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So I got caught with a bowl in junior year blah blah blah drug charges expunged blah blah blah. I've read enough treads on here to get that it's better to declare it on my app than to hide it, but now the school I'm applying to wants a dean's certificate and a separate document explaining the circumstances. The dean's certificate is no biggie, just a pain in my ass, but what exactly are they looking for in this statement?

I got caught with a bowl with weed residue on it, I got a slap on the wrist and a $25 fine and some disciplinary probation. Do they just want the facts or do they want to hear how much I've grown and how terrible I think pot is?

Sorry, I'm sure this exact thing gets posted all the time but I spent half an hour searching 'Drug' on this forum and got no specific advice on addendum.

Bonus question - Is this the sort of thing that can keep me out of a good school? My UG handed out minor drug/alcohol violations like chiclets because they used to conduct 'random room searches' twice or thrice a year (my theory is they did it when the student services department needed some spending money), it would really tick me off if it hurts my law school chances.

As long as you're forthright it won't keep you out of anywhere. You're definitely not the only person to get busted with weed and then apply to law school. Essentially what these statements should be is short and to the point, especially for a minor charge like you have. Say exactly what happened, don't try to pass the buck, admit that you screwed up, and say why it won't happen again.

If you look around the forums a bit more I'm sure you can find examples of similar statements that people have made.

Something like, "On (whatever) date, I was caught with a small amount of marijuana. I was charged with possession (or whatever). While the charges were expunged, I resolved not to repeat this behavior and since that time have not had any disciplinary incidents."

Basically, just what Mo said. Keep it concise. It's really not a big deal and you writing a novel could make it seem like one. Here's what happened, here's how it turned out, I recognize I screwed up and I didn't screw up anymore. The end.

TheSpanishMain wrote:Something like, "On (whatever) date, I was caught with a small amount of marijuana. I was charged with possession (or whatever). While the charges were expunged, I resolved not to repeat this behavior and since that time have not had any disciplinary incidents."

Basically, just what Mo said. Keep it concise. It's really not a big deal and you writing a novel could make it seem like one. Here's what happened, here's how it turned out, I recognize I screwed up and I didn't screw up anymore. The end.

This is basically the outline I give my students when they tell me they have to write something like this.