<p>I got suspended earlier this semester for 3 days for coming to a school basketball game intoxicated. I know that most schools will ask about my disciplinary past and I'm not quite sure how to handle it. In my attached statement how much detail should i go into about the incident? Also, will they ask my Guidance Counselor about it and to give them more details?
I am freeeaaking out about this.
Oh, and i'm a junior so i wont be applying until next year.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/899438-truth-about-suspensions.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/899438-truth-about-suspensions.html</a></p>
<p>Generally I don’t think that a public forum such as CC is a good place for questions regarding matters such as suspensions. There are times when such issues have legal ramifications, and other times when the questions are asked with enough detail so that someone who reads the question can surmise who’s asking.</p>
<p>The short answer to your question is to deal openly with it in a discussion with your guidance counselor, and, if he so recommends, with the principal of your school. Genuine contrition goes a long way in any such discussions. But avoiding them just opens up your entire application process into one of uncertainty for yourself, and guesses from those who don’t know you or the situation well.</p>
<p>So schedule a meeting with your guidance counselor, and discuss this issue. Get advise on how to deal with it in the applications and possible interviews, and follow through.</p>
<p>^^ Agree mostly with others. </p>
<p>However, as this sounds done and over with, allusion to legal ramifications seems unnecessary.</p>
<p>And I don’t wholly subscribe to the notion your reaches are now out of reach, your safeties are now reaches, etc. In my personal experience with a child who had a school alcohol violation - suspension issue in junior year, she got into all of her reaches on stats that were less than “given,” i.e., they had to look at the whole person…which would have included this isolated incident.</p>
<p>As it sounds like you already know, the Common App and most others will ask if you’ve ever been suspended, and as you’ve indicated, you will not lie. Your guidance counselor is the best resource for helping you craft just the right amount of detail to state what happened and how you recovered and learned from your mistake. It may also be required or appropriate, or not, for your GC to comment directly or indirectly in the rec/assessment they submit to the schools–ask your GC for clarification. Your GC can also assist with selection of teachers or others to give recs–hopefully, you will have established some meaningful relationships beyond the classroom so they can speak to your character and maturity. To state the obvious, this needs to remain a one-time disciplinary matter on your record, and a one-time substance issue generally. Only you know if you’re on the right track recovering, and this is one of those times when you need the support of family, GC, trusted school adults and friends to guide and support what you need to do from here on out. </p>
<p>Most importantly, if you need help or even wonder if you need help with alcohol or substance issues, please get it for yourself, without regard to any of this. </p>
<p>Colleges routinely see drug and alcohol-related incidences on apps, and what they look for is evidence you took responsibility and grew in the aftermath. (Cheating and other matters involving dishonesty, bodily harm, threats, etc. are an entirely different, far more consequential matter altogether.)</p>
<p>I’m not trying to belittle the matter…you made a serious mistake. But please don’t take on the added emotional burden of “freaking” over it. Own it, don’t let it own you.</p>
<p>here’s my two cents.</p>
<p>I was suspended for two school days and two months of my school activity for getting frisky with a girl after school.</p>
<p>Despite the fact that my counselor told me colleges wouldn’t ask about my disciplinary activity, nearly every application did ask about it. And the best way to handle it is to be honest. Although the risk of getting caught for lying isn’t that big, it really isn’t worth the risk because it probably will mean an instant rejection. Bearing that in mind, in every application I took on the same approach. I explained what happened, how I was punished for it, and what I learned since and how I have never broken any other school rules. It really isn’t a big deal in the end, and I don’t think it affected my college admissions at all. However, I do know the anxiety you’re probably experiencing because I went through the exact same thing. Admissions officers definitely might look at it and think less of you, but the chances for this are also small. If they see you’re a smart student, have great test scores, a solid transcript, and a variety of dedicated EC’s, they will see all these positive as opposed to that one incident where you made a mistake by being human.</p>
<p>If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>thank you guys for your help. I’m hoping everything will go over smoothly and i will make sure it wont happen again. I’m definitely going to go talk with my GC soon to know how he recommends i deal with the situation.
and Relevance, do you have any personal experience/know anybody that got their chances hurt by a suspension?</p>
<p>I was suspended my freshman year (no need to go into details), and like nopiforyou said i had to address it on nearly all of my college applications. My approach was to address the issue and admit i made a juvenile mistake, one that i wouldn’t repeat. I also put emphasis on the fact that other than that incident i had a fairly spotless record (which hopefully you can do). </p>
<p>And the whole thing about about no longer being able to get into reach schools is entirely false. Proof: I got into Penn :D</p>
<p>Just apply to Harvard. They seem to dig the scrappy drunkard diamond-in-the-rough types.</p>
<p>hahaha do they really?</p>
<p>how much detail do you go into when writing about it on your application?</p>
<p>Yes, I have both personal experience from my own suspension, and from friends. The seriousness of an offense really depends on the school and context. Generally, I’d say
academic dishonesty is one of the worst offenses, while ditching a class, less serious. </p>
<p>I can tell you with 100% certainty that my suspension (foul language) did hurt my chances, as my decision is still being held by my local state school (CU) despite having
guaranteed admissions there and being accepted among schools such as UC Berkeley, Emory, and USC. In the “top” schools, I think my admissions chances were hurt because my accomplishments were not unique enough to differentiate me from other students who had great stats, but not otherwise suspended. </p>
<p>That said, intoxication and drug use are also of varying seriousness. A pot-bust in the second semester of senior year of a student at my school was enough to rescind an acceptance to Pomona, but not enough to change any of the decisions from the rest of his schools(which included Cornell and other top liberal arts colleges). </p>
<p>My advice for the essay: Be extremely cautious, focus on the future not the past, and make sure you don’t sound like your trying to make excuses. Oh, and beg your counselor for a sympathetic explanation.</p>