<p>I have a question and I need no judgments. I only seek advice at to what to do at this point. I don't need to know how stupid I am because trust me, no one can feel as stupid or guilty than me right now. I feel bad enough already so please, I just need some advice.</p>
<p>I recently got charged for shoplifting. I'm 17 and I am awaiting all information at this point. i was cooperative and asked if my high school or the colleges I applied to would be contacted and the people who work at the dept store said that they wouldn't contact any schools. How this might affect my chances of getting rescinded? This is my first offense and I'm a juvenile. I know I was stupid and I accept any consequences however I really am just concerned about this hurting my chances to get into college. Please advise and don't judge or tell me how stupid I am, because I know it was a dumb thing and I'm punishing myself enough right now. So please just tell me what you think of my situation. Thank you.</p>
<p>If you have a criminal charge against you, I believe you have to report it unless the charges are dropped. I know a few people with DUIs who faced this sort of issue. Some of them got into their college of choice; some of them didn’t.</p>
<p>was it those who got their charges dropped that got into colleges? or did it really just depend on the college? and am i supposed to report it to colleges myself? or wait till after the court date and final hearing?</p>
<p>^Nope, no charges dropped…I know one kid with a DUI accepted to UNC, another declined from UChic and UNC (but he was a genius–national debate champion, TASPer, etc–who will likely find his way around without a college degree). I honestly don’t know what would make the difference, but since most colleges have strict honors code, a violation of honor like shoplifting may be pretty harmful. You never know, though.</p>
<p>I would say that once you have your acceptances in hand, you should contact the college(s) you intend to enroll in individually and ask them about the situation. You can ask anonymously, just saying you were an accepted student and this happened and asking if it would affect their offer of admission.
Obviously, when you contact them, thoroughly explain why you realize this was a mistake and that you’ll never do it again, why you did it in the first place, etc. I think an email would be best.</p>
<p>thank you very much for your advice
if anyone else stumbles upon this
and has an opinion
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know what you think
i’m greatly concerned about the consequences of my STUPID actions
(keep in mind i’m still a minor so i’ve been told i can have my record sealed when i’m 18…yeah?)</p>
<p>Yes, you can have your records expunged. Google “expungement of juvenile records”_ there’s a good article from Lawyers.com. Btw I was in a similar situation when I was 17, but I still got accepted by several universities (including Stanford), and then to several law schools. Even though my records were expunged, I always told college officials, the state bars, and the military (I served as a Captain/JAG in the USAF) about my juvenile offense. I think it’s better for them to learn about it from you then from some other source.</p>
<p>(Btw I’m on these forums because my son got accepted to UCSC, as well as several CSUs. Waitlisted at CalPoly. We’re waiting to hear fromn UC Davis and UCSB.)</p>
<p>No need to jump the gun, so to speak. You don’t have a record yet, since you haven’t been charged. Yes, arrested but technically you still have to complete the process. (declare guilt or not, accept their plea, etc.) First, get a lawyer which you’ll need to do anyway. Then, see what he/she says about contacting the schools. Honesty is always good, but i suggest you wait. [sigh]</p>
