ex-Druggie Chances at Stanford & Ivies

<p>I thought that would be a catchy title to attract some chances.
Well, basically my counselor and a couple teachers know I did drugs in my freshmen-early sophomore year(the cause of my grades to suffer during those years). I don't know whether or not I should mention this or ask my counselor to mention this. Anyone's input? I'm looking at:
Columbia, Stanford, UChicago, Northwestern, and Brown.
I'll post my stats, but I posted them a month ago on this forum.
Oh, and I did drugs.</p>

<p>Did you do drugs, or were you skipping class/school/failing? Big difference...</p>

<p>I never failed, but I definitely didn't do as well as I should have.
And I did drugs?
I think it's possible to do both.</p>

<p>They're gonna take that as a cop out. I certainly would if I were in their position.</p>

<p>I think you need to get something straight. The drugs themselves weren't the cause of your not doing well, it was you, the person who chose to do drugs, at fault for your less-than stellar grades. You didn't fall victim to some mysterious illness your first two years of high school. The person who did have a mysterious illness, will probably, but not definitely, be forgiven for their slip in grades. No offense, but it sounds like you think drugs are your excuse, when this way of thinking couldn't be farther from the truth.
I don't know your stats, but the schools you mentioned are quite selective (as you know), so it will have applicants who are bordering perfection, not to mention applicants that didn't do drugs. </p>

<p>What you can do is explain the wrong choices that you had made and the ways in which you have matured since.</p>

<p>As I said, he's using it as a cop out.</p>

<p>Two viewpoints on this:
You think I'll write "He did drugs, sry, please excuse him."</p>

<p>I was hoping for: "He did drugs, he overcame drugs, now see what he can really do."</p>

<p>Hmm...</p>

<p>Um...back to the matter at hand.</p>

<p>If you got caught with drugs on campus/sent to rehab/arrested. Then you've got a huge problem.</p>

<p>If you were pulling straight Cs those two years, you have another huge problem.</p>

<p>I mean, you can try. But if you counselor and your teachers know about your drug use and feel the need to disclose it or are concerned/disaprove then you're in trouble.</p>

<p>If this shows up on your app in any way, you'll probably be in trouble. If you come from a broken home and your mommy deals crack on the side, then maybe you could be cut some slack.</p>

<p>But do you really want to go to a top tier school which may not have a support system for someone like you? Going somewhere smaller and less intense may help keep you off drugs...</p>

<p>thats a easy copout. I started doing drugs in the end of my soph year, my grades have had a steady upward trend since then. I stopped for SAT's, my grades have gone down... what does that say? </p>

<p>Half of the top 10% at my school consistently smokes/drinks/other thiings multiple times a week... I live in norcal, thats the way it is.</p>

<p>In response to ses's posts, I think we need to know a bit more. Specifically, did you just experiment with drugs or is there more to your drugging days than simply that you did drugs? What kind of grades were you pulling? Do the teachers who know about your drug use think positively of you now? Did they help you overcome your drug use? That could possibly help you there.</p>

<p>EDIT: I just checked your stats and they are fine. So, it's not something you should really worry about.</p>

<p>No, I was never arrested. I quit from my own will. My gpa went from 3.2 -> 3.8 -> 4.22(this yr) -> to probably 4.3 next yr (Our school has awful weighing system with an A in an AP class being 4.333; I took five AP.)
You don't DO weed or beer. You smoke weed and you drink beer. Even shrooms can be added to this list.
You DO heroine, crack, cocaine, LSD, and meth. There is a huge difference. My counselor discovered it by fluke. I told her what had happened and she seemed proud. Other teachers who knew were from Freshmen year, and I certainly am not requesting a recommendation from them(Oh what they'd put... haha). I was simply asking whether my counselor should mention that I quit drugs because of my own will, and my grades substantially increased as a result. This was not intended to be a copout.</p>

<p>Don't tell me half of 10% of your norcal school do those drugs; it's a lie. Defending myself on the internet.... haha</p>

<p>DO NOT have her mention your drug use. If she has any idea what she's doing, she won't. It's a big red flag. Obviously, most colleges realize their admits drink/smoke weed/etc. but to straight up tell them is a bad idea.</p>

<p>Most kids with psychological problems (bulimia, etc.) don't tell their colleges even if they've recovered. Why? Because you don't want the school to think that you're going to show up on campus and lose it. The same thing applies to drug use or heavy drinking.</p>

<p>I've mentioned this in another post but it's a great story. Check out the admissions adventure of Becca Jannol in the book "The Gatekeepers". She was a super straight kid and a great student who tasted a pot brownie ONCE at school, then felt so guilty that she just confessed. She ended up getting into Cornell off the wait list, but only after being slammed by college after college who now knew about her moment of indiscretion.</p>

<p>If you no longer have the drug problem, and if you really understand what got you there so you never go back, then you can feel guilt-free about not going to a confessional when you apply to college. Overcoming a drug problem, which may be admirable on a personal level, is not something you should include as part of your public relations stategy for prospective colleges. </p>

<p>Imagine if companies used the same technique in advertising. "We no longer have arsenic in our dog food, so please buy it". Or what about an adult going for a job. "Even though I didn't get along with anyone at my last company, please hire me because I've figured all of that out now". Or what about the colleges themselves? Can you picture a college broshure which reads "We have many dormitory halls which reek of pot smoke on the weekends, but if you're a straight kid we'd love to add you to the mix to help us turn things around".</p>

<p>The college admissions process is a sales situation. As long as you are presenting yourself authentically as you are today I think you have no reason to report every mistake in your past. I have never seen a college application which read, "Have you ever done drugs...in your life?" That would be different. I think if you ever apply to the FBI or CIA you will be asked that question, and need to answer it honestly. But that is another situation entirely.</p>

<p>the only college where i think it wouldn't hurt admission is berkeley. they recently offered a scholarship for drug offenders.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/04/11/state/n175509D88.DTL%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/04/11/state/n175509D88.DTL&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Kay, not mentioning it. =)</p>