<p>Hi, I am currently a high school student anticipating graduation. I can't wait for college; however, I have a concern. I have a blemish on my high school disciplinary record. While on a school field trip I was caught being inappropiatly touched. I received a handjob (sorry for the language). I was suspended for eleven days, 6 days out-of-school and 5 days in-school. I regret that day every day. I want to know what are my chances of going to the University of Maryland-College Park, UNC-Chapel Hill, and the University of Chicago. I am an African American student with a 3.9 GPA. I scored a 1570 on my SAT. I am number two in my class. I participate in extracurricular activities. I live in an extremely small town and I go to an extremely small school (I have a graduating class of 50). I live under a single parent household with my twin brother. Can anyone give me feedback asap? thank you</p>
<p>You need to sit down with your guidance counselor, and ask what his/her experience has been when students have a suspension on their record.</p>
<p>1570/2400 or 1570/1600?</p>
<p>in my school, many people have gotten suspensions ended up in great colleges.
one got suspended and ended up at Johns Hopkins, another at Cornell, and some others.
one even got expelled and somehow ended up at UCLA.</p>
<p>i’m not sure if i’m the right person to answer this question (i’m just a senior), but i think that if you explain your suspension in a good way (in the suspension part of the common app), then i think you’ll have a fair shot at those schools. assuming you have a 1570/1600 and not a 1570/2400.</p>
<p>i think suspensions can hurt you only if you are on the borderline. like if you have low GPA and a low SAT/ACT score, then that will hurt. but if you’re way above the average, then i think they don’t matter THAT much</p>
<p>Judging by the nature of the suspension, if you can make it come across in a not-so-innapropriately worded way (perhaps sit down with your guidance counselor and brainstorm how to word it), it wouldn’t hurt you since
A) It is not academic dishonesty or behavioral problems which would make you a risk to accept at their school
B) It is something teenagers do. And if done at college, likely wouldn’t have resulted in any disciplinary action.</p>
<p>The reason they want to hear about suspensions/expulsions is because usually it involves something which would make the candidate undesirable as a potential student (cheating, skipping school, violence, etc).</p>
<p>Or perhaps, if you’ve had an otherwise great record and no problems since then, the school would be willing to erase it from your record entirely. Definitely meet with your Guidance Counselor and/or principal/assistant principal about this ASAP (like within the next day or so!) to work everything out.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response. This gives me so much more confidence with my applications. :)</p>