beyond people's opinions of me as an amoral ******* and for those reasons this has become sort of risk management. What is the chance of this coming out vs. the chance of it not? </p>

<p>I am not asking for anyone's help in cheating the system. With the action I took I already have. I'm just asking for a morally unbiased, rational opinion on the situation.</p>

<p>yes you are asking people to help you cheat the system</p>

<p>you are asking us whether or not you can get away with your chicanery...helping you one way or another by evaluating whether you can get away with lying would precisely help you cheat the system</p>

<p>and i honestly don't think that youre a bad person...or at least i dont know if you are one..but clearly you have made a horrible mistake...</p>

<p>but if you are serious about trying to remedy the situation, which it does not appear that you are outside of your own self-interest, then consider an option that you did not put forth: tell BU that you lied on your application. Straight up. They'd probably kick you out, maybe not, but at least you'd be able to look at yourself in the mirror and not have to reference yourself as a "terible person" and a "dirtbag"...the choice is yours</p>

<p>Tell them. I believe colleges can rescind degrees even after they've been conferred. On a smaller scale, I recently heard about a student getting a certain grade in a class, and the professor finding several semesters later that out a paper he had submitted was plagiarized. The professor went back into the records and gave the student an F in the class.</p>

<p>If nothing else, you would have this fear hanging over your head for the rest of your life...</p>

<p>If the college rescinds your admission, just keep going to community college and reapply other places in the next application cycle. You will likely be fine, even with your one bad semester issue.</p>

<p>Annika</p>

<p>this really is a bad situation! ahh!
everyone says honesty is the best policy, but i can understand why you might not want to say anything to them. </p>

<p>i think we all know what you have to do though. </p>

<p>it will be hard to be that honest with bu, but maybe you will be rewarded for your honesty? you should always let your conscience be your guide, so do what you feel is right. </p>

<p>i am trying not to look at this morally, but i don't want you to get kicked out after you are there for a year or get your degree revoked. it's better to be honest now so you don't create a bigger problem later. </p>

<p>good luck! we all have put ourselves in bad situations so don't be too hard on yourself.</p>

<p>I join those who like your honesty, think your upward trend says a lot about you and hope that BU would keep your admission in force once you talk to them.</p>

<p>I know that speaking to them is the right thing to do. But I think it would be great if you had advice on how to approach this from someone more knowledgeable than any of us.</p>

<p>I'm going to ask one of the Moderators who might be more knowledgeable if she would check in on this thread. Might not happen right away, because of the holidays, but I hope she will respond fairly soon.</p>

<p>Let us know on this thread, or let me know via PM, if you do hear from another Moderator.</p>

<p>I truly wish you luck and am rooting for you.</p>

<p>Thanks a lot everyone for the posts. Andale I really appreciate that and it may be just what I need.</p>

<p>Earlier on in the fall I had been considering Manhattan College and while speaking to an admissions counselor on the phone I asked him a question. I'm not sure if I posed it as a hypothetical or with specifics, but this is what I remember. I asked, "If I withdrew from the university and applied as a freshman to your school without trying to transfer any credits would I even need to put it on the application?" His answer was, "No, if you're trying to start over without transferring anything don't even put it down." This turned out to be a big reason I didn't see the severity in what I did, and for a time didn't see a problem anywhere.</p>

<p>Now after reading everything around I would just like to know, was I speaking to a janitor or somebody posing as a counselor, or is there some other explanation for his answer? I don't believe this would be something to vary from school to school especially since I would have been applying with the same common app which I later used at BU.</p>

<p>"admissions counselor on the phone I asked him a question. I'm not sure if I posed it as a hypothetical or with specifics, but this is what I remember. I asked, "If I withdrew from the university and applied as a freshman to your school without trying to transfer any credits would I even need to put it on the application?" His answer was, "No, if you're trying to start over without transferring anything don't even put it down."</p>

<p>this would not sound just like an excuse if you had not originally said this:
"I did this on only my assumptions and no prior research. My feeling was that if they didn't find out I'd get in based on my high school and CC grades, and if they didn't find out during the application process I'd be in the clear. If they did they would reject me and keep me from applying again. At the time I would have been fine with that."</p>

<p>
[quote]
"admissions counselor on the phone I asked him a question. I'm not sure if I posed it as a hypothetical or with specifics, but this is what I remember. I asked, "If I withdrew from the university and applied as a freshman to your school without trying to transfer any credits would I even need to put it on the application?" His answer was, "No, if you're trying to start over without transferring anything don't even put it down."</p>

<p>this would not sound just like an excuse if you had not originally said this:
"I did this on only my assumptions and no prior research. My feeling was that if they didn't find out I'd get in based on my high school and CC grades, and if they didn't find out during the application process I'd be in the clear. If they did they would reject me and keep me from applying again. At the time I would have been fine with that."

