<p>An acquaintance of mine was at a small, public, in-state LAC. He had done 3.5 years, and was expelled just before his final semester, for charges I won’t divulge here.</p>
<p>He takes things very lightly, and wasn’t all that phased. He was majoring in psych before, but just started up again at a local CC, now majoring in that super-profitable chemical engineering and getting all "A"s (I mean, he’s done college before already, and loves science). He started the LAC very young anyway, so is only slightly behind where a normal student would be, in terms of age. He didn’t take any credits from his previous college, and just pretended that it never happened. As he’s finishing up his fourth semester there, he’s planning to transfer into our state’s top flagship U. </p>
<p>This seemed, to me, too good to be true. He barely paid for the LAC (scholarships, and such), had a good time while it lasted (he just partied there), got to “try before you buy” college, and now will end up graduating from a better school with a better degree, only a little behind the average student. Is he/am I missing something glaring from this whole scenario?</p>
<p>Yes. Google “National Student Clearinghouse” and you will learn that he is not going to xfer into that top flagship without disclosing that prior college attendance. Because they’re going to find out if he doesn’t.</p>
<p>@cptofthehouse
I do not want to do the same. But if I was in his position, i.e., had goofed off for 3.5 years, realized I was graduating with nothing to show for it, and then suddenly had the chance to start fresh but armed with my previous experience, not to mention get a better degree from a better school, then yes, I would. The fact that he didn’t seem to care at all makes me think this was his reasoning as well. LAC was not that respected to begin with, nor is a psych degree. Chemical engineering degree from top state U carries more weight. I’m not saying I envy him, but it does make me question things…</p>
<p>@mikemac
I’ve vaguely heard of National Student Clearinghouse. Does every applicant go through this process? I feel it would be tedious for a giant university to run every applicant through it, just to make sure they haven’t been expelled and aren’t disclosing that information.</p>
<p>Running every applicant through the clearinghouse may not be feasable, but when it comes down to verifying the much smaller number of matriculants, that is more feasable.</p>
<p>So he may get all the way to being admitted as a transfer student, then having the admission offer rescinded after the school notices his previous undisclosed college enrollment.</p>
<p>“He didn’t take any credits from his previous college, and just pretended that it never happened.” Sounds like he lost 3.5 years. Everyone gets to start over, him included. BTW there is no guarantee that he will ever have a high paying job.</p>
Gee, why do you “feel” this way? You sure don’t seem too neutral about this. Got a dog in this fight?</p>
<p>Running every applicant thru it is nothing more than submitting a file with their names on it. Piece of cake. Of course the NSC charges per query, so in practice they will just do this with students that accept an enrollment offer. </p>
<p>Will they do it? Sure. Law requires them to do so; it is a way of fighting fraud, where a student collects a scholarship at school A and then conveniently decides to “forget” about attending A so that they can get a scholarship at B when they have used up their aid eligibility.
NSC</a> is the way colleges go about reporting this info.</p>
<p>I have no idea what he was expelled for, but I assume it was not criminal or he would be in jail. You say he was young when this occurred, so that could have been a factor in what he did. It sounds like he has moved on, made better choices and has earned another degree by working at it. I think it’s good he didn’t let something that happened when he was young, ruin the rest of his life and he’s made the best of a bad situation. </p>
<p>Unless it was something that is so inexcusable, I am not sure that expulsion would keep him from attending the state school. If he has the grades to get in, and explains the circumstances and can show how he learned from whatever it was, it may not hold him back at all. If he is paying for college on his own, I don’t see how that matters either. </p>
<p>It kind of sounds like you are hoping he does not succeed and are picking brains on CC to obtain information to use against him. Getting expelled was a high price to pay, and I do hope this student is able to make something of his life. Maybe you should encourage him to be honest about what happened and disclose it on his application, so that he isn’t expelled again if they find out. And just because he has acted non chalant about what happened, does not mean he does not care, but life goes on. Staying attached to a bad experience, does nothing to heal it or make progress. It just keeps you stuck. Maybe he did learn something at that not-so-well respected LAC, with his “almost finished” psych degree, afterall.</p>
<p>I don’t get this. I’ve known folks who have gone back to school after some dubious performances. He’s in a community college, probably with close to, or with open enrollment, not at some highly selective college. I don’t know whether State U will check him out through a clearinghouse or not. Should he apply to medical school or other professional program, they may well do this, but I cannot say for certain that every college does this. But so what if they do or don’t? He’s going to have to go through another 4 years of UG. I truly don’t see what the issue here.</p>
<p>you seem a little bit out of joint at the fact that this person is now prospering when he had a bad start. You seem irked that he has changed majors from psych (easy, you say, but he did poorly) to chemical engineering (where he now seems to be doing very well) and you say he is nonchalant and not fazed by not doing well his first try at college.</p>
<p>From the perspective of an adult, I would say that the opposite is actually the case–that his unsuccessful first try caused him to take stock, reevaluate, and do things differently the second time around.</p>
<p>He doesn’t need to go around for the rest of his life with his head down and a heavy millstone around his neck. Should he be punished for the rest of his life for making immature choices at 18 or 19? </p>
<p>If you screwed something up big time, would you never want to be given a second chance to prove that you could do well?</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, what do you think the consequences should have been for this person? </p>
<p>He started all over again at what might be considered the “lowest” level (community college), and showed commitment and sincerity by excelling. If he now meets the qualifications to transfer to a state university, why shouldn’t he?</p>
<p>Why does it matter if he graduates from a better university than you with a better degree?
Why does it matter that he’s doing well? You should be happy for him that he was able to make a good change to his life by taking things more seriously. </p>
<p>People grow up at different points in their lives. Why do you think a lot of students who come into college later in the game tend to be more successful? Maturity. People who know what they want and go get it. </p>
<p>Personally, if I were expelled, I’d freak out a little bit about it due to my personality, but there are people out there who deal with stressful situations better. Since things are going well for him I’d say he put himself on the right path. He knows what he wants to do with his life. You probably don’t.</p>
<p>The other issue this person has to deal with is job interviews … his resume with either show this first school or a big gap in his timeline … either way he will likely have to explain the first college experience</p>