<p>how should i deal with a suspension? i was really mad this one day and i just released my anger in the wrong way and got in a violent fight with this other sophomore in my class. it’s stupid, i know. i’m a senior, now, but i’m going to apply to colleges and i was just wondering what should i do/write/what my chances are now…</p>
<p>yeah, thanks.</p>
<p>You need to talk to your college counselor at your high school and see how they report suspensions, and how they advise you. You will probably have to report it to the colleges that ask about suspensions on their applications, which is most of the competitive colleges.</p>
<p>State schools seldom ask, however, so you may be able to ignore it on those apps. Talk to your counselor/advisor.</p>
<p>it doens’t show up on my transcript, but i know that it is on my permanent record. my counselors are really incompetent, so i don’t exactly trust their word.</p>
<p>If it’s on your permanent record, you’ll want to report it on your apps with the explanation in the space provided. ( They usually ask right on the front page - Have you ever been suspended or expelled…?)
State schools and universities probably don’t ask about this - check out the various apps online and see where you stand. Good luck - sometimes we just have to take our lumps. :(</p>
<p>Talk to your GC; if there is a question on the college application, you need to be truthful.<br>
Harvard originally admitted a student who later was shown to have killed her mother. Harvard rescinded her admission, not because of the original act, but because she lied on her app, specifically in response to the question about suspension, expulsion, conviction, etc…</p>
<p>CC addresses this on the ask the expert page. Here’s the link <a href=“http://www.collegeconfidential.com/experts/index.htm[/url]”>http://www.collegeconfidential.com/experts/index.htm</a></p>
<p>Most private colleges ask if you have ever been suspended, answer it as they also ask the guidance counselor the same question, state schools do not ask , nor does the common app, but many schools have a common app supplement and it is in there. It is good it was sophomore year, show what you learned, how you changed and have the GC write that you have been a model student since then.</p>
<p>yeah, thanks, guys. i heard that if you cheat and get suspended, then it’s really bad. would fighting be worse since i tried to hurt somebody?</p>
<p>well, at schools with strict honor codes, plaigarism or cheating leads to expulsion while violence may [depending on seriousness] only be suspension. thus, cheating could be potentially seen as worse.</p>
<p>Fighting is definitely a hard rap to beat, especially for many of the smaller private schools. However, pretty much every app I’ve seen allows you to explain why you were suspended. If you want to defend your actions (i.e. it was a one time thing, won’t happen again, etc) you can go that route, or you can simply admit you were suspended once and not fill them in on the details. If it would make you more comfortable it might help to have a staff member who knows write a brief explanation.</p>
<p>Don’t be vague, college reps have said that if there is not an explicit description of what happened, they have great imaginations and will fill in the gaps themselves! I know folks suspended who have still gotten into great colleges, apply where you want to go, don’t let it stop you!</p>
<p>I got caught cheating once (2nd day of freshman year, bully got me to give him the answers to the summer reading). I lost 30 points on the packet, but got no suspension. Will this be on my permanent record?</p>
<p>most probably not</p>
<p>RF–
S was suspended twice his freshman year, both for giving into his impetuousness by fighting back. The infractions did not appear on his transcript (different from a permanent record), but he did have to answer the question on college apps about whether he had ever been suspended. He answered truthfully and just graduated from UCLA.</p>
<p>Your suspension happened early on in HS and was never repeated, so it seems that you learned from the experience. I don’t think that you have anything to worry about.</p>