<p>Okay, let me start off with saying I'm a good student. 3.2ish with almost a 1400 Sats (1600), 5 AP classes and the rest honors.</p>
<p>I'm top 39% in my school.</p>
<p>Beginning of Junior year; however, I was arrested for possession of cocaine, and was booked. A friend OD'd and we called 911, when we told them it was coke, they had to call the police and me, my girlfriend, and her friend got arrested. I had to spend about 5 days in jail, and I was put on probation combined with the fact that I spend a month in rehab. I spent the month in rehab, having my best friend copy his notes and hand in my homework for me, since I wasn't allowed on school grounds for a month. I was suspended from school for the remainder of my rehab, and if I stepped on school grounds I could be arrested for Breach of Peace.</p>
<p>So yeah, I went through some major problems. How is this going to affect me getting into a top 100 college? I'm not looking at Ivy's at all, but like a Uconn or decent private school.</p>
<p>Do I need to list that this happened on the application? </p>
<p>Can I make the best of it my writing an essay about it?</p>
<p>Since there was a suspension, it is going to be something the colleges will be aware of if they don't ask for convictions (which many do), since the suspension will show up on your transcript. It will thus be a factor considered in admission and likely you will need to explain your rehabilitation in an essay. In other words, you should assume you will have an issue to overcome at any colleges you apply to.</p>
<p>Just as important is financial aid. You are not going to qualify for any federally-backed financial aid because of your drug conviction.</p>
<p>Yeah, my guidance counselor told me that it will be near impossible for me to get any aid. I'm pretty suer my parents will be able to afford it though, they are both well off.</p>
<p>Who knows, maybe like NORML or another pro-legalization group may give aid.</p>
<p>I don't think NORML is pro-cocaine though...</p>
<p>As far as your situation, I think you will have to report it as many universities have a specific section to list any convictions, as the previous poster mentioned.</p>
<p>Report it and use it to your advantage. I have known former drug users to get into top, very competitive Christian schools, and non-religous schools are infintely more responsive to these things as a whole. The key is to use what you've learned from it in your application wherever you can. Also, research the colleges you want to get into. If any of them are known in particular for high-rate drug problems, they will be less responsive.</p>
<p>A high school coke user is a person who believes he is untouchable, believes he can 'game' the law, the system, his health. Lucky for you--you got the big smack down. </p>
<p>With your record, it isn't possible to 'game' the college admission system. Don't even try. </p>
<p>Hire an independent educational consultant who has worked with troubled students to guide you through college selection and admission. It should cost about $2500. </p>
<p>There isn't a top 40 school that needs to risk admitting a teen drug addict--but there are plenty of top 100 schools that will roll the dice on you. You might look at schools which have a therapuetic component.</p>
<p>
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Just as important is financial aid. You are not going to qualify for any federally-backed financial aid because of your drug conviction.
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</p>
<p>At least two schools (Swarthmore and Yale) have policies that will replace federal aid funds for students with a drug conviction.</p>
<p>Of course, the catch is that you have to get accepted (or re-instated) to Swarthmore or Yale following a drug conviction, which would require a pretty convincing story of rehabilitation.</p>
<p>I agree with others here. It would be very difficult for any of us strangers to offer advice for someone in such unusual circumstances.</p>
<p>
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But my record should be sealed at 18, and at the time I am applying I will be 18. Early September birthday.
