I’d say No. Answer the question as asked.
But @blossom makes a fair point. On the other hand, you may be seen as not following directions by providing detail they don’t want. .
If the question is that narrow, you don’t need to. IMHO.
what if the school said I did something I didnt do?
Were you found in violation?
It’s black and white.
I guess the best example I can give is running an unauthorized student run business from the school’s campus (nothing drug related, no transactions even)
the school would say so, but they also said its not a court and they dont need proof
my case is so nuanced and theres other small factors that i really would need to talk to an official admissiosn officer to get their opinion
nothing about me is black and white: the best i can say is if i was a lawyer bending every rule in the book but not breaking any rules
Again answer the question honestly.
If it’s were you found guilty if such and such and the answer is yes, then say so.
This is black and white - not gray.
One of the first posters said to answer the question asked honestly.
This should not be hard to do.
The question may be specific to something you weren’t found guilty of or general. Answer what is asked.
They are not asking if you did it. They are asking if you were found in violation.
It’s very black and white.
Were you found in violation or not ?
What you think you did or didn’t do is not what’s being asked.
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I was punished therefore found in violation.
There you go…
If they ask if it was academic and it wasn’t, you can say no without feeling guilt.
If they ask a general question then it’s a yes.
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how would it affect me may I ask, obviously not positively, but what are they really looking at?
I can’t say. I’m not the schools. But it doesn’t matter.
You’re going to be truthful. Or not.
Your odds of getting into Ivy are slim at best regardless.
In the time it will take you to decide- and then decide again- and then agonize over your decision- you could just state in three sentences what actually happened, what the school believes you did, and then move on with your life. This is not as complicated as you are making it out to be.
And if you need legal training to accurately parse what happened (you weren’t exactly in violation but the facts appeared to show that you were; the evidence was weak but the school found it compelling; the chain of custody was broken; they should have had a search warrant to examine the contents of your laptop but they claimed they didn’t since you were logged on to the school’s wi-fi) you should just disclose and move on.
At my own’s kids HS, something which clearly violated a school policy (operating a business on school property for example) is considered an academic violation. No, it’s not plagiarism, cheating on a test, or getting a classmate to tell you what’s on the exam ahead of time. But it’s considered an academic violation. Colleges won’t care; your HS DID, so just disclose and go watch football…
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Yeah I get it! I understand completely and I will do as you suggest. I will say that my school specifically told me that it wasn’t an academic violation. Just wanted to clear that up!
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I would answer the question as asked. (So, to be clear, if this was not an academic violation and the question asks only about academic violations, you don’t need to report it.)
I wouldn’t worry about reporting something like this, at all. Write a few sentences like blossom said, don’t overthink this. I understand when you say your case is nuanced but every case is…what’s important is that responsible adults at a private HS considered all the facts and nuance and decided there had to be some consequences. That’s all we need to know.
Have you talked with your school counselor about this and how to handle it? Have you asked your school counselor if they are putting this in their LoR? You might show a trusted adult what you are going to write for another set of eyes (school counselor, a teacher, an admin, probably not a parent.)
From my perspective, a violation like you are talking about is not going to automatically get you to the reject pile (all schools are different though.) Things that may get an applicant denied (at schools that ask these questions) include serious academic violations, being arrested for identity theft, attacking someone with an extremely sharp tool (all applications I have personally read.)
I understand you are anxious about this, and of course that makes sense. But be honest. Things will work out. You are welcome to PM me what you decide to write in your app if that would be helpful. Good luck to you.
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I have seen a kid report that they did that - I don’t remember if here or Reddit. They were annoyed that a classmate had been accepted somewhere while they weren’t and thought that the school should know …
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No teacher or counselor is mentioning my prior discipline.
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How do I PM you?
You need to tell the truth and move on.
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