I’m currently a senior student at High School with very high GPA in school but I got suspension for two days because I made the most stupid mistake ever by deciding to set the fire alarm off. It was clearly a rash decision that I made and I am absolutely regretting my choice (I don’t even know why I suddenly did that and quite frankly didn’t really think about the severe consequence that I would have to deal with). Now, I’m really worried about my future university application. How is this going to affect my record? Also, if I applied early, what should I do? Do I have to report?
I probably depends on the schools you have applied to but I know of a student who has done some pretty serious stuff and still been admitted to two colleges.
At my children’s high school, there was a fellow student who was an attention seeker and did really stupid stuff. He was a smart kid but he had a terrible need for attention and would do outlandish things.
During his Jr year, the Jr. students took the state standardized tests as a gauge while seniors took it to pass. On the writing portion of the test, he wrote YOLO and tweeted it out. It made the national news and created a HUGE uproar. He was suspended for a time and then the suspension was reversed on a technicality when they lawyered up.
He laid low until the summer after his senior year, where he then hacked into the districts website (told you he was smart) and on the page of our high school, wrote some things about how he felt. This made local news.
He still was accepted into several colleges.
In April of his freshman year, he again made the national news, for making anonymous terrorist threats to campus on social Media. He was tracked down by the FBI and kicked out of the school. To this day, the state has yet to arraign him due to continuances by the attorneys.
Meanwhile, he was able to enroll in a local college this fall, so with all of that, he is still able to attend college. Go figure.
Can’t answer as to your obligation regarding an app you already filed, but it’s crystal clear that you are required to report this when you apply to schools in the future. All you can do is tell them what you did and how much you regret the stupidity of it. Clearer proof of immaturity would be hard to come by (and is frankly more forgivable in a teen-ager than in an adult) with so you might was well own it and hope for the best.
Your other option, which I strongly recommend you consider, is taking a gap year to give your brain some time to mature. Then reapply, with that extra year of hopefully responsible behavior between you and the suspension, to provide proof that you’ve gotten the need for this sort of prank out of your system. Take a look at The Gap Year Advantage for ideas and resources.
I’m not suggesting a gap year as a punishment - it’s just that your prank really does indicate someone with poor impulse control who desperately needs another year to get that under control before heading off to a ‘low supervision environment’ like college. The next time you give in to this kind of impulse, the consequences could be much more severe than a mere suspension and notation on your college record.
If you already submitted your app, that sucks. But if you didn’t explain in the additional comments.
Did you think of the 100s of people who you frightened and inconvenienced, as well as the firefighter resources you took advantage of and put in danger? You need to learn more from this mistake than it seems that you have.
Don’t stress it. I’d actually be disappointed if my son doesn’t get suspended at least once from high school. I was suspended in 7th grade, 10th grade, 11th grade and senior year. I still graduated from Boston College for offenses much worse than you ever did. The states expect you to smarten up at 18. As long as you can do that, your fine.