I’m a high school senior, and Georgia Tech is my dream school. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to afford to go there without one of their super-incredibly-selective merit scholarships. I’m wondering right now if disciplinary action might throw my chances out the window, because Tech is already so selective, and only 100% perfect students get their merit scholarships. My only disciplinary infraction in high school was when I was in 10th grade, and it resulted in a one-day in-school detention. Obviously, that’s not a very big deal, but I’m worried that just checking the box “yes” on discipline might put me in the pile of not being considered for scholarships.
Does anyone know how Georgia Tech handles discipline when it comes to admissions and/or scholarships?
Georgia Tech is a good school, but it shouldn’t be the be all and end all of your college list. In particular you need a safety. That is to say, a school 1) you are almost guaranteed to be admitted to 2) that you can afford and 3) that you would not mind attending.
Also, if you need merit aid I would cast your net further afield than Tech. Many other schools are more generous.
I don’t think anyone can answer about how GT awards merit scholarships, and what role your infraction may play in that. You’ll just have to apply and see how it goes (and apply to a few other places, too.)
I would check with your high school counselor about whether this one day in school detention needs to be reported to colleges. It depends on whether it appears anywhere on your high school transcript. Don’t lie but also do not inform colleges about this, if it does not appear on your transcript, and your high school has allowed you to put it in your past and learn from it. I seems to me that it may not matter, but I don’t know what you did to get punished, like that.