It was a wrong place wrong time situation. I went to the store with some friends, and one of those friends decided that he wanted to load his bag with over $200 worth of merchandise. I ended up with one thing in my pocket, because he begged me to. We got caught when we were walking out. When we were explained the situation we were in, we were told that we got caught because a secret shopper saw us all together. He told me that if I wouldn’t have put that one thing in my pocket, I wouldn’t be getting a charge as well. But I did. Because we were all together, we are all being charged with the same thing. We were told that it is only a misdemeanor. We haven’t yet been to court, so I don’t know if I will even be convicted yet. But I wanted to know if I would still get my scholarship money, and if I would Still be able to go to college. I am financially unable to put myself through college without help, and this could change my whole future.
You were not “in the wrong place wrong time situation”, you knowingly put stolen goods in your pocket. With that being said, a misdemeanor will not deny you scholarship money or make college impossible. You may have to explain the situation, mention it on your applications, and it will probably hurt you a little, depending on where you apply. But it will not flat out guarantee a rejection.
Right.
This isn’t something that happened to you, it’s something you chose to be a part of. It’s not about your friend begging you, it’s not about a personal shopper, it’s not about being in the wrong place at the wrong time, it’s not because you were all together. It’s because you made the choice to shoplift.
The reason behind the lecture is that if you explain it to anyone the way you’ve explained it to us, it’s not going to go well.
You made a mistake-- a serious one. Explain it that way.
As to whether it will mean you can’t get a scholarship, I imagine that depends on the particular scholarship.
@Hanna - Any thoughts on this?
Sometimes they’ll let you off if you’re young. It happened to me (not stealing though). I got disciplinary action in school, though. I still was accepted to northeastern with a lot of merit $. There is hope
I think what you mean to say is “I chose to steal”. Own up to your behavior.
As for scholarship money, I would look at the conditions under which the scholarship can be rescinded, and see if a misdemeanor conviction is one of those conditions.
I’d also get a lawyer. Don’t assume the lawyer will allow you to wriggle out of your responsibility for this crime (because you are responsible for your behavior), but there is a lot of leeway with punishment. An attorney can potentially ameliorate some of that and protect your eligibility for a scholarship.
You could have just walked out of there.
I don’t know if you’re mature enough to go to college.
I think that what we’re all trying to say is that you need to rethink the way you’re looking at this. You will NOT have the desired effect if you phrase it the way you did in your OP.
This is an opportunity for real growth. Look back at your actions, your decisions, and your reaction to the situation you put yourself into. Look at the people you choose to surround yourself with. Ask yourself whether those are the best choices for your future, for you as a contributing part of society. Ask yourself whether the person you were in that store is the person you’ll want your future wife and children to be proud of. Ask yourself what you can do in the way of an apology to the owner of the store you were prepared to rob.
And then make some hard decisions about the choices you’ll make moving forward.
It would be far more acceptable to a college if you accepted accountability and expressed genuine regret vs. writing a text version of a pity party, just my five cents.
Okay guys I think instead of battering him and being rude/disrespectful to him we should just answer his question. He didn’t ask for an opinion on the misdemeanor charge he asked about if it will hurt his chances, which it won’t so we could’ve just said no. We aren’t in the position to judge someone we hardly know. So instead of giving our opinion on a topic which obviously isn’t a great topic why don’t we just answer the question and stop judging.
How can anyone answer the OPs question? Each school is different re: their thoughts and policies on this, but if the OP is charged with a misdemeanor and pleads it out or gets probation and community service vs is convicted outright , each may have different implications for the college in question, whatever it may be. Some applications ask if you have been “convicted” of a crime. So far the OP has not. That said, some schools may think that if you cheat in one environment, you may do so in another.
All that said, the OPs post doesn’t take the tone of “I D crewed up, I won it and I will learn from it”. It takes the tone of “I am a victim of being with the wrong people and it’s their fault. WIll I still get a big scholarship?” That is not the right tone, IMO.
Ack typos. And cc is glitchy and I can’t edit it. It should say “I screwed up. I won it. And I will learn from it”.
That should be the tone the OP takes.