underage drinking question

I'm in the same boat, I don't think it'll be a big deal. But, according to a lawyer I know, you don't need to report it on the ones that ask for "criminal offenses", but you do need to report it on the wisconsin ones, and any others that ask for all legal offenses.

but don't worry, it's not like you killed someone, after all

I say put it on there if they ask. Its better to come out with it than risk them spending the 5 seconds it would take to find your criminal record online, and then ask why you didn't mention it.

Plus its wisconsin, its our culture.

Definately without a doubt you must put it on there. I had the same thing happen to me and I pled guilty and got it expunged from my record but I was still required to report it. Also, unless Wisconsin has some different laws, that should still be considered a criminal charge that you plead guilty to. Either way it wont hurt you in the elast bit...jsut explain the situation on your apps and you'll be fine.

I'm also in your same boat. I did not report it, however, as I don't have to. Still, it's Wisconsin. An underage drinking ticket is pretty much a rite of passage here (I'm from WI, too).

pguin, in fact I believe Wisconsin probably does have different laws.

In Wisconsin underage drinking is a civil offense I believe?You didn't HAVE to go to court did you? Meaning you just send in a fine so it's not a criminal offense.

Be careful though because in states where it is a criminal offense you would have to answer yes to that....
In nearly all states underage drinking is a misdemeanor so you would have to put it down as criminal, but Wisconsin is one of those exception states where it is civil. In that case answer "no" and send Jim Doyle a thank you I guess.

Some people may think you're being dishonest...but if the question asks have you been convicted of a criminal offense and you have only had to pay a civil forfeiture (civil offense, fine) then the answer is clearly no.


When filling out applications, hone in on the word "criminal" because if they have that word in there, then you're free to exclude whatever your respective state considers to be civil, which is synonymous stuff the state fines you for instead of putting stuff on your criminal record. Civil forfeitures are mostly fines for speeding, parking etc, but Wisconsin throws some alcohol offenses in there too.

You can always run a criminal background check or call the police station that got you for it and ask them.

Yea, I don't think many med schools care about one drinking violation as long as you don't have any convictions for anything harder than that and as long as it was one isolated event. Just be prepared to talk about it in interviews.

I disagree because I know people who's apps were hurt them, but they were from states that criminalized underage drinking so they really had no choice but to answer yes.

Some schools WILL punish you for it. AMCAS only asks for criminal offenses so it would be dumb to answer yes to a question you answer. Nearly ALL secondaries will also only be asking for criminal.

Here's what I'm talking about. I did a search and I found D.C. laws.

DC Decriminalizes Underage Drinking - The District of Columbia has decriminalized underage drinking, making consumption of alcohol by those under age 21 a civil rather than criminal offense.

So in D.C., underage drinking is no longer a criminal offense. get it? It always depends on your state.


I just searched Wisconsin and I found all kind of weird laws from this site


"No, Honey. You Can't Drink With Me" - In Wisconsin, an adult under the age of 21 who is married to one age 21 or older can legally drink with his or her spouse. State Rep. John Ainsworth doesn't like the idea at all and wants to eliminate the right of conjugal consumption.

Parental Rights Challenged - A Wisconsin legislator is trying to change state law to prevent parents from serving their own children any alcohol beverage, even within their own home.

I think the MCW guy is wrong. His answer is always going to be yes...tell us everything. If he's slightly not sure or no matter what he is basically going to tell you he wants to know everything. The reason he said yes, is because this issue comes up every year. Some people think misdemeanors and civil offenses are the same thing. Others answer yes one year, then realize they did it wrong the next year and change their answer to "no"…they may even be changing the answer from yes, which was false, back to "no", which was true. Then other applicants may answer no the first year, and then become paranoid in the second year reapplying and decide they should have put yes in order to disclose everything even though technically they should have answered no.

No matter what they do it causes confusion and the Adcoms get pissed and say the hell with this guy because it all seems disingenuous or worse that the applicant is intentionally lying. Once they see the applicants answer changing back and forth, they throw the app out most of the time. Because of the confusion, whoever is in charge of Milwaukee is likely to tell to tell you to tell them EVERYTHING because they won't brand you as a liar at least if you tell them everything even if you're answering the question incorrectly. Put yourself in his\her situation and he\she knows that the only answer he\she can give to you is to "put it down" because he doesn't want to tell you not to and then get in trouble with annoyed adcoms who are mad that applicants are hiding their drinking tickets.

Most likely a minor charge won't hurt you very badly anyways. However, it will hurt you somewhat, and some interviewers simply have no tolerance for some things like etOH (it depends on who you get) and some adcoms may not either. Also do you have any other weaknesses- say dropped courses or time taken off. You add that stuff together with something you didn't even need to put on your app and it can add up to make them uneasy very quickly. Dropped courses + etOH + a bad O-chem grade that intrigues them + some spelling errors on your application. I'm just saying watch out for stuff adding up like that, and it's not even that it's that bad but just that it ends up being a distraction from all the good parts of your app.

