<p>I’ve seen this from both sides, serving as counsel to an independent school where I was very involved in expulsions (including one for on line issues) and watching my son defend himself as a first semester college student against a trumped up, but very serious charge.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You can’t and should not hide from it; as has been noted, the common app asks you to identify any disciplinary issues.</p></li>
<li><p>The common app also has a final question asking if there is any additional information that you think should be added to give a total picture to you as an applicant. Use this as the opportunity to explain the situation and show remorse. </p></li>
<li><p>I forget the name of the book, but a few years ago, the NYT education correspondent wrote a book about a year in the admissions cycle at Wesleyan U. He followed the story lines of a number of applicants of whom one was a female student at an independent school in California who was a great student but caught with marijuana laced brownies. I think the end of the story was that she did not get into Wesleyan and many other schools but did get into some nice schools. She packaged her story with the assistance of people at her school who cared about her. You will need to do the same.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Well i won’t be sitting at home for the semester, luckily my parents have money to send me to a high standard catholic/college prep high school. </p>
<p>It’s either go back to the public school, or stay at the fairly large private high school.</p>
<p>If only the colleges knew all of the suffering i had to endure…
-Not only are my parents undergoing intense stress, but money is draining out of their pockets. They are currently sending me to a small school for the rest of the 7 weeks so that i can have my grades on my transcript. Also we brought a lawyer to the administrative hearing and ended up spending $1500 with no positive result.</p>
<p>Right Smithie and that is why the OP needs to understand what is on the transcript and what the GC will report. Clearly he can’t “hide it” and must honestly answer the question but he certainly doesn’t need to go off on some tangent that will damage his application irrevocably. Believe me he’s not the first smart kid to pull some stupid prank. In our school it’s the bright, smart kids that seem to do stupid things sometimes and they do grow up and go to college…</p>
<p>As someone who works in a hs guidance office, I’ll weigh in. We require the students to disclose a suspension on their application. We also mention it in our evaluation, although we try to frame it positively, as in how they learned and grew from the expereince. If a student is expelled and then allowed to return - it is obvious from their transcript that something significant happened - college admissions officers are not stupid - they will see the missing semester and conclude there was either a serious problem - illness, drug rehab, etc. or it was a disciplinary action. We have had college admissions people call us for clarification in some cases. If the student attends another school for a semester - that transcript should be sent to the colleges as well, so that there is no gap. Bottom line for me - as others have said - you cannot hide this. Frame it positively - show what you have learned from the experience - but accept responsibility for your actions.</p>
<p>No, time in a juvenile detention facility is also a possibility.</p>
<p>To quote your other post: "About a month ago, i was joking on a site where you can post anonymous questions to anyone you know; i posted that i was a part of a terror.ist organization plotting an attack on the recipients school or on the country. I am a very good writer and made the scheme look realistic, in which the school board took VERY seriously due to 9/11 etc. I even posted ingredients to an explosive which i copied from someone elses document. "</p>
<p>Not a harmless “JOKE” in my humble opinion, and you still are not taking it seriously.</p>
<p>If true, this is a tragic story. It could also be a ■■■■■. It could also be that the OP is NOT innocent of what he’s being accused of. He could have just been caught before the plan was set in motion. </p>
<p>If you read the OP’s post on the other thread, the FBI terrorism task force was involved and he still may be charged under the Patriot Act. There may not be enough evidence to support a charge, but enough to keep monitoring him. I’m speculating that this must have involved a serious expenditure of federal resources to identify him for what the OP says was a joke. </p>
<p>Frankly, and maybe it’s silly, but I’m concerned about being accused of aiding and abetting a known terrorist if I offer anything constructive. I don’t plan to. I just wanted to provide food for thought for other parents before they offer anything constructive. </p>
<p>I’d be surprised if the FBI wasn’t monitoring all of his internet traffic including his postings on CC.</p>
<p>Actually, your school may be required by federal law to report the matter to any school you may want to enroll in.</p>
<p>Note: Section 4155(b) of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, 20 U.S.C. 7165(b), requires each State to assure the Secretary of Education that it has a procedure in place to facilitate the transfer of disciplinary records with respect to a suspension or expulsion of a student by a local educational agency to any private or public elementary or secondary school in which the student is subsequently enrolled or seeks, intends, or is instructed to enroll.</p>
<p>AVHS Dad - thanks for providing that info. OP - there is a case in the DC area that has some similarities to yours - although the student took it further. His name is Colin McKenzie-Gude if you want to Google it. He did some imaginary terrorist role playing a bit far - he had some fake IDs, map to Camp David, and access to weapons and bomb making material. At his trial, he claimed it was all pretend - all a game - and that he had no intention of actually hurting anyone. The judge sentenced him to 6 years in jail. Needless to say, American University rescinded their acceptance. Talk about a life derailed. Maybe you should consider yourself lucky that you were merely expelled and that the police were not involved. When you are sitting in a jail cell and your entire family has been devestated, college admissions might not be your top concern.</p>
<p>All else fails, go to a community college for two years (they usually don’t have admission requirements such as in California) and then transfer then to colleges that only want to see college transcripts (which seems to be the majority).</p>
<p>I agree with others who have stated that the OP doesn’t appear to have any remorse.
