[SOS] HS senior in major trouble.. quesions regarding my college application

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi guys,</p>

<p>I'm writing my first thread on CC because I was so worried about my situation. I could really use some help from you guys... :)
Here's the deal:</p>

<p>I'm currently a senior at a private Catholic school, and because of a stupid mistake
I was suspended for 5 days, and I was asked 'voluntarily withdraw'.
However, after negotiating, (My records were crystal clear and this was my first involvement in any sort of disciplinary action)</p>

<p>the school decided to give me my diploma if I complete all my second semester courses through an independent study program. On my final transcript, they will list my 2nd semester senior grades as transferred courses taken from somewhere else, but still accepted as credits and the diploma will be awarded.</p>

<p>Now, my 5 of my 7 classes will be the same.[2 AP courses and 1 honors, 1 foreign language, 1 college prep elective] One elective will be a different but similar course, and my last course, Religion - a requirement for my CATHOLIC school - will be waived. </p>

<p>Furthermore, my transcript will not mention anything about my absence from school or about the 5 day suspension.</p>

<p>Today, I talked to my college counselor from school and she advised me that
1. I write a letter to all the schools I applied to and explain the situation with honesty.
2. Ask for a supportive letter from the Headmaster.
3. Wait for the colleges' new decisions and choose the school I want to go by May 1st.</p>

<p>She suggests this path for me because she thinks the private universities will thoroughly go over my transcript and question the school or me after July when they receive the end-year report. And my Headmaster is probably going to be straightforward with the situation. </p>

<p>So far, I've got into UCLA, UCSD, UCD, USC, BC. I'm still waiting from Carnegie Mellon, Duke, Cornell, Brown, Stanford, and UC Berkeley.</p>

<p>Frankly, I am almost sure that most schools on my list will definitely have an issue with my mistake, especially when the acceptance rates are lower than ever. They would have thousands of other applicants with same qualifications but without a disciplinary record during the last few months of HS.</p>

<p>Some people advised me not to take any action first and just make sure that I have straight A's from my online courses and the colleges wouldn't mind at all. </p>

<p>I need advises from people before I start taking any action...
help.. please?</p>

2

<p>It'd help if we knew what you did...</p>

<p>Anyway, you can choose not to report the event, but if there is anything at all suspicious on the transcript and a school investigates, then your admission will almost certainly be rescinded for not coming forth. </p>

<p>It sounds corny right now, but this is a great situation to learn from. You'll undoubtedly have to take your lumps as colleges make their decisions, but know that even the smallest lapses of judgment can and will impact your life.</p>

3

<p>By the way, I'm going to guess that those people who said colleges "won't mind at all" are your 16/17/18 year old friends. Let me tell you right now that schools will most definitely care about an event that caused the administration at your school to ask you to withdraw mere months before graduation, irrespective of the severity.</p>

4

<p>What was it that you did? Feel free to PM me. I hope your situation clears up soon. As the above poster said, I don't think it would be so great if the colleges would sense something suspicious going on--so perhaps it's a good idea to inform the schools what had happened?</p>

5

<p>Still waiting for answers....</p>

<p>P.S. the person who advised me to remain silent was actually an expert adviser with a doctorate..</p>

6

<p>I suggest you post this on the parents forum and see what they have to offer</p>

7

<p>That person should not be advising high school kids in any manner, then.</p>

<p>Do you really think that top 25 schools "won't mind at all" after you've been essentially kicked out of high school in the final semester of your senior year? </p>

<p>Even if the suspension does not show up explicitly on your application, the fact that all of your core classes are taken somewhere else is almost certainly going to raise suspicions. </p>

<p>You could respond by saying that it wasn't a real expulsion as the administration only wanted you to finish the courses online, but the headmaster may very well be contacted, and s/he would not tip-toe around the truth.</p>

<p>If your chosen schools does follow up and asks where these classes were taken, you'd have no choice but to tell them the real story, in which case they'd probably be quite upset that you didn't come forward. My guess is that they'd revoke your admission.</p>

<p>The trouble with not being straightforward is that these colleges view your admittance as a privilege, and the technicalities of whether or not something shows up on an official resume don't matter to them. The offense you committed is probably bad enough, but lying about it would be the deal-breaker. </p>

<p>Common sense says that a college would want to know about this kind of a change, and not informing them would come across as evading the truth. Having to explain why you didn't reveal this development would be quite tricky. I mean, would you say that you didn't feel it was too important? Come on... </p>

<p>So considering that you're trying to avoid the full truth, they have every reason to turn you down. This isn't a court of law where you have inalienable rights; the college process is arbitrary. </p>

<p>I don't mean to sound harsh, but I know someone who has been through a similar situation, and you just have to know that you really cannot walk a fine line here as you are at the university's mercy.</p>

<p>As for an actual solution, you have to contact the universities, apologize profusely, and convince them that this was just a temporary lapse in judgment as your record indicates that you're a good kid. If possible, cut a deal with them where you'll enter on probation or something.</p>

8

<p>CollegeHellp nailed it. You need to be honest with the college. Anything that would result in automatic expulsion must be fairly serious. At my school that would be drugs, but it might be different for a Catholic School. Just alert the college of what happened, and hope for the best. This is the consequence for whatever you did.</p>

9

<p>Your college counselor is correct. Colleges will not miss this, and when they discover it without forewarning, they are likely to take a more harsh position. Your school has a duty to disclose this, and I'm very surprised they are not proactively doing so but they certainly will when asked. Their reputation at these schools is important to future grads.</p>

<p>It seems clear that what you did was probably serious. Most high schools, especially private or parochial ones, would not lightly dismiss a senior without good reason.</p>

<p>If your parent's can afford it, I suggest you consult a good private college counselor and get that person to help you plan a strategy to minimize the damage. If they can't afford it, use the parent's board as a resource and PM some parents with the details for help.</p>