<p>A few years ago, I was expelled from college. Since the expulsion, I was admitted to another university that same year. I later earned my bachelor's degree in finance. Now, I am at the point where I want to attend graduate school. However, I still have the expulsion lingering over my head. </p>
<p>According to the policies of the first university I attended, transcripts NEVER mentions a student's dismissal. Undergraduates and graduates applications do ask candidates if they were dismiss from school. Knowing that my transcript will not mention my expulsion, should I purposely ignore this question? Should I contact the graduate school to explain my situation? I do not want to jeopardize my chances of attending a graduate school. I was able to move on and complete my education. I do not want a mistake in the past hinder me from pursuing a higher education.</p>
<p>If your transcript makes no mention of such a thing, and if you can’t use that to somehow strengthen your application, then don’t mention it. I’m not familiar with your first school’s policies, but what you call expulsion might have been a mandatory leave (common at many schools) where you have to reapply after a certain period to get back in. Just because you don’t reapply doesn’t mean you were expelled. </p>
<p>And don’t worry about being unethical, etc. You already have the grades in your transcript that will hint at a bad semester/year and that drop your gpa. The important thing is that we learn from our mistakes. You can’t change the past, so it’s time to move on.</p>
<p>You have to be honest. If the lie is ever discovered, you could jeopardize everything, even several years from now.</p>
<p>I agree with Martin Corn that you need to carefully consider the wording. You must also know exactly what the terminology of your expulsion is. Do the applications have a space for an explanation? </p>
<p>As long as the expulsion had nothing to do with cheating, you probably will be fine, especially since you returned to another university and finished your degree without incident. If it was due to cheating, then you need to discuss with your academic advisor how you should handle it, given that you’ve obviously learned your lesson.</p>
<p>No, the expulsion had nothing to do with academics. It was conflict with roommates. Yes, the applications do provide section to explain the situation. However, I do not want the situation to overshadow my abilities as a student.</p>
<p>Just don’t ever mention it. Expulsions are sketchy. For example, the expulsion could be related to stealing an exam, so it’s best not to mention it because the reason could be overflowing into academic territory. The expulsion could be because of plagiarism, which is also heading into academic territory. As academics are the only thing that matter for grad school app, you’re best to keep quiet. Don’t listen to the guy above telling you to be honest about it. I strongly rebuke that. Let it be drowned out by newer achievements. Even if your reason is non-academic, it says something negative about your character. If you ever do get caught for lying about it, the university will understand why you withheld the information and won’t hold it against you. You probably won’t ever get caught because expulsions are confidential and most institutions want to minimize the damage they do to their expelled students, believe it or not.</p>
<p>SPICEy1988, do you work on Wall Street? I guess Queen’s U doesn’t teach ethics. I hope you are being sarcastic.</p>
<p>OP: If you are not fully honest on your grad school application and they ever discover it, then you could be expelled frrom grad school. Even if it is years later, your degree could be revoked. Describe the situation on your application and be honest. You never know when someone from your past (your former roomates perhaps) will surface and spill the beans.</p>
<p>@tomofboston:</p>
<p>That is absolute hogwash. The only way your story could officially be revealed is if YOU give your old university permission to release such information. All universities handle confidentiality the same way, and you can actually push a case against the university for slander if they release information about your expulsion without your permission. You will likely not be expelled from a grad school for lying about prior expulsions because it is utterly irrelevant. And most of all, a professional degree will not be revoked because of any undergraduate experiences. The only way you can have a degree revoked is if you 1) lie about your undergrad grades/degree, 2) you commit major academic fraud (e.g. putting your name on a paper that is not yours) while at that institution, or 3) cheat in some way toward your graduation from your graduate degree.</p>
<p>Btw, I was expelled from high school, and I am top of my Queen’s class. And yes, Queen’s can read this for all I care.</p>
<p>Okay OP, whose advice do you want to follow? It will say a lot about your character.</p>
<p>All the people I know in life who insist on taking the 100% transparent, honest approach do not get their internship/research of choice, do not get a job post-grad, and are usually underdogs.</p>
<p>The truth is that we ALL have a dark past in our history. But you don’t sell yourself, or anything for that matter, by mentioning the negatives, especially when they are irrelevant. </p>
<p>Would you also tell the graduate school that you procrastinate? Would you apply to business school saying “I am only interested in making money !!” Would you sell a shoe and say “these laces will probably break if you tie them too tightly too many times” ?</p>
<p>
I don’t even know what to say to this.</p>
<p>
I imagine graduate school applications require a response to this question. I also imagine they provide space to explain your situation. History of expulsion, academic or not, should not be withheld if asked for. And if SPICEy1988 is right in saying that non-academic expulsions are “utterly irrelevant,” then why hesitate to provide that information, anyway?</p>
<p>I was kicked out of my undergrad program for maintaining a <2.0 GPA, but was allowed several years later to return and finish my degree. I did very well my second time around, and am currently in a top-tier grad program in my field. Let me offer a little perspective.</p>
<p>First of all, when they see your application (showing that you left university A and joined university B) they are going to want to know why you left. Adcoms are generally leary of contacting the applicant any more than necessary, and may just contact the schools directly. The application form may give them authority to ask detailed questions, and even if they do not there is no guarantee your old university will not tell them anyway. For that matter, they may well guess the reason anyway - if you had a low gpa like I did it will be apparent, and if you left a good school with a good GPA for a mediocre school then they will probably assume integrity issues. If you offer any explanation in your app, they may want to discuss it with you, and if it is a lie you may have trouble maintaining it.</p>
<p>Second, if/when they find out, they will NOT be forgiving and WILL hold it against you. If it is a low GPA thing like mine, then they might cut you a little slack only because it will be obvious - probably not, though. If, on the other hand, it was an integrity issue, then all it will show is that you STILL have integrity issues! They will drop your application with prejudice, and may expel you if it comes out during your term.</p>
<p>Most schools take integrity issues very very seriously, and lying on your application is absolutely an integrity issue. Step up and tell them what happened, then explain and demonstrate that you have learned from it and now operate in an ethical and responsible manner.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your advice.</p>