<p>I'm currently a freshman undergrad with intentions to transfer to a different university. It seems that most schools I have my eyes on ask for secondary school report form, and as the title indicated, I received a suspension in my senior year of high school. Here are the details:</p>
<p>I was ranked 1st out of 650 in my high school and had maintained straight A's up till senior year. In my first semester, I struggled heavily with my AP English Literature class, and despite my efforts, could not raise my grade from a B to an A. Out of desperation, I plagiarized an essay that was going to "make/break my grade" and was caught for it, subsequently leading to a suspension and also reported to the colleges I applied to as academic dishonesty.</p>
<p>Before some of you start pointing fingers at me and tell me that I deserved what I got, I completely agree and fully accept resonsbility for what I've done. I do not condone my behavior at all whatsoever and regard it as one of the biggest mistakes of my life. When I applied to the colleges, I sent additional letters recollecting my scenario, my remorse, and what I have learned from it. As a result, I got rejected to Penn, Harvard, Duke, and (surprisingly) earned a waitlist spot on Dartmouth. I now attend my state university.</p>
<p>That was a year ago. I would like to take another shot at these schools, hoping that I may have a second chance.</p>
<p>My ultimate question was, how much will my high school suspension affect my chances? Aside from my suspension, I truly feel that I was a formiddable applicant capable of gaining admission at these schools. As stated earlier, I sent letters of apologies and tried my absolute best, which earned me a waitlist at Dartmouth. I suppose I did have a slight hope that my infraction would hold a little less weight than it did a year ago. Is there anything I can do to increase my chances? Will that suspension still hinder my efforts today?</p>
<p>Any feedback, suggestions, advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I am sure you learned a very hard lesson. Are those the schools you want to reapply to? You might want to talk directly to an admissions counselor at those schools for honest feedback.</p>
<p>My personal opinion: those schools have their choice of the very best students, all at the very top of their class. They don’t need to admit a student who has committed academic dishonesty. You may have to alter your plans. You can still be a great success, but you will take a different path than you had planned. </p>
<p>Stop rethinking what could have been and think about what your options are now. You undoubtedly still have plenty to choose from.</p>
<p>Well, Penn has always been my dream school. The reason I want to transfer is that I don’t feel that my current school is challenging enough. Yes, I’m aware that there’s many other schools apart from Harvard, Penn, etc that are challenging and I will be applying to those schools as well. Still, I can’t but help having hope that I can somehow gain admittance to my dream school despite the disadvantages weighed against me right now. Also, the waitlist to Dartmouth with a suspension gave me a little hope as well. Why not flat-reject me with my academic dishonesty?</p>
<p>The point is, I acknowledge that I made a very grave mistake and will feel the consequences, there’s no point in denying that. What I’m looking for right now are ways to possibly overcome or at least partially make up for my misdemeanor.</p>
<p>I don’t see any reason not to try for the transfer. Yes, it was a huge mistake, but it does not define you unless you let it.</p>
<p>To give you a bit of hope: I mentor a student who did something worse than you … I won’t reveal what it was, but it was academically-related. He, too, got caught and was suspended. He was already accepted to a top 10 LAC at the time, and the school did not inform the LAC of the suspension (as far as the student knows). However, the student later transferred to an Ivy & had to honestly answer the question on the application about whether or not he had ever had any disciplinary action taken against him - and he had to explain what happened. My advice to him was to briefly explain the transgression, to explain the punishment he accepted, and to succinctly outline what he learned from the experience (accepting responsibility, expressing regret, and stating what he took from it - without being overly dramatic). He was accepted to the Ivy & is excelling there. He has never strayed from the straight & narrow academically since.</p>
<p>I might add … it is possible that your rejections were based on more than just the suspension. In that case, you may not be admitted to Penn for reasons other than just the suspension. Are you doing extremely well in school this year? That will be key, as will securing excellent recommendations from faculty members at your current school.</p>
<p>Thank you, thank you for your feedback. It is very helpful.</p>
<p>True, no one apart from the adcom may know if my suspension was the only reason why I was not accepted, I agree. If that’s the case, then I would have no regrets of getting rejected and will accept it.</p>
<p>I have a 4.0 GPA in my current college right now. I don’t have the most stellar extracirriculars but still quite involved in areas I’m quite interested in. In high school, I had several leadership positions, solid community service commitment, 34 ACT, 750+ SAT II, etc, great essays (I realize this is hard to judge on myself), and very respectable recommendations. I will try my best and accept whatever result I face. Thank you again. </p>
<p>If you don’t mind me asking, do you have any more suggestions regarding the letter of apology? It seems pretty obvious to write what I did wrong, what my consequence was, how I learned from it, etc (as I wrote several when I applied to colleges as a senior in HS). Is there something in particular I should focus on?</p>
<p>As I read your story, a little nagging voice says " was it an isolated incident, or just the one he got caught? is he the type of kid, who has such a need to be on top, he will always take a short cut if necessary"</p>
<p>Please do not take that as judgemental, but as a possible reaction other people might also have. Address this in your letter. You have to not only convince them you regret your action. And that you have really changed, that it goes beyond regret.</p>
<p>Just remember this: Assume this incident will follow you for the rest of your academic career. Be sure to address it and go beyond just merely saying “Oh, I regret it.”</p>
<p>And please don’t take any offense at what I’m about to say, but when I first saw your situation, I was somewhat disguised over your desperation. I thought “Oh, typical person who would do anything to maintain their class rank”. But you did make the effort to show that you totally regret your actions. However, do note that it may be a losing effort if you don’t do enough on your part to show that you have fully changed from what you did back in high school. </p>
<p>Show, not tell. And tell it in your voice. A voice that is unique to you.</p>
<p>Thank you both for your input. And I’m not offended, they are both realistic possibilities and I should be prepared for them. </p>
<p>I actually did mention in my letters how I felt foolish for caring so much about my “perfection for grades/rank” and talked about how I’ve discovered the importance of fully learning the material correctly rather than trying to look good with a decent grade. If I were to get a B in a class but simulatenously feel that I’ve truly learned all the essential contents of the course, I would not fret at all as opposed to my high school counterpart. </p>