<p>I'm currently in my junior year and in November I did something REALLY stupid that I regret. I was peer pressured by my friends to streak with a speedo and a horse mask at homecoming game. I ran into a girl in the process and was suspended for 5 days. I want to go to University of Iowa, Syracuse University, FSU, etc. What should I do?</p>
<p>Find a school that has a horse for a mascot and audition. That’s your only hope.</p>
<p>Own up to it, because the GC will include it on the rec. The last thing you want is to say that you’ve never been suspended and have the GC contradict you.</p>
<p>Well, of course I’m not going to lie. I’m going to own up to it and everything included. How much does this affect my chances into getting accepted?</p>
<p>I’ve been suspended once. It’s not a big deal. Just own up to it, and colleges will understand. You’re 16-17, lol. You’re good.</p>
<p>UCalifornias, are you sure? I’ve heard from multiple people that being suspended at all would mean zero acceptance into any universities.</p>
<p>Puh-leeze. Colleges will not care. Dealing drugs OTOH? Then colleges will care.</p>
<p>Despite the above posts, none of us can give you a definite answer -since none of us are admissions officers. My first instinct -partially corroborated by A is for Admissions- tell me that a suspension would negatively affect your chances if the suspension was for something pretty bad. Fighting, bullying/cyberbullying, plagiarism/cheating, vandalism, etc are probably grounds for an automatic rejection. If the suspension was for something like too many tardies or some misunderstanding with a teacher -which you thoroughly explain in your application- you still have a shot. </p>
<p>While I agree with @saif351 that we cannot give a definitive answer, I would venture to say that the OP’s transgression falls under the innocuous category of suspension and will have little impact on admissions.</p>
<p>Disciplinary sanctions for academic dishonesty, bullying & substance abuse will be of greater concern to colleges, as compared to a disciplinary sanction for making an a$$ out of youself. I have a hard time envisioning an adcomm not stifling a smile when they read about it.</p>
<p>You do need to 'fess up about it though. </p>
<p>I recommend u read “The Gatekeepers”. There was a girl suspended for distributing spiked brownies at school. You will get a lot of insight about how college adcomms view students w less than perfect histories.</p>
<p>Thanks guys! This really gives me more hope for the time being.</p>
<p>Why in the world did you get a 5 day suspension for that? Was it because someone was hurt?</p>
<p>And that pot brownie girl had a hell of a time, got rejected and w/l everywhere despite being student body president at a very good prep school. The GC had to lobby hard to gain her an acceptance for that one day suspension.</p>
<p>BrownParent, I was wearing a horse mask and it was super hard to see. I streaked during the halftime show when band was playing and I ran into a girl.</p>
<p>^…well that’s pretty unique</p>
<p>Honestly, that kind of infraction might keep you out of HYPS type schools since it was a pretty stupid thing to do and those schools can reject you for a plethora of reasons. However for the vast majority of schools I doubt it’ll have to much of an affect. It also depends on how your GC describes the incident in his/her report.</p>
<p>One suggestion. When explaining it, you might want to accept responsibility for what you did. “I allowed myself to be talked into…”, or, perhaps better “I stupidly…” sounds better than “I was peer pressured…”. Your post implies that you think the others were to blame, when you chose to do what you did. You may garner more mercy (and college acceptances) if you phrase it differently, showing some maturation since November.</p>
<p>KKmama, that was exactly how I was going to explain it next year. I do accept full responsibility of my actions.</p>
<p>I would add a few more safeties than other students would need to, just in case it is seen negatively. You won’t know for sure until you try, and a lot depends on your GC; sometimes colleges call and talk to the GC about these situations, and it depends on what your GC says about it…</p>
<p>And “I allowed myself to be talked into” still sounds to me like you are blaming someone else. I would just say, “I made a mistake. I am sorry now that I did it, I learned a lot from my punishment, and would never repeat this action.” Or something that communicates that. I would not mention other people at all…</p>