<p>I'm a senior in High School and have been accepted to a top 20 university. Recently on a school trip overseas, my friends and I made a huge mistake and were caught drinking wine. We've been seriously punished at school, -- we've lost leadership positions, prom, and I can't be commencement speaker any more -- but our school also wants us to send a letter to our colleges and put the fact that we were disciplined on our final transcripts. I'm not too worried my college will decide to revoke my application for a first-offense, non-violent, legal drinking violation, but I am worried about it being on my transcript for years to come and affecting my life down the road. Do law schools (or graduate schools in general) look at high school transcripts at all and if so will this hinder my application process in any way or is it something they'll just overlook?</p>
<p>No, law schools won’t care. But you may have to disclose it when you apply for the bar. But if you stay out of trouble it won’t be an issue.</p>
<p>Wow alright I’ll be staying squeaky clean from now on. Thanks bonanza</p>
<p>What do you mean by saying that they “want” you to notify the schools and put it on your transcript? Do you have a choice here? Do alcohol violations in high school typically go on the transcript?</p>
<p>Well the rule regarding the common application is if you’re suspended the high school has to notify the college when submitting the final transcripts. My school was offering us the chance to tell our colleges first by means of a letter, so they won’t be surprised when they see it on the transcript. That said, at this point we may not even be suspended. We were put on “house arrest” for the last few days of our trip after admitting to drinking, which the administration originally considered a suspension, however that is currently under review. It may be decided that the “house arrest” should just be viewed as a detention and not suspension, in which case colleges won’t be notified at all. So no I don’t have a choice regarding the common app communication, but I do have the choice of sending a personal letter to provide more information surrounding the events. The high school believes if a personal letter is submitted that I can attest to making a poor choice, provide an apology and clarity regarding my character going further.</p>
<p>Nope. Just like everything else you do in high school, its significance vanishes the second you get accepted to college.</p>