How will a suspension affect my Admission potential?

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Cptn.Boca

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I am currently a Senior applying to the USNA and USAFA, with USNA being my primary goal. I am very motivated to attend an Academy and I have competitive grades, test scores, a varsity sport, and extra curriculars with many leadership positions. However, I got a two day suspension at the end of my junior year for having a nearly empty e-cigarette (juul) cartridge in my backpack. I took full responsibility for what happened, and lost a lot because of it. However, I was determined ever since this happened to focus solely on my priorities and I have gotten leadership positions back. Obviously, this is not going to help me but does anyone have some input on if this will totally take me out of the competitive zone for the Academy? I'm getting Letters of Req from my principal and a fromer BGO.
 
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In these days of zero tolerance, I see how the suspension could happen.
If your performance has been exemplary since then, It is my opinion that this transgression won't matter.
It may have to be explained, but it's not a huge problem.

My issue is that any teenager in this day and age should know that smoking anything is a bad idea.
All the impacts to health are negative and there is plenty of data to support that supposition.
This isn't the 1950's.
 
I'm assuming that the suspension is on your school transcript, which is how USNA will learn of it. If the reason for the suspension is not clear from the transcript, USNA may either ask for more information or refer the issue to the Character Board, which would request additional information. If the reason is on the transcript and this is the only disciplinary incident in your h.s. career, it's possible that nothing will happen.

Agree that this is unlikely to be a huge issue. First, using a Juul akin to smoking. Yeah, you're not supposed to be able to purchase smoking materials under age 18 but it's not an enforcement priority for USNA the way alcohol is and certainly not at the level of illegal drugs. [Also, you either are 18 or will be shortly and then you are free to use legal tobacco products, even at USNA, though there may be some limits on when and where.] Second, it appears from what you said that you took responsibility for your actions. That is all one can expect after a lapse in judgment.

You may want to discuss this during your BGO interview, including why it happened, what you've learned from it, etc.
 
@Cptn.Boca, what did you learn from that unfortunate episode? (That’s a rhetorical question, but I need it to make my point.)

If you genuinely learned a lesson (something beyond “I learned not to get caught”), then be ready to tell that story if given an appropriate prompt in essays and interviews. USNA isn’t populated solely by angels and Eagle Scouts. In USNA’s eyes, it’s not so much that you sinned, but whether you rose above it and became a better person. Here’s an opportunity to show maturity, remorse, maturity, humbleness, maturity...any number of attributes that USNA highly values.
 
usna1985 said:
I'm assuming that the suspension is on your school transcript, which is how USNA will learn of it. If the reason for the suspension is not clear from the transcript, USNA may either ask for more information or refer the issue to the Character Board, which would request additional information. If the reason is on the transcript and this is the only disciplinary incident in your h.s. career, it's possible that nothing will happen.

Agree that this is unlikely to be a huge issue. First, using a Juul akin to smoking. Yeah, you're not supposed to be able to purchase smoking materials under age 18 but it's not an enforcement priority for USNA the way alcohol is and certainly not at the level of illegal drugs. [Also, you either are 18 or will be shortly and then you are free to use legal tobacco products, even at USNA, though there may be some limits on when and where.] Second, it appears from what you said that you took responsibility for your actions. That is all one can expect after a lapse in judgment.

You may want to discuss this during your BGO interview, including why it happened, what you've learned from it, etc.
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Thank you all for your input. I had my BGO interview the day that I posted this thread and did not mention the suspension per the advice I got from some of my mentors who all have military background. I fully plan on reporting this and explaining what I learned to the academy. I'm debating whether or not to talk about the suspension in the personal essay when it talks about an experience that has shaped you. I feel like I talk talk about it well but Im not sure if this is the right angle to take. If I don't talk about the suspension, I'm going to talk about what I took away from a twenty day mission trip that I went on over summer to Croaita. Any input on what angle to take?
Again, thank you all on this thread for you responses.
 
Remember, this is coming from someone that you don't know and does not know your background and experiences. I would think that you would be able to craft a much more powerful essay around a twenty-day mission trip than around a suspension for possession of a e-cigarette cartridge. Don't hide the suspension, but you don't need to highlight (unless it was truly a pivotal experience in your life).

Good luck.
 
Cptn.Boca said:
If I don't talk about the suspension, I'm going to talk about what I took away from a twenty day mission trip that I went on over summer to Croaita.
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@Cptn.Boca, always talk about the experience that best answers the essay prompt or interview question. When I said above that you should be ready to talk about the suspension, I added an important caveat: if faced with an appropriate prompt or question. For example:

Prompt: Explain an experience that made you a better leader. Answer: I did a mission trip....

Prompt: Explain a bad mistake you made and how you learned from it. Answer: I was caught and suspended for....
 
With the amount of Mids that Juul at USNA, as long as they're aware of the situation it shouldn't be a problem. When I first got here (I'm a mid), I was mind-blown by the amount of people that juul and dip.
 
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