<p>A few weeks back I was charged with possessing/consuming alcohol in public. I am of age, and was not drunk/causing any problems (making the violation essentially an open container violation, but still a misdemeanor). I was not aware of open container laws as I only recently turned 21. After talking to an attorney, he feels the best course of action is to just take the misdemeanor charge on my record and pay a fine. I am wondering how having this on my record would affect my prospects of being admitted into graduate school/getting a research job after graduate school. Are questions about misdemeanors even asked on these applications (I am looking at UC Berkeley, Stanford, Minnesota, MIT, Princeton, UT Austin, Cal Tech, UC Santa Barbara, Cornell, Georgia Tech, etc.)? Will explaining the circumstances (first offense, no other criminal record, not aware of the law, not causing any problems etc.) make the offense look any better in an admissions committee's eyes? All of my other credentials are good, I have a 3.97 GPA with plenty of research experience.</p>
<p>No one will care. I have a bigger misdemeanor on my record, it never came up once, I do not think I was even asked about it.</p>
<p>That having been said, doesn’t your state/municipality have a program for first time alcohol offenders? Most places do, and if you complete it (usually fine+alcohol class+community service) they wipe the conviction from your record.</p>