Hey guys.
Currently I am a junior in high school, normal guy: good grades, marching band, etc. Last year there was an incident that really changed my life. In my chem class, a lot of my friends asked me to take a picture of the the test because there was a sub that day. Stupid as I was, I took them and gave it to them. Somehow the pictures were distributed around a lot of the kids in Chem, and one of the kids snitched. At this time, I was running to be my junior class vice president, and I won. But because i was caught i was impeached. Along with this I was suspended, and the incident was put on my record.
This really hit me hard. The things I had worked so hard for was taken away just like that. I was depressed for a very long time, and I changed my ways. I stopped cheating and copying homework all together, and I try to make my friends do the same, though they dont change their ways. I truly learned my lesson
But now that I will be a senior next year I have to start thinking about college. The principal said that the school wont be sending my record to the colleges, unless they ask, which is good i guess. How will this incident change my college acceptances? Am I screwed for the colleges I was aiming for? (UCSD, UCI, UCSB)
Also, would it be a bad idea for me to write about this in my personal statements? Like I said, this was a life changing experience, and I feel I can write a very good essay on it.
Thanks guys!
Your personal statement should be about something you’re proud of, that highlights what you’ve done that a college would want you for.
So, NOT an egregious mistake.
In all likelihood UC 's won’t have time to ask, but some private universities will.
When you meet someone for the first time, do you start off with describing all your failings?
The essay is not an occasion to apologize. It’s your chance to make a positive introduction.
The guidance counselor should address disciplinary issues in his/her report.
No you shouldn’t write about it unless asked. That said, IMO, you should work on how you present it/think about it for if you are asked. Again, maybe just my opinion, but if I were to pick out what you wrote about it above, it sounds like you are really mostly just sorry you got caught and you minimize your own poor choices too much. If they ask you verbally or in written form, I do t think it’s a good idea to pass the blame to your friends or to refer to the other kid as a snitch. I’m not saying you are a horrible person or that you aren’t accepting any blame, just that I really think you need to reframe it in your own mind just a bit more for just in case. Good luck! Peer pressure can be tough for kids and I’m glad you’ve learned that giving in when you know something is wrong is a bad idea.
In the beginning, I was only sorry that I was caught, I was extremely angry at the “snitch” and i blamed everybody, but myself. But honestly, I’m kind of glad this happened to me. This kind of sounds weird over the internet, but I truly understood that straight As werent everything. I truly realized that character was much better than grades in the long run. But, yeah I won’t write it in my personal statement. :-)) thank you so much though