Drinking in dorms charges, will it hurt?

[brittat]

Seems like a silly question but I just remembered my sophomore year of undergrad (2003-2004) our dorm room (suite with 4 girls) was charged twice by campus judiciaries (not police, not a criminal charge) for drinking in the dorms.

I just called the campus judiciary office and the "charges" will be expunged from my school record in June 2011, which is when I plan on applying. The lady said "it'll be like it never happened".

Does the application process ask anything like this? I know they ask about a criminal record but this definitely isn't criminal. If so, will I have to declare it despite it falling off my school record and will it hurt my chances?! Ugh.

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[willen101383]

It depends on how honest you are. If it were me I would say yes. Its such a minor thing that is so incredibly common on college campuses that if it hurts your app...it wont be by much. Just be ready to get asked about it and tell the truth. Adcom members were in college once too remember.

But at any rate...the aacomas and most secondaries have a spot for asking if youve ever had any institutional action against you....which you have. If it wont be on your transcript then its up to you as to whether you are honest or not. But keep in mind that lying about that and getting caught could very well screw your app

 

[pcard]

Seems like a silly question but I just remembered my sophomore year of undergrad (2003-2004) our dorm room (suite with 4 girls) was charged twice by campus judiciaries (not police, not a criminal charge) for drinking in the dorms.

I just called the campus judiciary office and the "charges" will be expunged from my school record in June 2011, which is when I plan on applying. The lady said "it'll be like it never happened".

Does the application process ask anything like this? I know they ask about a criminal record but this definitely isn't criminal. If so, will I have to declare it despite it falling off my school record and will it hurt my chances?! Ugh.

Just be honest and I am sure you will hear good from some schools.

 

[seap3]

I agree that you should just be honest about it even if it might not be on your record anymore. Why risk getting caught in a lie for something so small that happened a long time ago? I really don't think they will hold it against you.

 

[Dharma]

Hahaha!

Ok, I'm not going to side with the goodie-goodies above. There is absolutely no chance ANYONE will be looking at your college dormitory disciplinary issues, especially if there was not any law enforcement involved.

Offering up such information would be a bad move IMO. Seriously, you have nothing to gain from doing so and as I said, no one cares about what you did in your dorms.

(I'm still laughing at some of the responses.)

 

[drctother]

Seems like a silly question but I just remembered my sophomore year of undergrad (2003-2004) our dorm room (suite with 4 girls) was charged twice by campus judiciaries (not police, not a criminal charge) for drinking in the dorms.

I just called the campus judiciary office and the "charges" will be expunged from my school record in June 2011, which is when I plan on applying. The lady said "it'll be like it never happened".

Does the application process ask anything like this? I know they ask about a criminal record but this definitely isn't criminal. If so, will I have to declare it despite it falling off my school record and will it hurt my chances?! Ugh.

WHAT! You can get charged for that at your school? Thats the lamest things I've ever heard. I hope you let your RA have a mouth full and made her year hell lol

If it ever came up just be honest. Do you really want to attend a school that rejects you because you drank underage in sophomore year? Imagine the losers that would be at that school. I think it shows that you got the partying out of your system

 

[DbDan]

It doesn't fall on your official transcript (if you want to check, order one for yourself) so schools will never know. After you said this I remembered I had one from freshman year. No big deal, few community service hours and it was over with. I couldn't see it coming up at all.

 

[seap3]

Hahaha!

Ok, I'm not going to side with the goodie-goodies above. There is absolutely no chance ANYONE will be looking at your college dormitory disciplinary issues, especially if there was not any law enforcement involved.

Offering up such information would be a bad move IMO. Seriously, you have nothing to gain from doing so and as I said, no one cares about what you did in your dorms.

(I'm still laughing at some of the responses.)

I am so NOT a goodie-goodie. I just think it makes no sense to lie about something so trivial and risk the chance of getting caught in a lie. I think there are sometimes questions that ask if there was any type of institutional action. They don't say to only tell them about the things that will show up on your transcript, they want an honest, mature response.

Obviously don't go out of your way to bring this up, but if a question directly asks about it, the OP should tell the truth. I've done worse, had to disclose it, and still got accepted.

 

[willen101383]

Hahaha!

Ok, I'm not going to side with the goodie-goodies above. There is absolutely no chance ANYONE will be looking at your college dormitory disciplinary issues, especially if there was not any law enforcement involved.

