I was suspended for one day the middle of my junior year for taking one swallow of alcohol while on campus. I'm wondering how I should go about explaining this on college apps. I know I should state my lessons learned. How many should I give? Currently I have two. I have also explained how the lesson I have learned has been executed since the incident. (more mature-at prom I decided to go back to school instead of go to a party that I knew would have alcohol.) I attend a residential high school so I feel like living on campus and experiencing my incident now will be much like the temptation in college. I have learned to resist it early so it won't happen in college. Is there anything else I should state? Should I say something super heartfelt about being sorry it happened and it won't happen again? I also said "while there were many repercussions for my actions, I learned many lessons that will help me succeed in college and in life."
Thank you for reading this! Any extra input you could give me would be great!
What you have prepared to say is great; my only advice is to not dwell on it.
So if/when this comes up in an interview, say what you have prepared, and if they don't ask about it anymore, then don't talk about it anymore. Otherwise, you'll be the kid who drank on campus once the interview is over.
Thanks! Any other advice? I know most colleges ask about the suspension in the application but do they usually ask about it in interviews? Also how many lessons would be beneficial to state? My explanation is just under a page. Would that be too long?
Just under a page is fine. I wouldn't suggest writing any more than that. Usually one to two brief paragraphs is sufficient.
If it's an interview with an alum, it's unlikely that it would come up, as alumni don't usually receive much (if any) information about the students they're interviewing.
It might come up in an interview with an admissions officer, though.
