<p>We have been wrestling with how best to handle this issue. My son, who is at a boarding school, was disciplined for his presence at a gathering when pot was being smoked and, of course, has to report it to the colleges. He is a senior and coaches from several top colleges (incl. Ivy's) are interested in him. He has been on OVs and we all feel it is only fair that he lets the coaches know that about this incident before any LL or slot is offered. His recommendations would be stellar and would mention the negative drug test results after the incident. Any ideas on how to approach this situation would be most appreciated.</p>
<p>Pot is pretty ubiquitous in some social circles and hard to avoid if you go to a party that has more than a few people at it. Unless they are clueless, coaches are aware of this. I think a phone call to the coaches of the schools he is most interested in with something along the lines of, " hey coach, sorry to bother you, but there’s something you should be aware of …" and then a simple explanation of the facts without any attempt at spin would be my suggestion. Good luck.</p>
<p>I look at this entirely from a different perspective. If he was not charged or convicted of a crime, and tested negative after the incident, I would not bring it up period.</p>
<p>If the incident comes to the coaches attention, you can then explain the situation and outcome(tested negative). Your son is guilty of bad judgement which is not a crime.</p>
<p>The student and his school will be reporting this disciplinary action: he on the Common App (which has a question about disciplinary action) and his school, in its counselor rec. So admissions will be aware of it as they read his material. Best for coach not to be blindsided. A friend’s son went through the same thing (but his infraction was more serious) informed coach and it ended well for him. Which was lucky, I agree. Just saying that this information is going to be out there and your advocate (coach) should know too.</p>
<p>You need to see how/if it will be noted on his transcript or LORs.
You can pay to have him tested if you are concerned about him testing positive, of course keeping the results private with doctor’s records+ confidentiality concerns.
I would get a lawyer and ask what rights the bs has with the results of the test and reporting to colleges.</p>
<p>If your son received any disciplinary action he has to report this on the common app, he will be much worse off if it is discovered that he did not deal with this issue in a forthright manner
Yes, he needs to let the coach know as well.
My son had a disciplinary issue on his record too (not substance, academic dishonesty). He dealt with it head on in his essay on the common app, explained what happened, what he learned. He also let his coach know about it and the coach still gave him support through the admissions process and it was all fine. I felt he had to be accountable for his mistake. I know of a number of other athletes with similar stories and all had good outcomes. We learned through this that as long as a student is honest, shows heartfelt remorse, does not repeat the offense and take responsibility they will be ok</p>
<p>Make sure you check with your son’s boarding school’s policy on their disciplinary ladder. The other posters are correct: if a student has been suspended the HS must report it to colleges. Many schools, however, have a “first level” infraction which is not reported on the transcripts. And I would be wary of believing that “in some circles” pot is a minor infraction. I can assure you, at the high school level, on campus pot use is NOT lightly dismissed.</p>
<p>If this is the case, and your son was given a “probabtionary warning” or whatever the school may call it, then I agree with Fenway and would NOT bring it to the coach’s attention. If, however, you are told by your college guidance counselor at the HS that the infraction will be reported, then you should definitely reach out to the coach. No one likes to be blindsided.</p>
<ol>
<li>Ask the college counselor at his school if it will get reported by the school, either on the transcript or in the counselor’s report.</li>
<li>If it will get reported, ask the college counselor what this means for college admission. What exactly will the school report and how will it be addressed in the counselor’s report? If the counselor knows the college admission representative, and if it’s a prep boarding school, s/he most likely does, s/he should have a good idea of the impact on admission. Your counselor may even contact your school’s admissions representative.</li>
<li>If it gets reported to admission, your son could then inform the coach and also will be able to tell him how his school and counselor see the situation.</li>
</ol>