What it comes down to is know the law. Know what a civil offense is and what a criminal offense is, and don't tell them information they don't ask for and don't need to know. Do you know ANY lawyers that are friends with your parents who could offer an opinion or maybe call their office?


Go down to the police station or any lawyer and show them the exact same questions- ask them if you've been convicted of a criminal offense and they will tell you no.

Then again if he already saw your answer maybe you're out of luck...
All they're going to do anyway is run a criminal background check...I'm not sure which criminal background companies they even use at MCW, but you can call and ask and they'll tell you. Then pay the 10 bucks and verify to yourself that your record comes up clean (it will, I guarantee you there is no way ANY criminal background check will be looking for civil offenses.)

But like I said...if he already knows about it then idk what you want to do because I think you would be telling the truth to answer "no" but if he thinks that is not the truth even though it is the truth...then you have major problems. I really think as a general rule you should answer "no" to any question that is looking for "criminal offenses" but in the case of MCW you may want to make an exception since he has already seen what you wrote. Then again if you think he's not going to remember by then, which actually there is a high likelihood he won't, then maybe you should answer no. 10K apps and is he even on the admissions committee? Does he save emails for the adcom? ummm idk, this case is more complicated because you corresponded with him. In the future, hone in on the word "criminal" and don't ask them because that will just make them suspicious and cause problems for you.

I'm serious, this alcohol stuff can hurt you and distract from a otherwise perfect resume that you don't want to mess up. Answer truthfully, but don't give them extra reasons to trash your app because they will look for flaws I guarantee you. For future reference when dealing with other schools besides MCW for heavan's sake don't go sending emails admitting to stuff you don't need to and asking about definitions of the law- go ask a policeman or lawyer that or do a criminal background check to convince yourself. You need some damage control lol.

As Ron Paul says- don't go looking for Dragons to slay.

I also haven't seen the exact wording of the MCW secondary, which they may have crafted to be more broad than most schools.

I may have been a little redunant but I Hope that helps...

Underage Drinking
Underage drinking is a serious problem. The total cost attributable to the consequences of underage drinking was almost $62 billion per year in 2001 dollars. (Miller, et al, 2006) Drinking before the age of 21 is associated with:

Damage to growing brains (White, 2001; Kuhn et al, 1998; Giedd, 1999)
Alcohol dependence (Grant and Dawson, 1997; Grant, 1998; Hingson et al, 2003)
Violence (Hingson, et al, Fall 2001; Hingson and Kenkel, 2003)
Dropping out of school (NIDA, 1998)
Drinking and driving (Hingson, et al, Jan. 2001; Hingson et al, 2003)
Riding with drinking drivers (Hingson, et al, Jan. 2001)
Unplanned and unsafe sex (Cooper, 2002)
Fatalities and injuries from drownings, burns, falls, (Levy, July 1999) homicides, suicides, (Institute of Medicine, 2003) and crashes (Levy, July 1999; Hingson and Kenkel, 2003; Hingson et al, 2003).

DadofDr2B said:

Underage Drinking
Underage drinking is a serious problem. The total cost attributable to the consequences of underage drinking was almost $62 billion per year in 2001 dollars. (Miller, et al, 2006) Drinking before the age of 21 is associated with:

Damage to growing brains (White, 2001; Kuhn et al, 1998; Giedd, 1999)
Alcohol dependence (Grant and Dawson, 1997; Grant, 1998; Hingson et al, 2003)
Violence (Hingson, et al, Fall 2001; Hingson and Kenkel, 2003)
Dropping out of school (NIDA, 1998)
Drinking and driving (Hingson, et al, Jan. 2001; Hingson et al, 2003)
Riding with drinking drivers (Hingson, et al, Jan. 2001)
Unplanned and unsafe sex (Cooper, 2002)
Fatalities and injuries from drownings, burns, falls, (Levy, July 1999) homicides, suicides, (Institute of Medicine, 2003) and crashes (Levy, July 1999; Hingson and Kenkel, 2003; Hingson et al, 2003).

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correlative studies are interesting, but essentially useless

nu2004 said:

correlative studies are interesting, but essentially useless

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If you become a doctor and work in the ER, tell your underaged drinking victims and their parents that these studies are useless. They will appreciate your objectivity.

DadofDr2B said:

If you become a doctor and work in the ER, tell your underaged drinking victims and their parents that these studies are useless. They will appreciate your objectivity.

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So 21 is the magic number where you know all about alcohol and being responsible and such. I guess all those countries where the drinking age is lower, 15, 16, 18, 20, are doing it wrong then.