<p>Suspension for academics – you are going to have a tough time with the common ap ANYWHERE and better work on that essay.</p>
<p>Cliche-- but you’re really going to have to talk about lessons learned and why you did it and why you’ll never do it again.</p>
<p>Either way – even with the upward trend, you’re quite a reach with the GPA for ECE/CS.</p>
<p>Since you said money not a concern, I strongly advise hiring a college admissions consultant with an excellent reputation - ask if they have handled these issues before - and have them work with you on the ap to get over the suspension on your record and make the issue seem trivial - if that is even possible.</p>
<p>If this occurred in a science/math class-- you have zero chance for CMU.</p>
<p>Also, why are there no ECs after 10th grade-- were you suspended and lost 11th grade somewhere?</p>
<p>My suspension was over my sharing of a piece of code that I wrote with another student in APCS. The school felt that it was cheating and suspended me as a result.</p>
<p>If your record says you were suspended for cs code sharing, no cs department of any ranking is going to touch this.</p>
<p>You are sadly in bad shape. You should apply as a math major to MCS and do an internal transfer.</p>
<p>Seriously- you cannot explain this one away and need professional assistance.</p>
<p>Sorry dude-- you are cooked for CMU, Stanford, MIT, Cornell, UIUC, Michigan and those on the list you posted in another forum.
I have no advice on how to spin this one - and I’m a professional college consultant. My best guess- you don’t apply as a CS major anywhere. </p>
<p>I am going to be a little more optimistic but only if your counselor gets involved and goes to bat for you. In 10th grade you were just 15 and, frankly, I know several kids who had academic screw ups in HS. First instances of plagiarism, code sharing, even plain garden variety cheating on a test are basically poor judgement decisions by young people (a bit like that first beer or joint). Generally, most schools give kids the warning the first time and only hit the student with suspension or permanent black mark after the second violation when the student is expected to fully understand the concept of cheating and the implications for the long term. That is why the suspension for academic dishonesty is the kiss of death for college admissions. Is this true for your school? If not, and you got suspended for your one and only violation as a sophomore, your counselor needs to clarify your school policy and needs to directly tackle whether you are a honest/upright student. IF the counselor needs a character reference ask your junior teachers to write a note of support to your counselor. If you were suspended for your second violation or you can’t get this kind of support from your teachers or counselor, you need to rethink your plans and focus on finding ways to convince any school that you (and your grades) are to be trusted. This could mean going to a cc or a second tier instate school with a goal to transfer after demonstrating stellar grades and academic honesty. </p>
<p>Professors and senior administrators have enough experience to realize that academic dishonesty covers a wide range of crimes/mistakes and that there are nuances…unfortunately, many of the admissions counselors are young, have not been teachers or professors, and the policy is to turn down any student with a violation…that is why you have to have support from your counselor and teachers and your own essay to make the case that you are not a dishonest person who will bring shame on CMU in the future with some horrible news story of a scientist fudging results or a programmer stealing code from his firm or colleagues. You need to talk to your counselor NOW to have a realistic understanding of what type of school to which you can expect to be admitted.</p>