<p>Last week I received a five day out of school suspension under the grounds of drinking alcohol. Which, I didn't do, the only proof they had was that I smelled like it and that my eye twitched during a test. Anyways, they didn't get police involved or anything, and the dean assured me that it wouldn't make a negative impact on me getting into college. Well, I don't really believe him. I think he was just saying that to calm me down. See, I've never gotten into trouble with anything. I've never even received a tardy or a detention or anything of the sort. So, this is new for me and, well, I've been freaking out. I just want to know if he lied and how bad this could affect me when I apply for college? (I'm a sophomore, by the way.)</p>
<p>You smelled like alcohol yet you didn’t drink it? Anyways the dean is lying to you if the college pulls you record and see you been spend for alcohol they will question you on it may even reject you.</p>
<p>A girl that has it out for me claimed she saw me drinking during a school dance, when in actuality I had spilled some of my mom’s beer on my dress last minute. I tried to cover it with perfume, but you could still smell it. When I got called aside the dean didn’t believe me when I told him that. Then, I asked for a breathalyzer and I was refused one because the finger test they gave me ‘never fails’. And well, I guess I hope if they question me about it, they’ll at least believe me if I can get the chance to explain the real story of what happened.</p>
<p>On the common app there is a spot for both you and the guidance counselor to check off if you were ever in trouble at school (with suspension being listed as a prime example). So yeah, you have to mention it actually. </p>
<p>If you really didn’t drink alcohol, then why didn’t you fight the suspension? Why did you smell like it?</p>
<p>As CE527M mentioned, both you and the GC will have to report the suspension on the Common App. There is a short section where you can type an explanation. My D had to do this, but she really had been drinking and used the section to talk about what she learned from the experience. I think that you are in a very difficult spot. If you really and truly weren’t drinking, and you don’t fight this suspension right now and get it taken off your record, you’re going to have to report it. And I fear it’ll sound pretty sketchy if you try to say you’re innocent, based on what you’ve told us above (you’re saying that you spilled your mom’s beer on yourself and smelled like alcohol, and that you failed your school’s alcohol test??)</p>
<p>If you’re really innocent, why not get your parents on board to convince the school and get the charge dropped? Presumably your mom saw you spilling her beer on your dress, yes? Honestly that seems the only solution, other than just sucking it up and reporting it and saying, “Yeah, I did that. It was dumb. I learned my lesson.”</p>
<p>Good luck</p>
<p>Don’t be stupid drinking alcohol at 18 is going to turn you into a mentally handicapped ■■■■■■ by the time your 28 (they aren’t lying to you about this I have watched it occur). However, most of the admissions will not care if you have the grades. If you have a 4.0/4.0 cumulative and a perfect SAT Score no one will care. If you are a 2.5/4.0 with ■■■■■■ SAT scores then yes people will notice. </p>
<p>Don’t make excuses. The fact that you allowed yourself to be a punished for a crime you did not commit reflects even more poorly on you than getting punished for one you did. Best revenge is to get the highest grades possible.</p>
<p>I wasn’t there, but based on the story you presented, I don’t believe you and I don’t think a college would either. Why didn’t your mother defend you if it was her beer? Why didn’t you change your dress? Why didn’t they give you the breathalyzer you requested? What is a ‘finger thing’?</p>
<p>To me, the excuses are worse than the infraction. A school doesn’t want to deal with someone who has an excuse for everything.</p>
<p>If you are truly innocent, I would threaten the school with legal action if they did not remove it from your record. </p>
<p>Yeah, if I were the dean, I wouldn’t buy your story, either. And if it is true, I assume your mom would be going to bat for you. In any case, this is going to be on your record and will show up on the form your Guidance Counselor fills out. Your best bet if you don’t get it off your record (and I honesty think the chances are very slim, your story doesn’t really hold up…) is to come clean and do your best to make it up to your school community. Get involved in something like SADD, for example (but you need to mean it…). Give your recommenders and GC something positive to say about your contributions to the community that offsets the black mark on your record. </p>
<p>5 days is extraordinarily high for suspected alcohol, a major academic interruption. I am not sure about this thread. Who hangs out by mom’s beer, doesn’t wipe off her dress, just adds perfume? It’s like some scene from a 40’s movie.</p>
<p>And OP wants us to tell if the dean is lying?
Of course adcoms care. But they will look at what you and the GC or dean have to say about it.<br>
Some hs don’t report, as a matter of policy. Some will not report if there are no other infractions for some time period. You need to find out what your school’s policy is. </p>
<p>And your username doesn’t help us see this as genuine.</p>
<p>If you were my kid I would have taken you to the local cops or walk-in clinic for a BAT. If I believed your story, and had been drinking a beer that spilled on your dress, that is. It would be worth the expense to clear you of the suspension.</p>