Alcohol violations a big deal?

[nstern]

Its not goign to affect your chances for admission.

[ivywhore]

only felonies count

[SouthSide]

To the OP, I'm not even sure this is something you need to disclose. I think they are referring to more serious things like plagiarism, etc.

Call up the schools you are interested in, don't mention your name, and just say you have a question about the application. Ask if they want you to disclose this type of offense. No need to complicate things if that's not what they are looking for.

[ivywhore]

better yet call schools you're not interested in.

[wmroyal]

To the OP, I'm not even sure this is something you need to disclose. I think they are referring to more serious things like plagiarism, etc.

Call up the schools you are interested in, don't mention your name, and just say you have a question about the application. Ask if they want you to disclose this type of offense. No need to complicate things if that's not what they are looking for.

OP, disclose it.  They don't give a poop about that kind of stuff and it gives you an opportunity to show them that you would prefer to err on the side of honesty.  I had the exact same thing happen to me my freshman year, I disclosed it, and I don't feel like it ever hurt me.  It certainly wasn't ever addressed in any of my interactions with admissions staffs.  You can see my numbers and acceptance stats on lsn under the same screen name.

[krumanadi]

To the OP, I'm not even sure this is something you need to disclose. I think they are referring to more serious things like plagiarism, etc.

Call up the schools you are interested in, don't mention your name, and just say you have a question about the application. Ask if they want you to disclose this type of offense. No need to complicate things if that's not what they are looking for.

OP, disclose it.  They don't give a poop about that kind of stuff and it gives you an opportunity to show them that you would prefer to err on the side of honesty.  I had the exact same thing happen to me my freshman year, I disclosed it, and I don't feel like it ever hurt me.  It certainly wasn't ever addressed in any of my interactions with admissions staffs.  You can see my numbers and acceptance stats on lsn under the same screen name.

Yeah if you dont disclose, they probably wont know.. Unless its on OP's transcript or if he needs a dean cert. but besides for that, it's still better to be safe. 

[asianlawyer]

I would disclose, just to be on the safe side. I doubt it will hurt your chances for admission, but it might raise flags when you send in your transcript and certification. I work in Judicial Affairs at my undergrad right now, and we forward the entire disciplinary record to any advisor or dean writing a certification letter. I can only assume this information is passed along to grad/law schools.

[colin292]

Thanks for the advice, I'm probably going to get a copy of my official transcript to see exactly what's on there. I'm planning on writing a page exaplining the incidents just to be safe, and it also depends on the wording of each school's question on the topic. I appreciate your help, it's probably one of those questions a lot of people have too, so hopefully it helped out. 

[nstern]

To the OP, I'm not even sure this is something you need to disclose. I think they are referring to more serious things like plagiarism, etc.

Call up the schools you are interested in, don't mention your name, and just say you have a question about the application. Ask if they want you to disclose this type of offense. No need to complicate things if that's not what they are looking for.

Its not a bad idea to call the schools, but I can tell you in advance that this is something you must disclose.  I made the mistake of assuming that it was not something that I needed to disclose, that it was not a big deal, and as a result I had to go through the stress of dealing with the problem later.  I had to write all of the schools that I was already accepted to, and disclose my alcohol violations.  It was not fun.  I didn't end up having my admission revoked at any of the schools, but the point is is that if these things are disclosed on the original application they will not be a big deal, its the failure to disclose that can be a big deal. 

[theprocrastinator]

Reasons to Disclose:

1) Schools don't give a crap about this kind of stuff (except for maybe the extreme religious few)

2) Bar examiners won't give a crap about it either because very few people have completely spotless pasts and your infractions are nothing out of the ordinary and don't raise any moral questions

3) Bar examiners WILL give a crap if they find out you lied, whether on your bar application OR your law school application. If you dislose to them (or they find out by contacting your undergrad, which is not out of the question) and they see that you didn't disclose and your law school application they will ask you to explain your reasoning and it will be nearly impossible for you to do so without coming across as having some sort of dishonest motive for your ommission.

Reasons Not to Disclose:

1) You are applying to Pat Robertson's school



.....Trust me, with the pervasiveness of alcoholism in law schools and the profession in general, your infractions are not something that will put a big stain on your reputation. Two unnamed people at my law school who have gotten DUIs since law school started and they aren't even that worried about it affecting their bar admissions after attending the special alcohol treatment program for lawyers.

[EDIT] I don't mean to come across as conding drinking and driving or alcoholism in general, I just mean to point out that they seem to be fairly common within the profession and that dishonesty is looked down on much more than isolated alcohol related indiscretions.