OP: When you explain this event on your applications I strongly suggest that you don’t imply it was “only a joke and the school over-reacted.” It shows a serious lack of responsibility, maturity and common-sense.</p>
<p>You can not hide this. It WILL come out. I assure you of that. However, this happened sophomore year (this is a good thing) instead of junior/senior year. It can be explained. If possible, I would stay at the private school, establish a good record and work with the counselor there to explain the incident and what you learned from it. DO NOT make excuses or minimize it. You write a concise statement about how while you thought it was a joke, it was taken seriously and you disappointed your school, your parents, and, most of all, yourself. You then talk about how you worked to improve your judgment going forward. It should not be a deal-breaker at ALL schools. Believe it or not, college admissions folks do understand how these things happen and, depending on the rest of the student’s record and recs, will often move past it. A kid who messes up and learns a big lesson is actually an attractive candidate.</p>
<p>One of my friends has TWO sons who read on the internet how to print fake money and did so. They tried to pass it off at school and got caught. It was an FBI matter, but they wound up with probation. They learned a big lesson.</p>
<p>Our local high school transcripts only contain grades and info about class rank. There is nothing on the transcript about disciplinary actions. But if a GC has to fill out a School Report (and Ivy schools certainly fall in this category), he or she is specifically asked whether there has been an expulsion or suspension. Your best bet would be to work with your GC to see how he or she would answer this question on an application. </p>
<p>Some CC posters have reported that in their school districts, GCs are not allowed to disclose such things (just like in some companies, the only thing you can do when someone calls for a recommendation is to verify that the person did work there during the specified time period). That isn’t the case in our school district however.</p>
<p>For your safety schools, you should throw in some big Us that don’t require GC reports.</p>
<p>PArt of the brain development of the 13 to 19 year old set is to not connect “out there” with “right here.” Accidents happen to “other” people. Misunderstandings happen to “other” people. Me, sitting in my same old chair, having eaten the same old breakfast cereal in my same old pj’s? Nah. I’m a good guy. Not perfect, but, hey, no one is. </p>
<p>To have life jump up and bitxx slap you, hard, publicly, and at great expense and stress to your parents, is the classic wake up call. Hopefully, in addition to your sense of amazement and disbelief, there is also a “Holy Shxx! This is a problem!” response. </p>
<p>Ever see “Casablanca?” The famous line from the police officer is “Round up the usual suspects.” That was filmed in the '40s and is still true today. You’ve been painted with a Evil Child paint brush and it will take time and diligence to not get coated again and again. I’m not kidding. Some teacher gets her car keyed in the parking lot and you will be perceived as the likely bad guy. </p>
<p>So, don’t tap dance around trying to pretend you are Snow White. You aren’t. Be mature and hard working and let your subsequent actions clean up this mess. You’ve got a couple of years in which to show that you now “get it” and you are on to doing constructive things with your time. No more cruising the internet with the intent of michief. Go Save the Whales or the Pigeons or needy orphans. (That sounds sarcastic, but it’s not). Go do good.</p>
<p>If you were my kid, I would transfer you to another school, get you some good counseling and when the time comes, encourage you to write in your college essays about the “incident” and your (hopeful) redemption. One of my big goals would be to strip the sense of entitlement out of you and encourage you to understand that some things are more important than grades, SATs and HYP. Good luck, I’m wishing you the best.</p>
<p>“I don’t understand though…do high schools release disciplinary records to universities and colleges? It seems like this would be doing a disservice to students.”</p>
<p>Not doing so would be a disservice to the colleges, which for obvious reasons may choose not to admit students who have behavior problems. It also would be a disservice to students who may have to room with students with behavior problems.</p>
<p>Most high school college counselors are members of NACAC and I believe NACAC has guidelines/rules about the procedures to be followed in such cases.</p>
<p>I guess the high school guidance counselers will have to decide who their client is…the school district that hires them, the students, unknown students that the graduating student might encounter in the future, or colleges and universities that think they are privy to that information.</p>