<p>Basically, I was arrested and booked for Larceny when I was 15. It's a felony and I was obligated to check yes in the box on my resumes.</p>
<p>How much does it hurt my chances, even if my grades and SAT are applicable with the college?</p>
<p>Do you know anyone with a police record who got into a good top 60 college?</p>
<p>Dang, what was the situation?</p>
<p>Theres a few other threads about these types of problems though, basically you'll need to show that youve changed your ways somehow, and you'll need to write an explanation letter to all of your schools about it.</p>
<p>But ya, the sad thing is it will affect your chances negatively...</p>
<p>My advice is to do something that shows it has changed how you act and think, like pursue community service and link the two somehow, showing that your being caught changed your view of the world, felt compelled to contribute to society more or something...I dono...</p>
<p>Good luck though man</p>
<p>You need an advocate. Do you have a high school counsellor or other administrator or teacher that might help you? Someone who believes in you?
It's possible that your counsellor could make some phone calls to some of the colleges you are interested in and see what they might do "hypothetically" with a student such as yourself. They may be able to find out what kind of recommendations/letters of explanation ect. would be important to be considered at those schools. I wouldn't just send the applications off on your own without getting a sense of whether your past crime would be a deal breaker.
Listen very carefully to whatever advice you get, take it to heart, and do what is asked. In your case, it wouldn't hurt to have a couple extra letters of recommendation along with your regular academic ones that could vouch for your character.
I really think you'll be able to find some schools you'd be happy with if you can find a sympathetic school advocate who could helppave the way. Good luck!</p>
<p>I agree with the above.</p>
<p>It'll definitely impact you negatively, but trying to swing that in another direction (in a more position one) is the best you can do. Good luck. =)</p>
<p>Jmcatch -- </p>
<p>(I was composing this before ASAP posted, and am editing to second his excellent advice!)</p>
<p>Have you had a chance to talk with your GC about this? I think that pmcharkins advice sounds just right, but it might be helpful to get some targeted guidance from someone familiar with your particular situation.</p>
<p>Also, have you talked with a lawyer about the possibility of your record being sealed or even expunged? I don't know if you were ever tried or convicted (or whatever the equivalent of conviction is for a juvenile), but especially if you weren't, and if you've been law-abiding ever since, a lawyer might be able to help you here.</p>
<p>Although obviously having been arrested for a felony won't a plus in college admissions, the fact that you have stayed in school, maintained good grades, and hopefully really turned things around in your life should also be meaningful. You don't want to make excuses for yourself, and you will have to take responsibility for your actions in your essay or supplementary statement that describes what happened, but if you live in an area with a lot of crime, or if you were in a gang but now you're not, or if there are other factors that might have influenced you that no longer play a role in your behavior, do let colleges know. But please have your English teacher or GC read and comment on your statement before it goes out. </p>
<p>Good luck! The more years of achievement and positive accomplishments that elapse, the less meaningful your arrest at age 15 will become. People will be much, much more likely to judge you on the way you've turned things around and lived a good and responsible life than on a screw-up from your mid-teens.</p>
<p>Jmcatch --</p>
<p>I just looked at your other CC posts and noticed a couple of things. First, in earlier posts you describe your arrest as related to cocaine. I'm not sure if you somehow were able to plead this to larcency or what, but I think that colleges may have different concerns about a drug arrest than a larceny arrest, and you probably have to address those concerns in your statement.</p>
<p>Second, it seems that you have done a lot of serious mission work with your church as well as devoting weekend time to volunteering at Dorothy Day. If you have a priest (or church-affiliated lay person) who knows you well through all of the time and effort you have devoted to helping others through church activities, and especially if you are interested in Catholic colleges, I'm wondering if your priest could go to bat for you. He would certainly be credible and would be in a position to talk about you in a way that might reassure college admissions people at both Catholic and secular schools.</p>
<p>well to answer what you posed as the main question- yes, i do know someone who got into Michigan-Ann Arbor with 2 DUI's, drug history (no charges but rehab), and some minor misdemeanors (breaking 6 month law, trespassing). He has impecable scores (1590-old SAT, 3.95 GPA, National Merit Scholar, one of the top 25 X-Country runners in the state), but one of his essays was about the charges.</p>
<p>JMcatch~ yes, i would definitely develop an essay around your experiences...make it work for you, while showing your personal growth.</p>
<p>It's tough to answer this w/o a more detailed description of the crime i.e. are you a convicted felon, what exactly happened etc. However you've gotten a lot of great advice here, listen to these folks.</p>