<p>So my brother pulled a stupid stunt and got a misdemeanor for Petty Theft (small time shoplifting)</p>
<p>is it true that if you are convicted of a misdemeanor you get NO FINANCIAL AID and a lower chance at scholarships</p>
<p>i mean.. hes a good kid with good grades, he just messed up....
so.. IS IT TRUE??!?!?!</p>
<p>I believe it only applies to drug-related crimes, but I'm not completely sure.</p>
<p>The financial aid varies with the school and the scholarships vary with which ones you're interested in</p>
<p>I also think it also applies to non-drug-related felonies.</p>
<p>On the FAFSA application it asked if the student has ever been convicted of a drug related offense, felony I believe. So do not worry about financial aid over this incident.</p>
<p>The questions asked on the FAFSA about drug convictions only pertain to federal aid. The schools can essentially ask if a there has ever been an arrest other than a minor traffic violation and can hold it against your brother.</p>
<p>It is not so much that your brother won't get finanical aid, but a matter of how some schools will take the information into consideration when making admissions decisions. The common application does ask the question:</p>
<p>Have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor, felony, or other crime? �� Yes �� No</p>
<p>If you answered yes to either or both questions, please attach a separate sheet of paper that gives the approximate date of each incident and explains the circumstances.</p>
<p>If this is something your brother did recently, it would hurt him more that something he did a few years ago (where he cpuld explained it was something stupid and he learned from the mistake).</p>
<p>It will hurt with admissions for the reasons Sybbie mentioned. It particularly will hurt with very competitive colleges that have an overabundance of highly qualified applicants. Why would they take a student with a criminal record when they have plenty of very qualified applicants without records?</p>
<p>It also will hurt when it comes to merit-scholarships for the same reason as above. Merit scholarships are based on character: A person with a criminal record won't be seen as having as good a character as the many other potential scholarship recipients without records.</p>
<p>For colleges that guarantee to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need, his crime won't be a factor in scholarship decisions (though, of course will be a factor in whether he's admitted).</p>
<p>so im looking at all the advice that's given about my bro and something doesnt add up...</p>
<p>some people say that this is a small, minor, incrimination that won't have any sort of impediment on his future, and that even colleges have to go to court in order to view a minor's criminal record which they most likely won't spend time doing. Also that US laws are designed so a minor DOES get punished but not ruined.</p>
<p>on the other hand, others say that this is a very serious manner that will DEFINITELY damage his future in a big way and that colleges will use it largely as a determination factor in admissions, even if his grades are great and he's learned from the mistake. I've also heard that this will get in the way of any merit based scholarship</p>
<p>so between the brighter side and the gloomier side... which of these is more factual? (and please, no hearsay on this subject)</p>