Well... I screwed up

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Ok, so yesterday, I was caught for DUI....:( I was out at a friends house and we got drunk, and I knew I should have just asked someone sober to drop me off, but I thought I was invincible and could not get caught. I did.</p>

<p>I'm not going to lie, it was entirely my fault. My parents are immensely upset, and I should have known better. Thankfully, i was not injured in any way, shape, or form. My main question is, how will this affect my college chances. I have applied to the top colleges (Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, all RD) Below I have included a quick backdrop on my stats</p>

<p>4.0 UW GPA, 4.58 Weighted----> likely to be saludictorian of my class of over 500</p>

<p>2350 SAT, 800 Math II, 800 Physics, 790 Chem</p>

<p>Intel STS Semi-Finalist</p>

<p>Captain of School's Tennis and Chess Teams</p>

<p>Varsity Tennis</p>

<p>Interned at an engineering firm for one summer</p>

<p>President of the Debate Club of my school</p>

<p>Won lots of awards for Science Olympiad and a couple for Debate</p>

<p>Executive Committee of Science Olympiad (I decide who is the on team, etc. )</p>

<p>Write for my School's Newspaper</p>

<p>I also have my own Charity that has raised over $1000</p>

<p>BTW I am Indian and my household income is over 750k</p>

<p>I realize what I have done was incredibly stupid, but is there any chance at all that I will be able to be admitted into any of these colleges. I did RD specifically so that I have freedom. Am I really going to be limited to a county college because of this?</p>

2

<p>Go talk with your guidance counselor about this. The counselors at your HS have experience with helping students sort this kind of stuff out.</p>

3

<p>I would not tell the school GC. She may be obligated to tell the schools. </p>

<p>Well, your parents can afford to get you a good lawyer, and you’ll need one.</p>

<p>Since this happened at this point, I’m not sure the schools will even know about it while they’re making decisions. You’ve already applied and gave the correct responses at the time. I don’t think the schools come back and ask those same questions again. Besides, at this point you haven’t been convicted. </p>

<p>Never, never, never drink and drive. Your parents should have told you a long time ago that they will GLADLY pay for a taxi (no questions asked) for such purposes. </p>

<p>And, the Beemer needs to go in time out for a long time.</p>

4

<p>

</p>

<p>^^ Nope, the last person you need to talk about this is the GC. The GC will probably have very little professional experience in such cases, and be mostly concerned with the school and their reputation with colleges. All in all, not the ally you might expect. Avoid the GC at all cost in this case. </p>

<p>You need to have your parents retaining competent advisors ASAP and ascertain what are your rights and … obligations. If all the school reports have been sent, there is little that will be needed from the GC. The obligation of the school is to disclose any violations that happen under their control. Hence, your DUI violation is not an issue for the GC to learn nor to disclose to the school you applied. Unless your HS specifically addresses such issues via a honor code, do NOT share any information voluntarily. And that includes your friends. </p>

<p>However, this does NOT mean that you can ignore the process, and you should have someone COMPETENT check anonymously with each school if there is an obligation to disclose the DUI. You want to be TRUTHFUL but still remain within your rights to non-disclosure, as this violation might not be one that needs to be disclosed on the school applications. </p>

<p>The same advisors, read lawyers, should also explain to your parents when the case will be heard/decided, and which mitigating or delaying procedures exist in your state.</p>

<p>Lastly, stop talking about this, except to your parents and lawyers.</p>

5

<p>“Thankfully, i was not injured in any way, shape, or form”— do you mean, thankfully, no one was injured in any way, shape, or form?</p>

6

<p>I assume you are not a minor, so this will be public record. Lawyer up and reform your ways. Everyone makes mistakes, and thankfully you did not harm anyone or yourself. Consider this a major warning and a blessing.</p>

7

<p>Lawyers can get your record expunged.</p>

8

<p>You made a mistake, I hope it doesn’t cause too much hardship for you.
But, you could have killed someone. I lost a good friend to a young, idiotic drunk driver. You could have taken someone’s child or orphaned someone, it’s amazing, subconsciously everyone thinks that these things could never happen to them.
College shouldn’t be what you are worried about.
You should spend every minuite of every day being thankful you don’t have to live with blood on your hands and guilt in your soul.
So go ahead, skirt justice, but don’t forgot what you did.</p>

