<p>Unfortunately my son has recently been charged with DUI. He knows what he has done and is ready to deal with the consequences, however he is experiencing extreme anxiety and shame. He had a panic attack the night after his arrest and couldn't hold a glass of orange juice this morning before he left to school. I think the college aspect of it is one of his main worries.</p>
<p>Anyways, he is only applying to CSU and UC schools and has already submitted all of his applications before this happened. Will the schools find out? Should they be informed? How will this affect his chances of admission?</p>
<p>Sorry, I'm not sure if this in the right section.</p>
<p>First, let me say that I’m sorry for what you are going through. I think that you should ask a lawyer about the implications of his arrest in terms of his college applications. Hopefully there is someone here who has some information for you. Does his High School know what happened?</p>
<p>"Individuals who have been convicted of an underage DUI must list it on their college applications. This can, but does not necessarily, bar the student from being accepted, though it does have other implications. Colleges and universities may accept the prospective student under certain circumstances that do not apply to students without a conviction. However, those convicted of an underage DUI who have not listed it on their application are subject to immediate dismissal from the institution if it is discovered.</p>
<p>Additionally, many of the students who are convicted of underage drinking (non-DUI) on a college campus often face only college or university-related punishment. Students who have previously been convicted of an alcohol-related offense will face not only their school’s penalties, but will be referred to the local police where they will face the legal consequences for underage drinking as well. In many states, students majoring in education or pre-law that are convicted of underage drinking will not be permitted to continue working toward their degree, and must pursue another course of study."</p>
<p>It would sound like not disclosing this information to the schools could be a problem, but that is definitely something to confirm before doing anything.</p>
<p>The key word in the above legal wording is CONVICTED. Meallon…your son has been given a ticket for DUI, but he has not been convicted and I assume he has not pleaded guilty. Your best chance to rid him of this DUI is deferred adjudication. You might want to get an attorney for this. An attorney can work the system. Tell the attorney, that your son is freaking out, that he made a mistake, that he is truly sorry. On a first offense and with so much at stake you may get a DA to do a plea that involves community service and with the deferred adjudication, his record is cleared and he is never convicted.</p>
<p>I agree. Your son hasn’t been convicted of anything (yet).</p>
<p>You need an attorney to manage this. Perhaps some kind of deal involving alcohol rehab or something. However, the goal shouldn’t be to erase this and then pretend it never happened. It sounds like this happened over the weekend. Did your son go to a party, drink excessively, and then attempt to drive home? If so, what is the plan for the future? How will he manage his social life to avoid such things happening again? Does he have a problem with alcohol (as a parent, you may not really know). You’ll have to look into all of this.</p>
<p>Get an attorney. Immediately. Do whatever needs to be done to keep this off his record- deferred adjudication etc. For a first offense, depending on the situation, this should be possible. I would not go out of my way to notify the colleges, especially since there is no conviction. (I am a lawyer, but not in this area of law)</p>
<p>In the above case, the keyword is convicted - however, many schools will ask whether the applicant has been arrested, charged for, and/or convicted of a crime other than a misdemeanor traffic offense. If the schools to which he is applying phrase the question to that effect, he likely has an obligation to report the charge. </p>
<p>However, you absolutely should consult with as many lawyers as are willing to talk to you and get as many opinions as possible before taking any action with regard to both the courts and the schools to which he has applied. Great idea to retain an attorney specializing in under-21 matters.</p>
<p>And in addition, the apps already submitted do not count, as I understand the ruling in post 3.</p>
<p>If S gets convicted of dui, then he must disclose that on any apps after his conviction. Apps already turned in are not after a dui conviction.
