<p>My school sucks and can not fit my schedule into a normal 9 period day, so I have to give up my lunch (Or drop an AP class out of only 4 offered so not gonna happen.)</p>
<p>Anyways, because of this I have a first period study hall to serve as my "lunch"</p>
<p>I plan to come in late every single day because I think that should be my reward for giving up lunch and my parents agree.</p>
<p>So, the point is, if I explain this to ND admissions, will having like 90 tardies at the time of admissions hurt my chances????</p>
<p>Could these tardies be considered "excused"? Have you and your parents consulted with the administrators of your school? Perhaps they can work with you about this. Giving up lunch period for classes should count for something and should be a good argument for excuse with those administrators. I would certainly inquire ahead of time as it does not hurt to ask.</p>
<p>I already asked if I could have excused tardies, but my principal said that I need to have an excuse such as work (My school offers early releases for work,) but no such thing exists for coming in late. He said that the state recquires proof of employment. However, I think they might be at least somewhat lenient for marking me tardy or at least I hope. Regardless, I am still going to have a massive amount of tardies.</p>
<p>To me, it seems somewhat arrogant. Plenty of people didn't have lunch in high school, including myself (on about half of the days), and to actively say "I'm not coming into school and there's nothing you can do about it" is a slap in the face of the administration, and if there's one group of people you want on your side while applying for colleges, it's the people sending your transcript and writing your recommendations.</p>
<p>Actually my guidance counselor suggested it, she merely told me that I had to explain this to colleges and that she would back it up. Also, the principal is very nice to me and went out of his to respond personally. Furthermore, most of the people that did not have lunches in high school did because they scheduled too many classes or picked obscure classes, I on the other hand did not, and this was purely guidance's fault. They understand why I want to do this because of the situation.</p>
<p>Agree with Kevdude -- it's arrogant -- coming in late should be my "reward" for giving up lunch. Why would you want to place yourself in a position of creating a "negative" and having to explain it? Why not just show up on time and use the time positively to get homework done. It's just a time management issue.</p>
<p>I don't really think its a time management issue considering that my homework would already be done and I would merely be using the extra hour for sleep. I'm not going into detail but I lead an unbelievable schedule that involves barely any sleep. I just figured that I rather give myself that extra hour and not kill myself. If I have to explain that, so be it.</p>
<p>Does the college counselor at your school think that the tardie issue might be a red flag for ND admissions? Also, contact the regional ND rep for your area and just ask the question. I can certainly understand your concerns and the horrible scheduling. If I were in admissions, tardies would not really be that high on the list--there are far too many other things that I think they look at first (test scores, gpa, essay, ECs). Those things will be evaluated right off the bat with probably no reference to attendance and tardies. If you make the cut at that point, then I imagine admissions will delve deeper into your app with regard to other issues. Do you know if teacher recs will be reflecting positively about you or will the tardies be an issue for those teacher recs as well? Consider all of these things and I personally would not stress too much over this (have to agree with danbrenn on this one!). Just work with the administrators at your school. And, good luck!</p>
<p>I think coming in late doesn't really counteract the lunch thing. I think it's unfair you don't have lunch, but coming in late doesn't have anything to do with lunch. You could get more sleep by going to bed earlier and doing your homework first period instead of in the evening? I think it is really admirable to give up lunch in order to have a really heavy course load, something I wouldn't be willing to give up.</p>
<p>I think the tardies is a lose-lose situation. If you explain it to ND they might see it as like other posters said - a slap in the face of administration. And if you don't explain it, it looks bad on your record.</p>
<p>So, I definitely understand where you're coming from, but I think the best plan would be to wake up that extra hour or so if you really are really concerned about college admissions. It's not that bad and it can give you more free time or sleep time the evening before.</p>