Offering up such information would be a bad move IMO. Seriously, you have nothing to gain from doing so and as I said, no one cares about what you did in your dorms.

(I'm still laughing at some of the responses.)

Great advice there. I dont know how things are at your college, but at my undergrad school if you got caught drinking in the dorms it most definitely went on your disciplinary record at your school...and if alcohol was involved the cops were always called. Our campus police were state police officers (went to a state school)so if they came you were getting a drinking ticket. Its not worth the possible hassle of anyone finding out after admission...or worse, after matriculation. You never know if schools internally check up on random candidates during the admissions process.

 

[Everglide]

Hahaha!

Ok, I'm not going to side with the goodie-goodies above. There is absolutely no chance ANYONE will be looking at your college dormitory disciplinary issues, especially if there was not any law enforcement involved.

Offering up such information would be a bad move IMO. Seriously, you have nothing to gain from doing so and as I said, no one cares about what you did in your dorms.

(I'm still laughing at some of the responses.)

You would be surprised what schools can and do look for AFTER you get in. OP - just it put on your application and be honest, it's really not that big of a deal anyway.

 

[TriagePreMed]

Remember that the record has been expunged. This means it has never existed under the rules of the school. If they wanted to penalize you, a record would exist. Personally, I'd not list it. Even if it was a criminal record that was expunged I would not offer it up, since the schools make no clarification about expunged records. Technically you should be within your right to deny it happened. Of course, this is my petty understanding of how it works and not something where I encourage you to go either way since it's ultimately on you.

 

[willen101383]

Remember that the record has been expunged. This means it has never existed under the rules of the school. If they wanted to penalize you, a record would exist. Personally, I'd not list it. Even if it was a criminal record that was expunged I would not offer it up, since the schools make no clarification about expunged records. Technically you should be within your right to deny it happened. Of course, this is my petty understanding of how it works and not something where I encourage you to go either way since it's ultimately on you.

If thats what the actual student handbook of your school says about expunged offenses, I 100 percent agree with you. If the med school actually caught wind of this youd have a viable defense and I doubt anything would come of it.

However in any other circumstance, I would still advocate being honest.

 

[Lil Mick]

Honesty goes a long ways, especially in a profession. If a long time has passed and if you don't have anything more recent on your record, it shouldn't be a big deal to schools. Some might care, but others won't.

I was scared to apply with offenses on my record (an obvious pattern), but most schools did not notice/care. Only two schools really pried into this during interviews, and I just answered honestly (and got offers from those schools).

 

[ND10]

It's not news that college kids drink. Don't worry about it whatsoever. You're fine!

 

[mri5005]

It might help

 

[USCTrojan11]

While true noone will ever find out, I voluntarily reported mine. It actually helped and have had many adcoms specifically compliment me on it. Also, since its one of the first sections, it sets the tone for whole app showing honesty, maturity and sincerity. Sadly, I think institutional action helped both my growth and my application. That's my lesson for the day.

 

[USCTrojan11]

Remember that the record has been expunged. This means it has never existed under the rules of the school. If they wanted to penalize you, a record would exist. Personally, I'd not list it. Even if it was a criminal record that was expunged I would not offer it up, since the schools make no clarification about expunged records. Technically you should be within your right to deny it happened. Of course, this is my petty understanding of how it works and not something where I encourage you to go either way since it's ultimately on you.

I'd have to disagree. Even with an expunged record it asks have you ever been convicted. Do you really wanna be asked, after interviewing so perfectly and being accepted, to explain your story about how you thought expungement ment you never were convicted or you have a right to not reveal it. How easy it would be for them to simply axe you and take the next honest applicant off the waitlist.

I've heard horror stories about how a student was sold out by his classmate after their 2nd year. Apparently he thought he was good friends enough to tell the other guy he lied on his app. Too bad his buddy didn't think it was too cool and he got kicked out and probably will never get another chance.

Don't risk it. It doesn't hurt to explain the truth and even helps show maturity and honesty. good luck

 

[lord_jeebus]

Just report it. It is understood that college students drink before turning 21, and that some of them get caught. No adcom will care.

 

[Evil_Abed]

OP, if it makes you feel better, not only was I on academic probation, but I got kicked out of college (an academic drop status that was, albeit, successfully appealed). And I still have 4 MD interviews so far, and am expecting more in the future.

Your "drinking in the dorms" charge having any effect on your application is, honestly (not to be rude), laughable! Relax. Seriously.