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Do I need to disclose something that has been expunged from my record for applications? It happened my freshmen year and I had it expunged after 2 years of good behavior.

Yes

Yes. You definitely do.

How bad is it?

You have 2 disclose.

Make sure u get high GPA/LSAT brother

It was a simple misdemeanor involving alcohol and was not a DUI. Seems like the general consensus is to disclose. Does it make a difference that it was expunged or not at all?

Only disclose to schools that specifically ask for expunged records. Stanford, Berkeley, Michigan, and Virginia do not ask for expunged records (if these schools are in your range) (but double check me on this, of course). And even for the ones that do specifically ask for expunged records, the manner in which they ask the question may be telling (although I would like some other opinions on this if anyone is willing to chime in). Consider Columbia for example. They phrase the question like this: "This should include matters that *may* have been expunged." The "may" here is curious, and the inclusion makes me think they are specifically targeting people who for some reason believe their records have been expunged, but in reality, they haven't. I would imagine this is an excuse used by many people when they are caught lying about their criminal record. So, if you were feeling risky, you might opt to not disclose at schools who ask the question in a similar manner as Columbia.

However, in your case, I wouldn't recommend doing anything risky like this. Underage drinking won't be a problem at all for you--adcoms aren't hypocrites (presumably). If anyone who is reading this has a more significant criminal history that has been expunged, then it might be wise to not disclose in similar circumstances. However, *certainly* disclose when they request expunged records in clear language (i.e. no inclusion of "may"). It's stupid; law schools are jerks for even asking this; and the bar is an even bigger jerk for interpreting a negative response to this question (which is explicitly within the rights of someone who has gotten their record expunged) as dishonesty. But, what can you do?

how big an impact do alcohol violations have on acceptance to top schools?

Cvolz wrote:how big an impact do alcohol violations have on acceptance to top schools?

drunk driving? significant. public intoxication? less significant. supplying alcohol to minors? somewhere in the middle.

im talking underage drinking infractions with the university, pretty minor but i do have three of them

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walterwhite wrote:

Cvolz wrote:im talking underage drinking infractions with the university, pretty minor but i do have three of them

i'm also curious about this. i have 2-4 minor violations my school is wayyyyyy too uptight about alcohol. the hardest part about C&F is going to be making it seem like I took getting caught with 4 half empty beers in my room as a serious incident which I've learned from.

Try not to focus on the violation itself but the overarching matter of respecting rules and institutions.

Definitely err on the side of full disclosure. You don't want something minor like this to bite you in the ass come time to apply for the bar.