<p>So im in a bit of a pickle, and there is not much i can do know. I want to know what you guys think.</p>
<p>Im a good student. GPA: 3.86 (unweighted) SAT: 1300 Top 10%, honor roll, all sorts of community service hours and extra activites. I play varsity baskeball and tennis. I'm looking at some of the following schools: U of Chicago, Wesleyan University, Pomona, Occidental, Pitzer, and Trinity (Conn.) All of these schools are in the process of recruting me for DIII tennis. My concern is last month i recieved a minor in consumption ticket. (drinking under the age) Obviously i cant hide it. On all the applications it asked if you have been in trouble with the law and/or suspended if yes explain. How much do you think this will impact my resume? I would appericate anyones opinion. Thanks</p>
<p>I'm no expert, but my guess is it will reflect poorly (very poorly) on your judgment, but not too much else. Hopefully the rest of your application will show that you're a good kid who screwed up once.</p>
<p>For more accurate guesses, turn to someone who knows more about this.</p>
<p>I think that it will hurt you a great deal particularly when it comes to the most competitive colleges, which are expecting the applications for next year's class to be the most competitive in their history. They'll have plenty of outstanding applicants without law infractions to choose from. </p>
<p>Consequently, make sure that you apply to some schools that are definitely safeties and matches, which means that schools that based on your stats you'd consider safety schools, you need now to consider as match schools.</p>
<p>You need to consult a lawyer. Since you were 17 it may be a sealed juvenile thing which you don't have to put down but absolutely do not take what anyone says here as right. Get a lawyer.</p>
<p>sorry to be a parental type but I don't really feel "simply from a DUI" should be a sentence. There is nothing simple about a DUI. It shows a huge lack of judgement that would make an adcom worth his/her salt think twice.</p>
<p>dont you think getting a lawyer is a bit much. My plan was on my overnight visits i will have admission interviews. At my interview i will tell them what happened that i was suspended and why. although they do not know yet, because they have not seen my application yet. I will explian my mistake. Tell them how i plan to become an advocate against drinking in H.S. and be straight forward and honest. Explain why i made such a stupid mistake and why next time i have the oppertunity it will not happen again. Show how i have learned and grown out of my mistake and the entire experience. Some schools may say take i hike but i wouldnt want to be at a school where they dont know foregivness or except a good kid and student with one mistake.</p>
<p>An alcohol violation isn't going to hurt you at all with most colleges. You will need to explain the ticket- unless you get probation and it isn't on your record. If it isn't on your record, don't mention it. Alcohol violations- whether resulting in a school suspension or a legal charge, don't even raise eyebrows in the admissions process. If it is on your record and is a conviction, an honest explanation and sincere remorse will take care of it. Trust me on this one.</p>
<p>oh and i DUI is much different them a minor in consumption. No one was hurt, i was not in posession or driving, in fact it had been almost 5 hours since i had drank. I probley could of lied to get out of it. I think, correct me if i'm wrong, but a DUI can under some circumstances be a Felony while a consumption ticket is only a misdomeaner. (ha, ONLY, well it's the smallest offense.)</p>
<p>"An alcohol violation isn't going to hurt you at all with most colleges."</p>
<p>That's probably true in that most colleges are probably public colleges that make decisions mainly on stats.</p>
<p>Things are different, however, when it comes to the top private colleges, some of which the OP is applying to. They have lots of very qualified applicants, so can afford to be very picky.</p>
<p>Consequently, I do suggest that he makes sure that he has real safeties and match schools, and not assume that schools that are safeties and matches for peers with similar stats who don't have legal problems also are safeties and matches for him.</p>
<p>Judging from the alcohol problems at some of the top colleges, it wouldn't surprise me if the admissions offices give bonus points for applicants who have drinking violations in high school.</p>
<p>"Things are different, however, when it comes to the top private colleges, some of which the OP is applying to. They have lots of very qualified applicants, so can afford to be very picky."</p>
<p>Northstarmom- this is not correct. The VAST majority of top private colleges do not care about a minor drinking violation (double meaning intended). A DUI is a different story. While my son's various infractions did not involve alcohol (at least he wasn't caught), I visited with many admissions folks and discussed discipline issues at length with the very experienced college counselor at my son's prep boarding school. Alcohol issues are EXPECTED, believe it or not. It is a part of teenage life today, whether we like it or not.
Academic dishonesty, drugs and violence are the deal-breakers- NOT alcohol.
This is not an area colleges use to be "picky". They simply don't care. It is like getting demerits for missing too many breakfasts at boarding schools. It simply isn't a factor.</p>
<p>MomofWildChild,
I would be surprised if top colleges are not concerned about admitting students who have had drinking infractions. Admittedly, I'm responding from what I believe is true, not from any hard evidence. However, given the fact that top colleges have an overabundance of outstanding applicants, I believe that those colleges would have no reason to overlook something like a drinking infraction. After all, if the colleges choose to reject a student who has had legal problems related to drinking, there are plenty of other outstanding students without documented drinking problems whom the colleges could accept instead. </p>
<p>I also know that when it comes to Harvard, the admissions officers place a lot of weight on character, and the admission officers go out of their way to call guidance counselors to learn about students' characters. I've also had follow-up questions from admissions officers after submitting my interview reports, and those follow-up questions often do focus on aspects of the student's character. </p>
<p>All colleges --top ones included -- have enough trouble with handling drinknig problems on their campus without looking for more students with drinking problems to add to the campus difficulties. The well publicized alcohol-related death of CC member Lucifer, who was a Cornell freshman with excellent stats who had posted here often about his drinking, may have ended any tendency for top admission officers to overlook drinking-related infractions listed on students' applications. </p>
<p>There's also a good chance that admission officers at top colleges have been educated about the fact that the earlier a person starts drinking, the more likely a person is to have or develop drinking problems such as alcoholism. Also, the odds of getting caught for a drinking infraction are low, so any person who has had any alcohol-related legal problems, is at high risk of being a problem drinker, no matter what the person's age is.</p>
<p>Also, due to the fact that each year until about 2011, the competition for top colleges is expected to get more fierce, there is a very good chance that students with blemishes on their records that may have been overlooked in the past by adcoms, no longer will get by so easily. There really are plenty of outstanding applicants who haven't had any legal problems.</p>
<p>I agree that what you are saying seems logical, but it isn't the way it works. A minor drinking infraction is not regarded as a sign of bad character, any more than a speeding ticket or fender bender. Nor should it be, in my opinion. It is simply not one of the factors colleges use to weed out applicants.</p>