In state high school senior.
White male.
34 ACT, 2140 SAT.
3.9 GPA currently.
Scheduled to have 11 AP courses by graduation.
Taking physics and math SAT subject tests soon.
Sports and highly involved in ECs.
Declared major: mechanical engineering.
At first, I thought I was looking like a pretty good candidate for tech. But then I remembered the blemishes on my disciplinary record that I got sophomore year…
It started with a referral for AWOL, which is probably nothing.
However, later that year, I got involved with drugs. I bought a weed edible on campus, and the seller got caught and the transaction was traced back to me via text messages / camera footage.
That led to 4 more infractions on my record… some of which I don’t even understand.
One for solicitation (asking to purchase), one for actually purchasing / possession, one listed as “other” which I’m pretty sure was necessary in order to put me on a “behavior contract”, and one for “chronic disrupt /repeated violation” which I don’t even understand why I have it. [In the works of talking to my counselor about if I can get that last one removed ATM]
5 disciplinary infractions - 4 drug related.
My mind was in the wrong place and I was a very different person. Could my sophomore mistakes ultimately affect my future so fatally?
How about addressing this in your essay? I think that you should address what happened carefully and write about what you learned. I think in fact, your change of heart could get you into MIT. Do not give up. You are in fact unusual in that you have an interesting record and overcame it very very nicely. Aim high. I think you can make it. ACT of 34 really is good enough for MIT if you have other strengths. Take the national math exam, enter a science fair, and stop worrying. You cannot change your past, do NOT let it define who you are today.
Since you are in state drive over to Georgia Tech and ask them directly about how they will handle your record. Address it directly with the schools you are interested in,do not be shy. If they say no way, apply to MIT, and other schools in the northeast, both public and private that will not care about your drug “record”… MIT will not care about you smoking weed a few times. Colleges in the northeast and west coast tolerate drugs more than Georgia does. Don’t let it get you down. Everyone makes mistakes. It seems Georgia is very strict about drugs. Clearly a lot of the country just is not that way.
Thank you both so much. You’ve been very helpful. I especially like what Coloradomama said about using this experience to help define my character now and make my essay stand out.
Originally, I was only applying to a few schools- I better find a few more.