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<p>I'm pretty sure you're still required to report it, even if it's sealed. Each individual application should be clear on this one way or another.</p>
<p>"A high school coke user is a person who believes he is untouchable, believes he can 'game' the law, the system, his health. Lucky for you--you got the big smack down."</p>
<p>How unequivocally you say it. (I'm not defending the OP, but simply finding your assertiveness to be a little touch past the barrier between 'advice' and 'blatant generalization.')</p>
<p>"Also, I wasn't addicted, just part of the punishment I get for saving a friends life."</p>
<p>As a recovering alcoholic, I have spent enough years in AA rooms to tell you this with all certainty - the likelihood that your application will be reviewed by a few of us is a sure bet. Trust me, we are more abundant than you think as we are the cop living next door, your kid's teacher, the attorney you pay to handle your estate planning, and the college admissions counselor making decisions. No doubt, there are even some of us posting on this site. That's why I am not going to pass judgment on you. But, I can tell you that a commitment to "own" one's actions is of utmost importance to us. If you make any kind of comments such as the one I quoted above, you will raise a huge red flag indicating an unwillingness to accept responsibility for your actions and a lack of maturity that would most likely cause you to make more bad judgments in the future. Let's be frank, your punishment wasn't for "saving a life" (when's the last time you saw someone get jail time for performing the Heimlich, or pulling someone out of a burning building?). Your punishment was for getting busted snorting/smoking/selling or just plain 'ol being in the company of a very illegal drug. Best just to be forthcoming with the truth, accept responsibility, and be sincere about what the experience taught you. As a footnote, if your not truly humbled, don't bother to feign it since you can't BS the master BS'ers as we have phony radar like you wouldn't believe! Good luck. I am one of many, alcoholic or not, who truly see second chances as something we all need eventually!</p>
<p>You would be a fool to say anything about it on the application... plus if you were a minor and it you are 18 your records are sealed....take the neccesary steps to put it behind you and move foward</p>
<p>not saying anything about it would be lying..the college will find out...my friend was arrested (not for something this serious, but it was a misdemeanor nonetheless) and had to do some ridiculous amount of community service and not get in trouble until he was 18 (not a problem for him, hes not a bad kid he just had one bad night), and now his record is sealed and he attends harvard</p>
<p>Tonight I was arrested for possession of paraphernalia, possession of narcotics, possession of alcohol by a minor, driving under the influence (not alcohol) and refusal to take a drug test. My court date is Tuesday and I'm not sure what will come of this. I'm not worried about having my license taken away, being on probation, or having to do community service but am I worried about how this will affect my chances at getting into a college.</p>
<p>I have a 5.5/6.0 GPA (straight A's, my school uses a weird system), I'm a Junior, and I take all honors and two AP classes. I scored a 1300 on my SATs the first time and have yet to take the time, but with preperation I hope to break 1400. I am also a member of National Honors Society for my school. This is my first offense and I guarantee it will be the last, but the police officers gave me the impression that this will greatly impact my chance at going to any respectable college. One officer told me that the admissions officer would toss out my application after seeing the check in the "yes" box for the "have you ever been arrested" question. After reading this thread, my impression is that it's alright if you make a mistake as long as you learn from it (which I certainly have), but I can't help but wonder if this one night will hurt me a lot down the road.</p>
<p>If it matters at all, it wasn't even my weed, so I don't think I'll be convicted of the possession charge, but obviously this doesn't make up for all of the other charges.</p>
<p>The law has changed and the comments in this thread above this one are incorrect.</p>
<p>Under the current law, a drug conviction will disqualify a student from receiving financial aid only if the conviction for an offense that occurred during a period of enrollment for which the student was receiving federal student aid. Earlier convictions don't count. </p>
<p>Juvenile convictions don't count either. </p>
<p>Also, if the student is convicted of an offense while in college and then completes an acceptable drug rehabilitation program, the conviction will not prevent the student from receiving aid. </p>
<p>The instructions on the FAFSA form specifically state:
[quote]
Count only federal or state convictions for the possession or sale of illegal drugs if the offense occurred during a period of enrollment for which the student was receiving federal student aid (grants, loans, and/or work-study). Do not count convictions that have been removed from the student's record. Do not count convictions that occurred before the student turned 18, unless he/she was tried as an adult.
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<p>Obviously, getting arrested for possession of drugs has many other serious consequences, including the possibility of a felony conviction and years of incarceration .... but it no longer is generally a bar to receiving financial aid.</p>