The college search has started for many high school seniors across the country. After the college list is refined, it’s time to start working on the Common App (Common Application). The Common App allows students to apply to many colleges using one shared form. College-bound students typically know that they have to stay out of trouble during their senior year while they are applying to college. Many students think that once they are accepted, they can let their hair down and PARTY. Right? Not necessarily.
Starting with the 2021-2022 application cycle, the Common App no longer asks about disciplinary history. This change was a big relief to students who might have had some blemishes on their high school records. Despite this change, many selective institutions added questions about disciplinary history to their supplements to the Common App. Thus, many college seniors are counseled that they have to be forthcoming about prior suspensions. In essence, if a student wants to attend a selective college, they must stay out of trouble at school or there will be some explaining to do.
Even after students are accepted to colleges, they must be careful about breaking the student code of conduct. Colleges want a material update at the end of senior year. A material update is any substantial change or addition that could influence an acceptance decision. And yes, a suspension in high school after acceptance is a material update that can threaten a student’s college acceptance, along with a drop in grades or a significant change in course load.
What happens if a student is disciplined after getting caught drinking in the spring or using a fake ID to buy alcohol on a senior trip and decides not to report the suspension to the college? Could the student just turn a blind eye and slip into college without incident? Maybe. However, there is always the chance that someone else could report the discipline to the college. In the world of social media, Kristina and I have seen acceptances revoked after a third party posted about an issue and that information made its way to the desk of a college admissions office. A college that receives a credible report of new misconduct can investigate and act on it. It just depends on what information is reported and by whom. It’s hard to hide these days.
What do high school seniors have to do this year? Stay out of trouble. There will be a lot of temptation ahead, but don’t let what seems fun for a night derail your future. And for those parents who want to be the “safe” space where the drinking happens in the basement, we say take a hard pass. There’s just too much at stake.
Here are some practical takeaways:
- Identify each school’s actual supplementary questions.
- If you have an oops that needs to be reported, work with a counselor to help frame the experience.
- Seek counsel if you are accused of a disciplinary violation.