<p>Question: In 6th grade I called the music teacher a b*tch. It was a HUGE mistake for me to say that and I felt bad but I wanted to make sure if the incident was going to affect me in college. I also got a one day lunch detention that day. Please and thank you. [...]</p>
<p>Absolutely Not! Colleges only see disciplinary actions that occur in grades 9-12. Thats a hilarious way to get detention though. You should be able to look back on this and laugh. Don’t worry, but don’t get detention in high school.</p>
<p>This seems relatively minor compared to most disciplinary actions. Honestly, I find this a very nice question that reflects how good of a person this is.</p>
<p>Don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Great to hear that you realize that you were in though!</p>
<p>Hahaha no way, middle school detention doesn’t even go on your record let alone just plainly matter. They only look at high school </p>
<p>Do colleges even look at high school detentions? I haven’t seen any question asking that on any application. I suppose the counselor could bring up detentions a student has had, but do they normally?</p>
<p>Colleges look at suspensions and expulsions but not at detentions. (I just edited this because I noticed that I’d said that they do look at “detentions” but I really meant suspensions. My bad! Sorry!) There is a “Disciplinary History” section on the Common Application (and on many other applications, too), and school counselors are also asked to report suspensions and expulsions. The gravity of these infractions is evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and there is some inevitable inconsistency depending on which college is involved and even among various staff members within the same college. Violations that involve bullying, hate crimes, serious physical violence or weapons, theft, and cheating are usually viewed more harshly than are the more typical teenage foibles (e.g., sneaking a cigarette in the school bathroom or ditching AP Bio for Burger King). You can read more on this topic on the College Confidential Experts Roundtable here: <a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/experts/”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/experts/</a> This column is at least a decade old so many of the “experts” queried have new job titles now, but I suspect that their thoughts on this thorny topic haven’t changed.</p>
<p>^Yes, but detention is different from suspension/expulsion, Bullying and hate crimes will get you suspended/expelled I doubt the Breakfast Club gang reported their Saturday on their college applications nor did Mr. Vernon include it on the GC report.</p>
<p>This is from the school report section of the Common App:
Has the applicant ever been found responsible for a disciplinary violation at your school from the 9th grade (or the international equivalent) forward, whether related to academic misconduct or behavioral misconduct, that resulted in a disciplinary action? These actions could include, but are not limited to: probation, suspension, removal, dismissal, or expulsion from your institution.
☐Yes ☐No ☐School policy prevents me from responding
To your knowledge, has the applicant ever been adjudicated guilty or convicted of a misdemeanor, felony, or other crime?
☐Yes ☐No ☐School policy prevents me from responding.
Note that you are not required to answer “yes” to this question, or provide an explanation, if the criminal adjudication or conviction has been expunged, sealed, annulled, pardoned, destroyed, erased, impounded, or otherwise ordered to be kept confidential by a court.
If you answered “yes” to either or both questions, please attach a separate sheet of paper or use your written recommendation to give the approximate date of each incident and explain the circumstances. Applicants are expected to immediately notify the institutions to which they are applying should there be any changes to the information requested in this application, including disciplinary history.
☐ Check here if you would prefer to discuss this applicant over the phone with each admission office.
<a href=“https://appsupport.commonapp.org/link/portal/33011/33013/Article/780/Training-Resources”>https://appsupport.commonapp.org/link/portal/33011/33013/Article/780/Training-Resources</a></p>
<p>Umm… No. Nobody cares about middle school detentions or even middle school grades. It’s kind of a dirty little secret that your teachers don’t want you to know. Still, study and try to get good grades and stay out of trouble. It’s good practice for when it does matter.</p>
<p>If colleges start denying applicants on the basis of their high school detention history then you won’t see many on campus. As long as you were not formally charged and convicted, you’re fine. </p>
<p>No. Colleges don’t care what you said to your teachers when your were 12. Honestly, most HS counselors who are genuinely nice probably would even exclude one minor detention from your record.</p>
<p>I made a mistake above when I originally said that colleges look at detentions. I meant to say “suspensions” (and expulsions) but definitely NOT detentions. Colleges also don’t look at any school disciplinary action that happened before 9th grade. </p>