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I just recently received my December LSAT score and started to apply to eight different law schools, but the one question that haunts me is

"Have you been subjected to disciplinary actions, such as probation, by the colleges you have attended?" (the general gist of it)

Now, during May of sophomore year, I have been caught with a joint, but was not criminally charged with anything by the police, although I was put on residential/conduct probation for a year. That probation is long over.

My concerns are:
1. How do I go about disclosing such info? I have a short paragraph detailing what happened during the incident, what actions were taken, my punishment, and the length of time that probation lasted. Should I add in anything else, like regret or what I learned (how do I even word such a thing without sounding like another sob story?)
2. Would something like a joint hurt my chances of getting into law school? I know of stories of people getting DUIs or underage drinking still landing into law school, but an illegal substance is something I don't hear too much about.
3. When they ask for a date of the incidence, can I just give a month/year of when it occurred (it happened almost two years ago), or do they truly want a specific date?

Thanks for any responses. I have been stressing over the application process for awhile now.

EDIT:
After a lot of reading and lurking, the application process and law school itself has me worried. I truly do wish to become a lawyer (yes, for the money and to actually try to make some kind of difference in something like constitutional law), but hearing a lot of bad talk about 3rd and 4th tier schools, I have been presented with more questions.
Profile
GPA: 3.63
LSAT: 157
Nothing remarkable.

1. Should I bother applying to places like Fordham or St. John's with that kind of profile? My GPA seems to hit their criteria, but not so much the LSAT score.
2. Would going to a school like Buffalo Law be detrimental in coming out on top (meaning the debt wouldn't kill me and I would still be able to get a decent paying career)

Again, thanks for responses and advice.

ohmylord wrote:I just recently received my December LSAT score and started to apply to eight different law schools, but the one question that haunts me is

"Have you been subjected to disciplinary actions, such as probation, by the colleges you have attended?" (the general gist of it)

Now, during May of sophomore year, I have been caught with a joint, but was not criminally charged with anything by the police, although I was put on residential/conduct probation for a year. That probation is long over.

My concerns are:
1. How do I go about disclosing such info? I have a short paragraph detailing what happened during the incident, what actions were taken, my punishment, and the length of time that probation lasted. Should I add in anything else, like regret or what I learned (how do I even word such a thing without sounding like another sob story?)
2. Would something like a joint hurt my chances of getting into law school? I know of stories of people getting DUIs or underage drinking still landing into law school, but an illegal substance is something I don't hear too much about.
3. When they ask for a date of the incidence, can I just give a month/year of when it occurred (it happened almost two years ago), or do they truly want a specific date?

Thanks for any responses. I have been stressing over the application process for awhile now.

1. Sounds like you did everything right. You probably still smoke weed, so don't go on about how your life was changed. It's not really a big deal.

2. Probably not...

3. Month/year is fine.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advice. Is there any other insight on this or should I just dive in with the addendum?

How do I address an addendum anyhow? Should I just answer the question normally, or should I address someone? The reason I ask is because I've seen a few people try to address a person in some addendum, but seeing how it's a question, I'm not sure.

ohmylord wrote:Thanks for the advice. Is there any other insight on this or should I just dive in with the addendum?

How do I address an addendum anyhow? Should I just answer the question normally, or should I address someone? The reason I ask is because I've seen a few people try to address a person in some addendum, but seeing how it's a question, I'm not sure.

I had to write an addendum for a couple alcohol incidents in my freshman year at my UG. My addendum basically read:

On XX and XX I was disciplined for.......... I was placed on non academic probation, etc. After these incidents I never violated my probation and.....pretty much became an amazing individual.

So far it had yet to have any affect on my cycle. If you want more specific details (they're mildly extensive, and perhaps comforting) PM me. Good luck.

After a lot of reading and lurking, the application process and law school itself has me worried. I truly do wish to become a lawyer (yes, for the money and to actually try to make some kind of difference in something like constitutional law), but hearing a lot of bad talk about 3rd and 4th tier schools, I have been presented with more questions.
Profile
GPA: 3.63
LSAT: 157
Nothing remarkable.

1. Should I bother applying to places like Fordham or St. John's with that kind of profile? My GPA seems to hit their criteria, but not so much the LSAT score.
2. Would going to a school like Buffalo Law be detrimental in coming out on top (meaning the debt wouldn't kill me and I would still be able to get a decent paying career)

Again, thanks for responses and advice.

Bump

Keep it short and to the point. Will it affect your application? Maybe. There's a lot of competition out there. Do people get into law school all the time with low-level drug incidents (and even charges) from their high school and college days? Sure do.