What happened: While deer hunting in November, I accidentally took a deer without a tag. I mistakenly thought that I had bought one, however due to spotty internet connection my purchase for a tag did not go through and I did not notice this until after taking this deer. To correct this I immediately bought another tag, and filled it. This caused a red flag in the conservation department and a few days later I was contacted by a conservation department official who said that I had illegally harvested a deer, they would knock the charge down, and all I had to do was pay a fine. However when reviewing the documents sent to me, the charge was a misdemeanor for “failing to check a deer as prescribed”. I contacted a lawyer, and this case is currently still pending.
Current situation: I currently have an acceptance to one school and several more interviews. Do have to report this to the schools, even though the case is still pending? Did I shoot myself in the foot by not contacting the schools immediately when it happened? Do you have any advice for how to explain this situation?