9

<p>There are programs out there that will keep this off of your record. Depending on the circumstances, you can complete court ordered alcohol treatment classes and serve a term of court supervision to keep it from being a conviction. Upon successful completion of these programs there’s a good chance that you could get the record sealed, if not expunged. These guidelines vary from state to state though. I would definitely be getting a lawyer. </p>

<p>I agree that you should not be discussing this with your school GC. Talk to a lawyer…he’ll give better advice than a guidance counselor. On the whole, I would doubt that this would really impact your chances…but it needs to be dealt with properly. You may have to deal with losing your drivers license for a while though…Although you may be able to get a BADE machine(the machines you blow into to start the car) and be able to keep at least a restricted license.</p>

<p>To reiterate the other comments above though, don’t ever drink and drive. It’s just not worth it. Legal issues aside, drinking and driving is very dangerous, and endangers everyone else on the road…not only yourself. That said, we’ve all made mistakes…I know I’ve made plenty.</p>

10

<p>No school wants to accept a drunkard that could potentially kill innocent people. Not to mention the elite schools like MIT, Harvard etc. Nothing in your post suggests you won’t do it again. </p>

<p>It really sucks. Four years of hard work gone to crap because you made a stupid decision. Yeah, good thing “you” didn’t get hurt.</p>

11

<p>It’s time to call in the lawyers. If you think that they’re mad now wait until the legal bill comes. Hopefully, it’s a first offense and the attorney can plead down to something that college doesn’t care about. Until the charges are settled. I wouldn’t talk to anyone-school related. The main lesson is to not drink and drive.</p>

12

<p>If HPSM were the only four colleges that you applied to, then there is a good chance that you will get shut out anyway, and go to the default safety of county college.</p>

13

<p>

</p>

<p>Glad to see you’ve got your priorities straight. After all, the important thing is not whether you break the law and endanger others’ lives . . . but whether or not you get caught doing it!</p>

14

<p>beemerboy – I had a friend in high school who had such a promising future. He was bright, handsome, and kind. His life ended 30 years ago when a drunk driver hit the car he was driving. No, he wasn’t killed. That would have been a blessing. Rather, for 30 years he has sat, slumped, in a wheelchair, drooling and barely able to move his arms or legs, severely mentally and physically disabled. His parents cared for him at home until they got too old, and now he lives in an institution. What hurts so much when I see him is to see some spark of awareness in his eyes. The drunk driver who hit him, like you, wasn’t injured at all.</p>

<p>Please, learn your lesson. It’s not about whether you get into a top college or whether you get caught, or even whether you get hurt. It’s about whether you put yourself in a position to kill or maim someone else. That person could be a young child, a World War II veteran, a mother, or a teenager very much like you. You are young and can turn your life around. Don’t ever, under any circumstances, drink and drive again. Go one step more: don’t touch alcohol, ever. You’ve already found out what can happen. Even one drink might be enough to make you feel invincible – again.</p>

<p>You have the opportunity to straighten out your life. You’re intelligent and motivated. Do it.</p>

15

<p>What you did wasn’t just stupid. It was reckless and cruel. I hope your parents took your car away and are keeping you on a short leash. I’ve seen too many people lost to alcohol, be it from the addiction or others drunk driving. You’re young and bright and don’t want to do that to yourself or anyone else. </p>

<p>I don’t know that you’ve ruined your chances at being accepted at those prestigious institutions. You certainly won’t be limited to a county college. But I really hope that your post doesn’t express the extent of the remorse you feel and your awareness of how much more severe it easily could have been. </p>

<p>I agree that you should stop drinking completely. You can’t handle it.</p>

16

<p>You are getting some bad advice on this thread. In many states a DUI can NOT be expunged and can NOT be lessened with community service programs. You need an attorney in your state who has experience in DUI defense. It will be expensive. Don’t talk to your guidance counselor.</p>