<p>I am currently applying to Business school and I have a few items in my past. </p>
<p>-In 2003, when I was 19, I was involved in a fraternity prank that I pulled with 5 other kids my age. Long story short, I was charged with impersonation of a police officer (the charge is criminal impersonation, but that charge was later dropped) and possession of a forged ID. The forged ID was a phony NY drivers license used to get into bars. The cop thing was totally bogus and we were just harmlessly messing around with another kid our age who we knew from high school, BUT, his mom ended up calling the cops. In reality, the whole thing was blown way out of proportion but I pled guilty to one misdemeanor charge for possession of the phony ID (I was never charged with any type of forgery or fraud). I previously worked at Credit Suisse and disclosed all of this to them, including all the court records, and they had no problem with it.</p>
<p>-Also, during college, I was put on disciplinary probation a few times for computer related stuff. The first times were for getting caught downloading music off a p2p network (like napster). The third time, senior year, was b/c I downloaded a program onto a university computer that turned out to be a virus, and they thought that I put it there on purpose to steal people's credit card information. In the end, the just put me on probation for it, and I obviously wasn't trying to steal cc info, otherwise there would have been many more charges. It was in a psychology lab computer room that this happened, but I received a grade in the class nonetheless and I graduated with my poli sci/psych major. </p>
<p>All this info is in my file at my school, that will be sent to the grad school (the dean of students told me that she is obligated to send everything in the file to any grad school that asks for it). </p>
<p>Nevertheless, I am not planning on withholding anything during the application/background check process.</p>
<p>Is there anything here that you think is absolutely a deal breaker for my application?</p>
<p>LOL!!! No. It was college. They don’t ask for that stuff they only want your transcript. They may ask about it. Just tell the truth, explain how you learned your lesson, and show that it is behavior that remains in you past.</p>
<p>Most guys, myself included, committed misdemeanors and felonies while in fraternities. You just got caught. LOL!!!</p>
<p>I think it will have an impact, but how significant it will be is hard to know. If there are two candidates with similar credentials, and one has a disciplinary record, which would the school admit? The impact will not be on the schools where you are an obvious admit, but on your reaches, it might knock you out.</p>
<p>To add a bit more information, I was granted a certificate of relief from civil disabilities by the judge in my case at the time of sentencing (btw I received no punishment, no community service, no probation, or anything, just a discharge).</p>
<p>It’s the closest thing NYS has to sealing a conviction.</p>
<p>“A Certificate of Relief from Civil Disabilities, Section 701, may relieve a person with a criminal record and remove many of the obstacles or barriers to employment, housing, loans, etc… as the result of a criminal record.
A conviction for a crime specified in a certificate of relief from disabilities shall not cause automatic forfeiture of any rights (i.e. employment, permit, employment or professional licensing, including the right to vote at an election, or automatic forfeiture of any other right or privilege) held by the offender and covered by the certificate”</p>
<p>Not that an adcom can’t decide to reject me for any other reason, but I think it adds to my argument that it shouldn’t be held against me as seriously as it otherwise could be.</p>
<p>i’d address it (perhaps essays are the best place to do so). no point in running from it because if you do and the adcoms come across this information they will assume the worst. in an environment where b-schools have come under fire and have been put on notice with regards to ethics and fraud (e.g. subprime, Madoff, etc.) – you can bet they don’t take these kinds of things lightly – or if they have in the past they no longer do.</p>