<p>I am new here and I was not sure which board to post this on (this one or admissions).</p>
<p>I am a parent trying to help my child get into college - we all are right! Well our situation is different from most as unfortunately my child has a criminal record. It is a misdemeanor for reckless driving, which started as a DUI at age 16 (they are 18 now). Due to the laws in our state this is considered an adult criminal record (not juvenile) and cannot be expunged for 15 years. My child has not been in any trouble since then and totally paid for the wrecked car, lawyer and fine. It has been almost 2 years since this happened and they are a different person with goals and has truly made a life change due to the extreme stress this situation has caused. GIANT lesson learned (for all of us). </p>
<p>I know we have to disclose this on all applications, but I worry they will not be able to get into any college and we are just wasting our time and money sending in the applications. Has anyone experienced this that might be able to give us direction on how to word our explanation on the application? Their guidance counselor has never experienced this and does not have any suggestions. I do not want to sugar coat it, but I do want them to see the changes I have and what a great student they are and would be at their school. </p>
<p>Pick one college or university from your child’s list, and have your child contact the head of the admissions office to discuss this specific issue. That conversation will lend a great deal of clarity to your child’s situation. Once your family knows the answer for one institution, you will better understand the possibilities at other places. </p>
<p>We have already asked one college (private college) and since it is a misdemeanor they will not hold it against him, but that school is not his first choice (of course). I will encourage him to contact a state school to see what they say.</p>
<p>I would say that since he has been clean for 2 years and it’s a misdemeanor, not a felony, it’s not going to be an issue for admissions for most schools. Also, are you sure you have to report this? I thought it was only felony convictions but I haven’t paid that much attention to the applications in that section.</p>
<p>You are correct, in my first post I did try to conceal his identity which was the reason I used “they” or “their”. I know it sounded funny, but it is my son. I’m sure this has happened to more than just my child. </p>
<p>From my understanding, the state college apps here ask if the are any criminal charges or convictions. So yes, he would have to disclose both the charge and the conviction. We are just stumped as to how much information do we disclose. Do we state all of the details or just an overview of what happened. Where can we show that he has turned his life around and has left the old friends and problems behind. </p>
<p>He has a great GPA (weighted 4.03), but has struggled with the SAT and ACT (retaking this in 2 weeks). Has a composite score of 18 on first try with ACT. We know that needs to come up. Not much community service as he has been working 30 hours a week at a part time job to reimburse us for the car he wrecked. Now that is paid off, but he still works lots of hours to save up for college expenses. We just hope he can get into one of his preferred schools. We really do not think we can afford the private colleges.</p>
<p>Since money is an issue, would it make sense for him to start at a community college and then transfer to a four year state university? A good record for his first two college years would more than make up for a mistake made as a 16 year-old.</p>
<p>One (of many) reasons ECs are important is that they show one’s ability to do things outside the classroom and still maintain the grades. Also, they can show how one takes responsibility. In that sense, the fact that your son worked 30 hours to repay for his mistake might be considered a good thing to bring up in his college app process.</p>
<p>Congratulations to you and your son for the great turnaround in his life! His superb GPA speaks to his dedication to his studies - something his counselor and teachers can speak to. Seems that disclosing his offense is mandatory, but he can explain in his essay the lessons learned, and his work to pay off all debts is worth at least as much as any other EC. all best!</p>
<p>One thing I failed to mention is that he is in an early college program. He will graduate from high school and receive his AA degree next May. So he worked 30 hrs a week (since he was 16), attended high school and will have completed a full 2 year degree before he turns 19. He is a great student, but does not do well on standardized tests, never has (reading/grammar is the main problem - great in math).</p>
<p>He also is not real sure what field he wants to study, but we know we need to start applying to the 4 year colleges soon. Its just the fact of the criminal record that leaves us scratching our heads. Plus the fact he needs to bring up his test scores. </p>
<p>I have no doubt he could get in to some of our local private colleges and there are several, but he really wants to attend a state school and has a few he likes. I too worry about the cost of the private colleges as his test scores will not qualify him for many scholarships from them.</p>
<p>State school will most likely be more affordable, and will accept more of the credits that he has earned. Can you work with not only his hs guidance counselor but also with someone at the CC that is familiar with transfer and articulation agreements with state schools? </p>
<p>I would also apply to the state schools early (after getting revised test scores) so that you have time to focus on plan b. </p>
<p>I hope more people that have this experience can give you concrete advice, but I think is not insurmountable.</p>
<p>Also, has he considered the SAT? ACT can be tough for slow readers and many state schools only look at CR+M so a great math score may not hurt as much for a lopsided applicant.</p>
<p>agree to call a few admission officers- i have found them to be very honest and kind and have good suggestions- you might also ask if they have school suggestions if they do not think he is a good fit for them.</p>