Sometimes if there is some uncertainty of his guilt, a lesser charge can be negotiated such as reckless op or a similar lesser charge.</p>
<p>While S may get away with not disclosing it on apps already submitted, I’d sure weigh in heavy on him if he were mine that this stupid kid mistake could very well cost him college, and the career of his choice- in hopes that he’d grasp the lesson now before any more serious infractions occurred.</p>
<p>Why is anyone advising this student, and his parents, to try to weasel out of being convicted for a crime that he admits committing and has already been charged with? </p>
<p>I’m glad this student has been caught once for drunk driving (not that I’m glad he was doing it, but given he was driving drunk, I’m glad he was caught before he killed someone). Now, I hope, he will not drive drunk again, and I hope his just punishment for his crime will help him realize the gravity of the offense. </p>
<p>As to the college applications, he should disclose it if he is required to, and not otherwise.</p>
<p>You should look over the UC application you filed. </p>
<p>I looked over the one that my D filed last year and was surprised at what I did not find. There is nowhere on the application where you note whether you’ve been convicted of a felony, misdemeanor, etc. So there is nothing to “update” when it comes to the UC application. No disclosure required.</p>
<p>The colleges won’t “find out” unless the applicant is local and someone else died in the accident (which has happened in THREE high school kid related incidents just this year in our area). </p>
<p>This DUI could still bite him on the bottom in the future, which is why it is important to get it dealt with with the help of a lawyer.</p>
<p>no one is telling them to weasel out. Bottom line is that his apps were submitted and at that time he was not convicted. He should consult an attorney and needs to, but there is nothing for him to do regarding the colleges until after the court declaration. At that point and depending on the conviction, adjudication, etc. he can disclose to any necessary colleges which could be months from now. The OPs son meanwhile will have to deal with the lawyer, the costs of the lawyer, his parents, his school and any coaches (if he plays a sport), the insurance company and the driver’s license bureau and others. It will all come home to roost in no time no doubt. The college issues are most likely several months down the line if the court systems in the OPs area are like any other areas of the country. A old friend of my older son just got a DUI, reduced to impaired this week and it happened over the 4th of July so dealing with the colleges can wait abit while the OP focuses on the real issue which is what the h*** was he doing in a car after drinking. He’ll have to answer that question a million times before the colleges even come into play.</p>
<p>^^^Not trying to get the OP’s kiddo to weasel out of this situation, but to have him take ownership of what he did, get help if he needs it, and use deferred adjudication, for what it was intended to do, which is give a chance to someone who made a mistake. Now OP did not ask what we would do or how we would parent this situation, she simply wants to know how to handle the college application/legal side of it. I assure you if this were my kid, the car would be gone, the curfew tightened, permi-restriction…lol… and a much longer list. My community service requirements would certainly be far greater than what the judge will dictate and the list goes on…</p>
<p>^^^ and on top of the evil mom list would be a sit down conversation with a mother, brother, sister or father of a DUI victim. Let them tell OP’s son how lucky he is that his situation was not worse than it is and how 100% stupid it is to drink an drive.</p>
<p>Cardinal…Seriously. It sounds as if this kid made a mistake. I am sure as a parent of error proof children you can’t relate to this, but as a mother of children who make mistakes every single day, I understand that life is not black and white. I am also a mother of a child who was t-boned by a very drunk teenager two years. Some kids are truly remorseful for their actions and for them deferred adjudication is a gift that is not received without gratitude. My child suffered a broken arm but was able to “walk away” from a horrific accident. But there was another child there that night. And that kid is no “better” than my child, his mistake was just really huge. Like I said in the above post, the OP’s child better be glad he did not kill himself or someone else. But if he is truly remorseful, does he not deserve a second chance?</p>
<p>The DA in our case asked our permission to give this child deferred adjudication and we said yes. We had met with him and his parents and were satisfied that he made a very poor error in judgment. Today, I am still in touch with his mother. He is in the Air Force stationed in Germany and thriving.</p>
<p>I am not asking advice on parenting/punishment. He is dealing with the consequences at home, school, and court.</p>
<p>An attorney would be nice however we are in no financial position to afford one at the moment. From the few people I’ve talked to it seems he doesn’t have much of a case and they suggested to just deal with it ourselves and hope for the best. Also, from what I understand at age 18 he will be able to seal his record so career wise it shouldn’t be a huge deal, college is what were concerned about at the moment.</p>
<p>I understand he would be dismissed from a school if he lied about being arrested/convicted on the application and they later found out. This however happened after submitting all applications. If he is convicted will he need to disclose this info? And will this pretty much ruin his chances for admissions? At this point he would be grateful to get into a low level state school.</p>
<p>You are right, collegeshopping. I need to realize that there are some drunk drivers who stop after their first DUI arrest. My son is very far from error proof, as am I. </p>
<p>But I never did say the student should disclose unless he was required to. I think we all agree that students should be honest.</p>
<p>When I think of DUI, I think of dead cyclists.</p>
<p>Mealllon…I feel like a moron for “yelling” at Cardinal after reading your post. “not a huge deal???” are you kidding. Who cares if for his work record it is not a huge deal. You should make it a big deal. Maybe he needs to go to “low state school” and major in humility. Most of us are right…you don’t need to disclose this on this applications, but you certainly need to parent it.</p>
<p>Mealllon,
check with local law school or bar associations for help. Or at least call a lawyer for a little phone advice. It may not be as expensive as you think.</p>
<p>^^^and for the record, he is 18 an adult by every state’s standards and his record won’t be sealed, only deferred adjudication will keep it off is record. </p>
<p>Attorney’s will accept payment plans, maybe son can work and pay for his mistake. Going in without an attorney in any DUI charge is typically dangerous. Attorney’s can get fees reduced, which in turn can basically pay for the attorney. First visits to an attorney are usually not charged and you could at least see what they say.</p>