Suspended 4 times from high school sophomore year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If he made these choices, let him figure out how to get into college.

+1

[Anonymous]

Sounds like an ideal candidate for UVA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he was protesting against masks, maybe Liberty University will be a good option for him.

Idiotic judgmental comment

Liberty is for kids with Lower GPAs

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like an ideal candidate for UVA

He is looking at UVA or Virginia tech or Mason

[Anonymous]

There is a cost for any political or other activity that results in suspension OP. If he doesn't want to follow the rules that is his choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If he was protesting against masks, maybe Liberty University will be a good option for him.

Idiotic judgmental comment

Not really. For a 4 time suspension in political reasons in the last 3 years, I'm going with he violated the mask mandates. That's not a real political stance---that's going against rules that were in place to keep EVERYONE safe.
If that's the case, then yeah a school like liberty would be thrilled to have him.

Agree with this post. If I were an AO I'd think he was a selfish jerk. And the reason people like my aunt died of Covid - she was elderly and could not be vaccinated. Liberty is a perfect fit for him.

I am not the OP, I am a poster that suspects he protested the mask mandates in Virginia in late January 2022. FYI for those who don't live in Virginia or follow Virginia news. When Youngkin came into office a year ago, the first thing he did was sign an Executive Order that stated parents could opt out of any local mask mandates. Several school districts immediately dropped their mask mandates. Others, including FCPS, did not and vowed to fight the EO. The Virginia legislature drafted legislation to codify that parents could opt out of mask mandates. Several students around the state, in support of Youngkin, started protesting the mask mandates, including a 10 year old at Waynewood Elementary in FCPS. These students would show up at school every day not wearing a mask and when they were told to put it back, on, they were suspended. I'm not the OP, I don't know what the kid was suspended for, but I highly suspect it was the mask battle in Virginia less than a year ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a cost for any political or other activity that results in suspension OP. If he doesn't want to follow the rules that is his choice.

Right? It seems that the parent should have prepared the child for the possibility that multiple suspensions for disciplinary infractions might have an impact on his college admissions.

[Anonymous]

I think the question is irrelevant. Your son is obviously not interested in college.

[Anonymous]

I think that many suspensions would raise a red flag at almost any reputable college. There are still some colleges in the northeast that have kids wearing masks to class. Your child showed poor judgement. There are more effective ways to protest and lead change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op, There is more to the story that you are sharing. He had to do something pretty severe to get suspended 4 times. Schools rarely suspend now.

Last year when Governor Youngkin came into office, he issued an executive order that stated parents could opt out of any school mask mandates. There was a 10 year old girl at Waynewood Elementary in FCPS that was suspended at least four times for not wearing a mask. When the VA legislature passed a law allowing parents to opt out of masks, she was at the signing. I think he handed her the pen that he used to sign the legislation.

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/fairfax-county-family-to-protest-10-year-old-daughters-suspensions-for-not-wearing-mask-to-school

That is quite a thing to be proud of! Maybe she could run for the House of Representatives, as a Republican, and take pride in defunding the CDC or rescinding Fauci's retirement benefits?

(And to think that I only have a kid who wants to ADVANCE science instead of a little whippersnapper who is putting the "u" and the "b" in FREEDUMB).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DS has 3. 5 GPA, the reason he was suspended last year was because he political protest. It was a “safety/dress code issue”.
Will college asked the question why he got suspended ? My DH thought it was a good idea, because he is into currently events, but we are not sure how it look when they asked him what kind of “protest”… do they find out ?

All of the schools my kid applied to asked. He checked "no" so I don't know if a "yes" opened an additional box to explain but I would assume it did.

My suggestion is that your son be as open and honest as possible. Sounding evasive and leaving out details will be worse than being truthful because they will be left with no choice but to assume the worst. If he is proud of his behavior, he should say so, and why. If he has had a change of heart he should explain why. If he would make the same choice again but recognizes it is an unpopular choice, he should acknowledge that and explain his reasoning.

Also, if the school is asking him they are also asking the guidance counselor. Your son might as well give his side of the story.

[Anonymous]

Your son can portray himself as an activist & apply to schools which value activism. Evergreen State, Berkeley, etc.

[Anonymous]

If the common app, or any app asks about suspension, your child should give a truthful explanation of the situation.

If it’s in regards to masking, as some are guessing, your child should address it and move on. Making sure to explain that FCPS was defying the Governor. Lots of schools still have a whole prompt regarding how Covid impacting you.

Most people outside of the DMV won’t think much of it. As, outside of the DMV the country has moved on and can see the stupidity of closing schools for a year and masking kids for more than that.

Make sure one of your child’s recommendations addresses their good character.

It’s unlikely to impact admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think that many suspensions would raise a red flag at almost any reputable college. There are still some colleges in the northeast that have kids wearing masks to class. Your child showed poor judgement. There are more effective ways to protest and lead change.

Which ones?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think that many suspensions would raise a red flag at almost any reputable college. There are still some colleges in the northeast that have kids wearing masks to class. Your child showed poor judgement. There are more effective ways to protest and lead change.

Which ones?

Most. They are concerned, and rightly so, for having a student on campus that harms other students (think UVA shooter) or interferes with their use of the campus. I just googled this. Most if the posts dealt with single suspensions, not multiple. Yes, it appears in your transcript but the advisors say you should self-report, I.e., don’t make the college find it out. Address up front