<p>Hey guys,</p>
<pre><code> A while ago during April 2013, I made a grave judgment in error that has periodically come back to haunt me ever since.
I was caught shoplifting some school supplies (one eraser pen and a pack of erasers) from my university bookstore. Initially I had also considered to take a pair of headphones, but I decided in the end that overall none of the items were worth shoplifting. I was deeply contemplating whether or not to take them, and by the time I had decided not to, I wanted to quickly leave the bookstore as soon as possible, but guess what? I forgot to put back the erasers! A surveillance monitor caught me as I left the bookstore and thus apprehended me. I confessed to him how I come from a poor family that's so tight about money and why I partially did it; in addition he made me confess various petty things I stole over a past period from the bookstore (minor school supplies, once again). I felt sick over the entire situation, showed my sincere guilt and shame over it, and learned from it since then, but with my ambitions to go to grad school it's been eating me away. My question is, how badly will it ruin my chances to a top graduate university (Yale, Princeton, Stanford, UC Berkeley, Cornell, etc)?
For the sake of a brief background, that same day I was in a terrible mood and losing my eraser (I tend to be nitpicky about these things) put me over the edge. My judgment was clouded by my anger and I didn't think it worth to spend $3 for an eraser, but the entire fiasco cost me a $200 fine anyway.
The guard told me it stays only within the confines of the bookstore records, but I know for a fact that it is also on my student conduct record so any third-party to which I give consent to can ask to see it. I wasn't arrested or anything so I don't have to list it under felony and crimes. Of course, it's not on my official transcript either. First-time written warning, had to write a reflective essay and attend an ethics class.
I think my credentials have been moderate thus far for a competitive engineering Ph.D graduate program. I am a Mechanical Engineering major, 3.8 GPA with research experience, member of two honor societies and one professional engineering organization.
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<p>Any feedback would be appreciated, thank you!</p>