Suspension - Please Help

Parents Forum
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<p>In the first semester of my sophomore year, I took unauthorized material from my classmate's locker and copied it. I was caught and suspended for two days on grounds of stealing and cheating. </p>

<p>It was a huge mistake, the biggest one I've ever made. I lost the trust of my best friend and my family. But I've learned my lesson. Since that time, I have stayed out of trouble. I quickly realized that lying, cheating, and stealing can never be justified, no matter how extreme the circumstances. As the leader of the Campus Life Committee, I have taken steps to reinforce the school's honor code in the parking system by amending that section of the handbook, which was fraught with loopholes that were being exploited.</p>

<p>My best friend and family have forgiven me. Will college admissions officers? I'm looking specifically at UPenn Wharton (ED), MIT (EA), and Stanford. I have strong scores from a severely underrepresented state and great ECs. I don't want this disciplinary action to hold me back, so do you guys have advice? Could you help me in formatting my letter? No, I don't want you to write it for me. This is a letter that needs to have my voice at its heart, but I want it to read in such a fashion that the adcoms understand that I will never cheat or steal again.</p>

<p>Comments, suggestions, advice are all welcome. Thank you for your help.</p>

<p>P.S. How long should this letter be?</p>

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<p>Use the situation as part of your essay.</p>

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<p>I’m not sure why you are writing a letter. You will have to answer a question on the common application explaining why you were suspended. It does not need to be very long at all (in fact shorter is better) - explain what happened and what you learned from it.</p>

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<p>Don’t use it as your essay except for the required Explanation of Suspension. Talk to your counselor and find out exactly what is in the record and how the school is going to address the situation. If the school is strongly in your corner, you are much better off. Your Explanation essay should be concise and not too flowery. No excuses- just “here’s what I did and here’s why it was a huge mistake and here’s what I learned.”<br>
It isn’t fatal, but something on your record like this means you need to apply to more schools than you otherwise would because you simply don’t know who it is going to rub the wrong way and who will like the “lesson learned.” (I have some experience in this area, FWIW).</p>

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<p>I agree with MOWC; you will need to apply to more schools because you never know how they will view something like this.</p>

<p>My D knows a girl who had her admission to Wharton rescinded after being caught for what the school termed to be “plagiarizing;” she made up quotes from numerous people for an article she was writing for the school paper because she “didn’t have time to do the interviews” in time for the paper’s deadline.</p>

<p>She did get into Georgetown during RD but was turned down by many other schools that should have otherwise been admits given her stats/profile.</p>

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<p>There is a lot of advice on CC about this topic. Use the search feature and check out essays by admissions experts on suspension, and posts by helpful people such as MomofWildChild.</p>

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<p>Definitely see how the GCs are going to report this on their Secondary School Report.</p>

<p>Schools view academic cheating VERY seriously. All you can do is write that Explanation of Suspension that most apps probably call for (like the Common Application that you’ll use for Stanford) and hope for the best. One piece of advice–I wouldn’t use craftily constructed euphemisms like “I took unauthorized material from my classmate’s locker and copied it.”</p>

<p>As others have said, this incident could very well “hold you back” at many schools. Do your best job on your applications, apply broadly and hope that some school will be forgiving.</p>

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<p>Schools can be very, very forgiving. However, for every applicant they admit they will turn down 5 or more equally “qualified”. So why should they take you? If you are going to overcome this, it is going to have to be more than “I will never do it again.” You will have to convince an admissions officer that, despite the strike against you, they should take you rather than the 5 other applicants.</p>

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<p>I think it matters that you did this when you were a sophomore, and not more recently. That reflects a younger stage of your character formation, and also there is enough intervening time for you to show you have learned and changed.</p>

<p>I agree with other posters: find out what the guidance folks (or other recommenders) are saying about this. Deal with it within the question on suspensions, and keep it matter of fact, not too rhetorical. Don’t try too hard, and don’t be defensive, but do be humble,as you apparently truly are.</p>

<p>Show your character in the rest of the application, in your essay, your activities, and what others say about you. I would think that would weigh a lot more, particularly as it reflects your more recent development as an ethical person.</p>

<p>Not to excuse this, but I would say 90% of kids in our local schools cheat. Plagiarism is a big deal, but nothing seems to be done about cheating, which continues from a young age all the way through. I personally think that the adult emphasis on product versus process (meaning grades) exacerbates this, and that also these matters can be murky in a day and age when elementary students cooperate a lot and everyone seems to work in teams, quite often. As a parent, I get quite upset about this issue, but school officials don’t seem that interested, frankly.</p>

<p>My brother was kicked out of a school way back when, for smoking marijuana. His college admissions actually benefited, I would say. </p>

<p>But regardless of what happens with college choices, perhaps be grateful that this happened to you early. Much greater damage is done to lives with corporate cheating, or even college/grad school cheating, and you have gotten an advance warning that has helped you straighten your course. (My son’s roommate was kicked out of college for copying homework from my son- my son did not even know- but both of them were in the same class and the professor noticed the similarities.)</p>