<p>A number of state schools probably won’t hold a misdemeanor against him. </p>
<p>What is your budget? how much will you pay each year?</p>
<p>Your budget may largely determine where he should apply. </p>
<p>What is your home state? Since he’s getting his AA while in high school, that sounds like what they do in Washington with Running Start, but other states may be doing that, too.</p>
<p>Even tho he’ll come into college with an AA, he still applies as an incoming frosh (not a transfer student).</p>
<p>Do have him take the SAT. Many schools only use the Math + CR so if he practices those sections he may end up with a better score. When he practices, at first don’t time him. Sit with him and see where he’s struggling. Later, time him and see if he’s running out of time and why. </p>
<p>What was the breakdown of his ACT? that may reveal that he may be a slowish reader or having problems with the Science Reasoning. Is he not finishing sections?</p>
<p>Does my son need to call or email? I would like to know what is said as well and I worry I will not get the entire answer from him if he calls. I know I have to let him do this himself, but I also feel I need to know their entire response so I thought email might be better. What do you guys think?</p>
<p>Also, he has taken both the SAT and the ACT already. He felt more comfortable with the ACT for some reason. So he is taking it again next week. This time he is preparing (did not last time) so I hope the scores will go up some. I will encourage him to take the SAT again too.</p>
<p>From what we have been told by several schools, they will admit the early college students as freshmen, but then adjust them up after the first semester based on their cc credits. That way they can get the new college student experience. He has been taking college classes since the 9th grade so it is nice they allow them to get that big college feeling. </p>
<p>I can understand the desire to email, but a school may be hesitant to put their answer in writing out of fear that it will be taken as a “pre” acceptance or rejection.</p>
<p>What schools are you all looking at?</p>
<p>Are you willing to pay $30k per year? More? Less?</p>
<p>His work to pay for the car is his EC. Not every child gets to do a sport full time or be on model un, etc. There are kids who go to work every afternoon after getting out of school and on weekends and get into great colleges.<br>
He really needs to up his scores, I would say that that should be a priority number 1 between now and January.
In terms of the misdemeanor - there is a portion on the application that most people use to download their resume. It says something like “additional info”. That space allows approximately a page worth of writing. Have him write about the incident, what he learned and what he has been doing since, ie working to pay for car, getting better grades, etc. If he has to go to counselling for this and has a great relationship with the counsellor - have the counsellor write this letter and then download it into the application (dont rely on mailing). Do not use the main application essay for this since it will not show his true character, his passions and dreams, etc.</p>
<p>We are in NC and are looking at Western Carolina, App State, UNC-Charlotte and possibly some others in the state. That is the short list right now. We would like to stay around 15k a year or less if possible. He will be a first generation college student. No one in our family has a degree (I am close but did not finish my AA). We are not looking at the Ivy League like so many on this board are. Just trying to get into a state school. </p>
<p>As far as testing. He has the ACT prep book as that is the test he is taking in 2 weeks. He has been reviewing it, but now that classes at the cc have resumed it is getting hard to find the time to squeeze that in. We are going to do some practice tests this weekend. I hope the scores can come up.</p>
<p>*We are in NC and are looking at Western Carolina, App State, UNC-Charlotte and possibly some others in the state. That is the short list right now.</p>
<p>We would like to stay around 15k a year or less if possible.*</p>
<p>With that budget, your instate publics are best. Thankfully, your state has some nice options…the ones you’ve mentioned above are fine, also maybe UNC-Ashville unless that’s too granola for your child. Maybe NCState if he has any eng’g interests. </p>
<p>Since he’s doing his AA now, then he may already have determined what classes are his strengths and what he’ll major in. Does he have any idea of a major? If so, what?</p>
<p>What was the breakdown of his ACT? </p>
<p>When he practices this weekend, try to sit with him to determine what’s going on…is he rechecking answers before finishing the entire section? Is he “over-thinking” which wastes time? </p>
<p>Right now no, he has not decided on a major but has a creative side and tends to gravitate to design type jobs when we discuss it. Drawing is not a talent though. We have discussed architecture but we are still just talking at this point. He has also mentioned physical therapy so it just is all over the place right now. We do worry with the criminal record if he would be able to get into a graduate program to get his masters for any of the medical therapist type careers.</p>
<p>His prior ACT scores were not good and we know that - he did no prep for it!! This is time different and he has been reading and taking practice tests. His prior scores were:</p>
<p>Composite - 18</p>
<p>English - 17
Math - 21
Reading - 15
Science - 17
Writing - 8 (on the lower scale of 2-12)</p>
<p>This has got to be brought up to get in his first choice of App State. We know he has a better shot at Western Carolina, but he really does not the area the school is in. But would go there if he had to (it is his second choice). UNC-C is 3rd, but due to its close proximity to home he really did not want to go there if he can get accepted somewhere else. </p>
<p>He has learned that with the ACT you need to answer all questions even if you have to guess on some, which is different from the SAT from what I understand. He also just informed me that he did not have a graphing calculator for the ACT last go round (not sure why he did not take one), but said his math score will go up for sure this time due to that. </p>