Thank you for taking the time to read my questions. I truly appreciate everything you do to help us here on SDN.
During welcome week of my freshman year (over 6 years ago), I was drinking alcohol with a group of students off campus. We were all given a citation by a university police officer for underage possession of alcohol. Although I do admit that I had been drinking, I was not in possession of alcohol. My school notified me and gave me a list of sanctions - attend a group session, complete an online session, and pay a $250 fine. I was also given a court date from the city.
I explained the circumstances in court and my charges were dropped. At this time, I already attended the group session but did not fulfill any other sanctions. I went to the student conduct office and explained what happened. The woman I spoke to told me that the incident would be removed from my conduct record.
I applied to DO schools this year, and marked "no IA" on my AACOMAS and secondary applications. Last week, I emailed the student conduct office to make sure I did not have any record. However, my record states that I was "in possession of a keystone" and found responsible. The group session is marked as complete, while the other sanctions are marked as incomplete. Also, it states that I attended a hearing, but I am almost positive that this never happened. I reviewed my school's conduct policy which states that all students must be given a hearing for any incident.
I am trying to work this out with my undergraduate school, but they have been slow to respond and I do not have any e-mails or records from 6 years ago. I want to notify my schools as soon as possible, but I don't want to provide unnecessary information if I can ultimately have the incident removed from my record. Lastly, I attend a post-bac and will receive an interview invitation from the affiliated school within the next week or two.
So my questions regarding this incident are:
- Should I wait to notify my schools?
- Should I take responsibility for the incident, or should I briefly explain the situation?
Thank you again for your help!