<p>You sound like a great person and I hope that you end up in a school where you can be happy.</p>

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<p>Thank you all for your advice! Rest assured that I’m taking to heart.</p>

<p>But I have one question, concerning this statement:</p>

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</p>

<p>The consensus appears to be that I should keep my explanation essay succint, but how short is “succint?” Fewer than 250 words? Fewer than 500? In between those two? More than 500?</p>

<p>Again, I appreciate all of your contributions to this thread. Please do keep the suggestions coming!</p>

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<p>I don’t think there is a magic number of words. You need to explain what happened without going into a lot of excuses and be very sorry for how you disappointed your teachers, your parents, and most of all, yourself.</p>

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<p>I want to agree with ellemenope about avoiding cleverly constructed euphemisms. Even if your intention is not to evade the truth, it feels that way to an adult reader who then wonders: What the heck is “unauthorized material”? When I read “unauthorized material,” I find myself very curious about what was actually taken and copied. I find myself wondering if this was the other kid’s math homework of if this was the master copy of the final for honors bio that was then shared with others or what. I have a similar reaction to the statement about “no matter how extreme the circumstances” because it sounds as if extreme circumstances made it seem alright to do what you did, and (even if this is not at all what you meant) hint that there might be a good excuse.</p>

<p>You want to come across as honest, forthright and unequivocally sorry when you make your explanation, and you don’t want the people reading the explanation to construct an imaginary scenario that’s worse than what actually happened.</p>

<p>It sounds as if you’ve gained insight into what happened, turned things around, and worked toward improving life on your campus. Admissions committees are going to see that. Good luck!</p>

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<p>This would be a good question for Ask the Dean. Something along the lines of: I was suspended for cheating … How will this affect my applications to colleges?</p>

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<p>OperaDad:</p>

<p>[College</a> experts discuss high school suspensions](<a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/experts/]College”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/experts/)</p>

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<p>Also, apply to several safety schools. I’m talking five or so places that were it not for this, you would be almost a sure thing (SAT and GPA above their 75th percentiles would be good). A large public school might be a good choice since they will look at grades and test scores more than other parts of your application (like your guidance counselor’s recommendation). Ideally, you could apply to some places with rolling applications, so that you know you have at least one admission in the bag. </p>

<p>The schools you want to apply to are long shots for everyone, no matter how talented in the classroom or with extracurriculars, and you have given yourself a major hurdle by committing academic dishonesty. Some schools will be willing to overlook it, but since it’s so hard to predict it’s important to hedge your bets with safer schools, and more of them, than you would otherwise need.</p>

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<p>I agree there is no magic number of words. But you should be able to do this in no more than 250-300 words and maybe much less. I don’t mean that as a rigid recommendation - if it takes longer to explain in a very straightforward way what happened, that’s fine. I agree no flowery language - that will make admissions officers’ eyes glaze over and it won’t sound like you mean it. I agree with the poster above about “unauthorized material” - I have no idea what that means. If you copied a classmate’s homework, say that. </p>

<p>One of my kids (and a number of his friends) had to answer the same common app question for not a suspension but “disciplinary probation” for a really silly prank in 9th grade. Based on what his private school admissions counselor told us, it does help that this occurred relatively early in your high school career. If your disciplinary record has been clean since then, that helps too. You shouldn’t go over the top in explaining what happened or what you learned - keep it short and simple and it will read as a more honest piece of writing. I think my son’s answer to the common app question was about 150 words.</p>

<p>You’ve gotten excellent advice above. By way of anecdote, one of my son’s friends who applied to UPenn ED with a suspension for academic cheating was turned down; he got into Columbia RD. My kid was accepted at Northwestern ED. All of his friends who were involved with his “prank” were accepted ED at their respective schools (Ivies and selective LAC’s). You just don’t know who is going to be reading your app, so to be safe you should cast a wider net.</p>

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<p>Talk to your guidance counselor to find out exactly how you should approach the situation. I think a lot of how a school “reads” your suspension is very much dependent on the school you currently attend. Obviously, they take an honor code very seriously and certainly you were a lot younger than you are now. I think, while you’ve gotten a lot of good advice here, that most schools do not expect perfection. Honor is a big deal certainly, but do not give up on any dream schools because of this. Casting a wider net is one thing, but assuming that it is completely negative is to miss the larger lesson, IMO. Knowing the consequences of an action and living with them are two very different things, and in some ways, you are much more aware of your actions and their repercussions than your peers, but only you know if you’ve repaired your reputation over the last year and a half. And if you don’t, you need to find that out first and foremost. </p>

<p>I also think that as you think about the teachers you’re going to ask (if you haven’t already) to write you recommendations, keep those who have seen the most growth in you in mind. I am only assuming, of course, but I think the teacher who had our son as both a sophomore and then as a senior was in a particularly unique position to talk about his grown as a student and a leader over two very different points in his HS career.</p>

<p>Have faith…</p>