[/quote]
</p>

<p>well obviously the second quote was made after his research.. and can you blame someone for looking for justification. i really hope not.. seriously, if you have nothing constructive that can actually help the OP then don't post, they already said they are aware of what they have done and it is by no means the end of the world - your past coming to haunt you is entirely different from cheating in school..</p>

<p>they obviously knew they were cheating with this line:

[quote]
if they didn't find out i'd get in...

[/quote]

I'm too agree everyone makes mistakes, I'm sure I've made more than the OP, just irks when someone tries to toss their blame onto someone else. Lying/omitting info on your app is basically the only thing everyone smart enough to go to college would know is wrong. I'm also under the impression someone who didn't lie on their app was not accepted because someone who lied did get in. The obvious answer is to cop up to what's been done, NOT trying to justify it as someone else's mistake.</p>

<p>

don't try to give me **** when the OP was just asking for opinions anyways. That was mine. not all opinions are gonna be ones they like. Admissions reps may in fact feel the same way.</p>

<p>That conversation happened before I applied and at the time it was me trying to salvage a college career, but yes it has now turned into a small justification in my head. It does NOT excuse what I did in anyway. I am not passing off the blame either. I don't even remember the name of the man I spoke to, and it was an informal almost anonymous phone call. I'm pretty positive those were close to the exact words on both sides of the conversation, and I asked the question as a student interested in spring admission. I think its fair however to say I was mislead by someone I thought should have authority to speak on the matter. Beyond that it was completely my fault for not following up on the issue and taking action before I had.</p>

<p>On the application it says to list all colleges previously attended and to send transcripts along with the app. So yes, I knew I would be omitting something which is what prompted me to make that call. Afterwards I didn't pursue it again or give it a thought until, while looking at completely different information, found these boards and a post with a similar situation.</p>

<p>Could he have misconstrued my question? Or does anyone think its possible for a person in admissions at a college to make, what I now know was, such a blatant mistake? Maybe just trying to rush me off the phone or something.</p>

<p>Why would I waste my time writing all of this if I was just providing false information. That would only lead to comments that would be unrelated to my actual situation and ultimately unhelpful. I am looking for opinions, not just ones benefitting me but as many as I can get. I have put everything on the table here to get some advice. From everything so far it looks like there is no way I can go to the school, but I would still like all the information I could get on the subject.</p>

<p>you keep disparaging yourself, but if you really care about the mistake that you made and aren't just giving this board lip service about your situation then, once again, the remedy is simple. Just tell them exactly what happened and let them decide what do to with you. No need to get outside consultation from a moderator or anyone else on this board if youre not just pulling our chain so you can get advice on how to better cheat the system.</p>

<p>I've gotten your point, but unless the mods want to lock this thread then what is the harm in continuing the discussion. Just because you have given your opinion, which in this case is pretty much on point, does it mean that no one else should post theirs? This is an internet forum, if someone reads the post and wants to comment they should. If they don't there are hundreds of other topics to discuss on the boards.</p>

<p>very tough situation andy -- and you're right, dufflebag and his ramblings pose as all but one opinion. I think your best bet would be to be up front because you won't want this looming over your head and to potentially cause even more problems and wasted time in years to come. I think there is a decent chance your admission won't be rescinded, and hey -- worst comes to worst, you got your head on straight now and the right attitude will lead to success in any context. Good luck</p>

<p>and you just gave the exact same opinion that i did, congrats</p>

<p>disparate in its basis and devoid of malice and condemnation</p>

<p>Because you made this thread, there is a higher probability of you getting caught, once more.</p>

<p>I could call and rat you out right now (I won't, probably). But realize that you have put your own knavish situation in the hands of a knavish forum browser.</p>

<p>So let me ask you this,
Do you ___ ____, punk?</p>