<p>What is the effect of a Citation for possesion of alcohol (minor charge) to a top tier-school? If you have matching stats for those schools and no other problems, will schools weigh that strongly/somewhat/or no effect? Any experiences would be appreciated. My friend was COMPLETELY freaking out today and I thought I should check on some experiences before determining my social path for the year. Thanks!</p>
<p>wow.... i bet if i asked a question about Dungeons and Dragons I would have 10 responses by now...</p>
<p>No, we don't play Dungeons and Dragons. NetHack has consumed us all, except me.</p>
<p>The trouble is... we're as stumped as you are. Only way to find out is to apply.</p>
<p>Yeah- noooo clue.</p>
<p>it depends on the application and if you have to tell</p>
<p>Or you could just not tell. They're not doing a background check for minor infractions.</p>
<p>If the school found out about it or required you to report it, it would most certainly hurt your chances.</p>
<p>Top colleges have plenty of stellar applicants without charges for underage possession of alcohol; why would they pick one that has a black mark on his/her record?</p>
<p>probably get rejected from those schools... pretty bad mark...</p>
<p>I don't know- f you would get rejected- or even have to report it</p>
<p>should my D report the ticket she got for not paying her bus fare?</p>
<p>it all depends on what kind of ticket the person got-</p>
<p>were they arrested? or did they just get the booze taken away and a ticket for breaking the law?</p>
<p>It would be pretty hypocritical for them to reject you, considering the amount of underage drinking that is tolerated on most campuses. What they will actually do, I don't know.</p>
<p>What exactly is a citation? Do you have to appear (or does your firend have to appear) in court? I thought that apps just ask if you have ever been convicted, or maybe arrested. I have never seen "Have you ever received a citation?. I would find out where the record of that citation is kept. If it was not an arrest, and not a conviction, then you can answer "no" to those questions honestly. You just have to be meticulously honest. Applications are not the confessional, and it is appropriate for you to advocate for yourself (or for your friend to advocate for him or herself). The reason that questions are phrased the way that they are is that colleges are asking for specific information. In this instance, they are looking for big mistakes. They do not expect you to cough up all of your near-misses.</p>
<p>That being said, if the citation incident were to fit into a question asked on an application, you would of course need to mention it in order to represent yourself honestly. In that case, no matter how many people do drugs or booze on their campus, your file will be negatively impacted in the application process. It doesn't mean that you will be rejected everywhere. It means you would then have a red flag, and something negative which needs to be discussed or considered.</p>
<p>There are 2 parts to this. If you get suspended (expelled) or any disciplinary action from school, then your GC will report that. If you get arrested (something that goes on your record) you will put that on your application (they do ask on the common app).</p>
<p>It really depends on what school you are applying to. If you are applying to top tier schools where they have 20,000 applicants and they are taking 1,500, then they will have enough applicants without any "character issues." Before you decide your "social path" for your senior year, just think about if it's worth it for you to throw away 4 years of hard work over a few good nights.</p>
<p>I had this talk with my daughter when she was a freshman. She stayed clean through out her HS years, but I am sure she is partying it up in college right now (as a matter of fact, she told me that she is).</p>
<p>If it needs to be included in the app (see good discussion above) you can use it in an essay or in a place for "additional information" to discuss how you learned from the experience, how you matured from it, etc. Turn it into something positive to the bast of your ability (and the truth).</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure colleges don't need any juvenile delinquents</p>
<p>im pretty sure it would only matter if the application specifically asked. the common app has no spot for this so i doubt it will make a difference.
i was worried about this myself and i dont think any school will know.</p>
<p>i mean, it's called a CITATION, so are traffic CITATIONS. and yeah he just had the beer taken and go home to mom and appear in court and pay some big bucks. basically a traffic ticket for a different reason. and he'll just do some alchy classes to get it off his record. not a big deal now that I think through it.</p>
<p>Not a big deal at all. When it comes to minor rule breaking people on this forum don't have a clue. Don't mention it on the application. It won't be a problem.</p>
<p>bobmallet1: "I'm pretty sure colleges don't need any juvenile delinquents"</p>
<p>LOL! :)</p>
<p>It probably does not have to be mentioned on the application. Colleges view minor alcohol infractions as non-events. I know a kid who was expelled from a top prep boarding school mid-senior year due to a serious alcohol violation and arrest, and he is now at an Ivy and also got into top LACs. Don't worry about it. Despite what others will say on these boards, I can assure you that your friend's alcohol citation will not affect his admission chances.</p>