<p>Hi all, I'm putting together my personal statement right now and I had this idea for one that is very relevant to my personal development and my overall character. The only possible problem I see with it is that it is dealing a serious crime I committed. I feel like if I don't talk about this somehow in my application though and how it has helped me succeed in school then I will be ignoring the 1,000 pound elephant in the room.</p>
<p>Heres a summary:
I got in a terrible car crash involving alcohol and injured the person I hit 2 weeks before moving out to start my first year in college. This resulted in spending 5 days in a holding cell, and 6 months in a sober living house in lieu of prison time. Instead of going off to college, I lived at a sober living house a few blocks away from the CC i am currently attending. The time I spent there had an enormous effect on me, and I am going to talk about how powerful adapting to change can be, and the focus I acquired during my time spent there.</p>
<p>I'd like to get some of your opinions on whether I should ignore this part of my past, even though it has played such a large role in who I am.</p>
<p>I am applying to UCB UCLA and UCD for PoliSci, UCB being highest on my list.
3.85 GPA, all prerequisite and IGETC willl be done.</p>
<p>as long as you make it sound like you turned your life around, learned some life lessons, and convey in your essay that you will never EVER pull that crap again…you’ll be fine. one of my friends who applied to MIT talked about how she was a compulsive stealer and twisted it to make it sound like it changed her and the way she thought about material goods, etc. she got in. -_______-</p>
<p>I know plenty of people who have made mistakes in the past, wrote about what they learned, and got into good schools. You can easily use your situation as a life lesson kind of thing for one of your personal statements, especially for Berkeley because they are extremely liberal.</p>
<p>Have you ever seen the film 21?</p>
<p>I say go for it.</p>
<p>…I would strongly encourage you to talk about this event in your personal statement. Yes, even though this is “legally” a criminal offense and I don’t condone it, it is not one where you WILLFULLY contemplated to harm another person …that is far worse imho.</p>
<p>So talk about it, but most importantly EMPHASIZE the part that shows them HOW and WHAT you did to turn this incident around to make you a better person, and WHAT you LEARNED from this incident. That is VERY important, because if you do not show that you are COMPLETELY rehabilitated it could actually hurt your application. The fact that you maintained a 3.85 gpa should also speak for itself (that is exactly why I suggest you go this route). If you had a mediocre gpa it would not be worth taking a risk (but that is not your case).</p>
<p>It also depends on how the story ended. We know about you: your life turned around. What happened to the victim? The adcoms want to read a feel-good story, but if this person is still in PT and is currently suing you, then it doesn’t quite feel so good.</p>