General application questions.. Forum

[170hopeful]

Hey everyone,

I was just curious about some of the general application questions and how you've answered them. In the box where it asks if you have ever applied or are applying to other schools, is it wise to list that? Because it is not a required field I was curious about it. I also noticed that for a few schools, they ask you to actually list traffic violations that you've been accused of. Well, i'm assuming if you've had a handful of "tickets" but none are on your record, do you have to disclose those? In that case, i'm assuming you'd need a copy of your driving record?

[rinkrat19]

Hey everyone,

I was just curious about some of the general application questions and how you've answered them. In the box where it asks if you have ever applied or are applying to other schools, is it wise to list that? Because it is not a required field I was curious about it. I also noticed that for a few schools, they ask you to actually list traffic violations that you've been accused of. Well, i'm assuming if you've had a handful of "tickets" but none are on your record, do you have to disclose those? In that case, i'm assuming you'd need a copy of your driving record?

The "other schools" question isn't going to hurt you. The schools mostly ask for marketing purposes, to see who they're competing against for candidates. I suppose if you had really high numbers for School X, and most of the schools you put down were ranked significantly higher, it'd probably increase your chances of getting yield-protected, but aside from that it's not a big deal. Just put down a few peer schools you may or may not apply to. Someone on this forum asks this at least once a day.

Why is "tickets" in quotes? Were they tickets or were they not? If they were, why would they not be on your driving record? Yes, if the school asks about traffic violations, you'd damn well better disclose your traffic violations to the best of your ability. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. Get your driving record from your state DMV and/or records of your tickets from the court in the jurisdiction where they occurred. If you make your best effort and still can't find them, disclose them as far as you can (In approximately March of 2005, I was cited for speeding in BFE, Oklahoma.) and specify that you couldn't find an official record of them but this information is as complete and correct as you can remember to the best of your ability.

[170hopeful]

Thanks Rink. It's tough; i've been driving since I was 16 (i'm 30 now). I've had more than a handful of tickets over the years, so it would be hard to say. They aren't on my driving record however since every time i've been "accused" the ticket gets dismissed. Have I been pulled over and given a ticket? Yes, many times. I live in a large city and it happens often. But to have to disclose the twenty times i've been pulled over and cited, it's hard to say. I guess i'll have to get a copy of that driving record lol.

[arodd53]

Have I been pulled over and given a ticket? Yes, many times. I live in a large city drive recklessly and it happens often.

Fixed that for you.

[170hopeful]

Sure. Driving 5-10 mph over the speed limit is reckless. I'm sure you've never done that before.

[AntipodeanPhil]

Sure. Driving 5-10 mph over the speed limit is reckless. I'm sure you've never done that before.

I have been doing that for 10+ years in a number of large cities and I haven't been pulled over once. Of course, I've seen (and know of) many people who have driven 10-20 mph over and have got ticketed.

On topic, though: law schools hate lying - even what you might think of as little white lies - so whatever you do with the "other schools" question, make sure it doesn't look suspicious. I would suggest that it is best to tell the truth, but I've been attacked for saying that here in the past.

Since they want you to answer the question, it seems best to me to do it. If you don't, they will just assume you are applying to peer and higher-ranked schools, and you run some slight risk of annoying them.

[170hopeful]

Thank you for the sage advice. This is what I was looking for; unlike the mockery of the post before you passing judgment. I'm assuming that I should list whatever offense I can clearly remember to the best of my ability- at least, that's the best I can do. The mentioned tickets are not on my record ie. they have been expunged, dismissed, or whatever you'd like to call them. My candor can only go so far, so I'll do my best to disclose what I can.

[sknowl01]

Thank you for the sage advice. This is what I was looking for; unlike the mockery of the post before you passing judgment. I'm assuming that I should list whatever offense I can clearly remember to the best of my ability- at least, that's the best I can do. The mentioned tickets are not on my record ie. they have been expunged, dismissed, or whatever you'd like to call them. My candor can only go so far, so I'll do my best to disclose what I can.

I had a similar situation. My tickets were so long ago that they did not show up on a record check. What I did for applications that required disclosure of even minor traffic citations was to state that I had tickets, but due to the length of time that had passed there was no record of them with the state's database. Only one school inquired further.

[JDizzle2015]

Thank you for the sage advice. This is what I was looking for; unlike the mockery of the post before you passing judgment. I'm assuming that I should list whatever offense I can clearly remember to the best of my ability- at least, that's the best I can do. The mentioned tickets are not on my record ie. they have been expunged, dismissed, or whatever you'd like to call them. My candor can only go so far, so I'll do my best to disclose what I can.

I had a similar situation. My tickets were so long ago that they did not show up on a record check. What I did for applications that required disclosure of even minor traffic citations was to state that I had tickets, but due to the length of time that had passed there was no record of them with the state's database. Only one school inquired further.

I didn't even pay the ~$8 to check the state's database. I just said that I had a speeding ticket around 200X and another speeding ticket around 200X but have learned to be a much more responsible driver since then. I keep seeing people on TLS say that you should order a report from the state/DMV... it's totally unnecessary for small/traffic offenses. None of the schools I've applied to have asked me to go into any further detail. (I've had two speeding tickets in the last ~10 years while driving in Los Angeles so it might be a different situation than OP's ~20 possible citations.)

[170hopeful]

sknowl01 and Jdizzle, this is exactly the information I was looking for. Kudos to the both of you. Seems like a great idea. I went ahead and paid for a full blown driving record and voila; there was nothing on it. I can do the same as you did. Perfect.