Oops, I got suspended

<p>I hate to do this, but I've been wondering about my peculiar situation. Yes, in sophmore year I was suspended for 3 days, but its not nearly as badass as it sounds. I was playing in my first ever field hockey scrimmage and my throat closed up and i was hyperventaling from the heat and all that fun stuff. i used my friends inhaler and got suspended for drug posession. first of all, i had no idea it was wrong. not only did they never go over those policies with us, but the entire team used each other's inhalers to the point that it was so common place i didnt question it once. i had no idea it was against school rules, and second of all, i was kind of freaking out because i could hardly breathe. there was no adult supervision so i did what i thought was best. they wouldnt have found out if my mom hadnt called in asking if i should get an inhaler.</p>

<p>yeah, totally the lamest thing ever to get suspended for. ive never really seen it as a huge deal because i think it reflects nothing on my character or academics. still, how much do you think this will weigh into my applications? nothing about me would hint that i have a diciplinary record in the least bit. top 5%, teachers like me, blahblahblah.</p>

<p>oh, the other girl got suspended for 45 days for drug distribution. it kind of made me hate my school.</p>

<p>Will the college even see this? They wont care unless its like a misdemeanor or something serious. Even if they ask, you have a good explanation for it. Dont worry, you'll be fine.</p>

<p>Seriously, suspension is not that bad, but then again we're on a board where kids probably havent even been tardy to their class once.</p>

<p>Just explain the situation in the extra info section of the app.</p>

<p>BZ -- the Common App asks about suspensions/expulsions</p>

<p>Just explain what happened. Explain what you learned from it (if anything). Don't act like you're pitying yourself. and be honest!</p>

<p>haha thanks :) yeah, im almost pretty sure it wont count against me, but i figured i'd get second opinion. plus, all in all, it makes a good story and i had a fun 3 days of no school.</p>

<p>First of all, keep your mouth shut about the event among your fellow students. Seconly, you should talk to your guidance counselor about whether this should be reported. There are some schools that suspend kids for a lot of reasons but do not feel that many of them are reportable events, whereas some things are.</p>

<p>cptofthehouse-- its too late for that. it was two years ago and everyone remembers it, ive becoming a legend in some ways haha. also, my guidance councelor is incompetent and told me he had no idea how it would affect me/what to do. i am going to report it however because im doing the common app and it asks specifically if you have been suspended and gives you room to explain it. otherwise i totally wouldnt. and thank you!</p>

<p>Ask your GC if the school is reporting it on your transcript. If they're not, then you don't need to mention it. If they are reporting it then you need to explain yourself so the school's know that it wasn't serious.</p>

<p>45 days for possesion of an inhaler? Are you serious? That makes me lol and lol some more, I know kids who have gotten half the time for drugs in the sense of... drug drugs.</p>

<p>I agree you need to answer "yes" to the common app question. Just write a short essay explaining what happened. I wouldn't list excuses in your essay - just go through the facts, you didn't know at the time it was wrong but now you appreciate how serious it was. (The 45 days is really crazy.)</p>

<p>I would have probably sued the crap out of the school... I mean, especially for the girl who got 45 days. If there was no adult supervision, you can easily sue them or something and even then its absolutely ridiculous. I cannot believe you didn't try to challenge it before. I would go to a doctor and explain the situation to him or her... I'm no doctor, but I think a real one would agree that taking a puff of a generic inhaler prescription when your throat closes up is better and the RESPONSIBLE choice instead of dying.</p>

<p>45 days for the possession of an inhaler? Seriously? I would definitely try to resolve this before putting it on an app, that's a bizarre rule...</p>

<p>Definitely put it on your Common App and explain it - it will be fine - and seriously, don't brush it off like some other people might advise, because if the colleges find out you were suspended (even though it wasn't that big of a deal) and you don't inform them, they will probably not accept you.</p>

<p>I agree with the above on thoroughly explaining this incident on the application. If carefully explained, the ad com will probably see it as any sane adult would: an act of kindness on the part of the girl and a need for medicine on your part. No asthmatic who has used inhalers would think that it was anything more than that. You might also ask your GC if she could ppositively comment on your GC recommendation.</p>

<p>How sad that the school could not have been more lenient to you both.</p>