C & F Statement help please Forum

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csargean

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C & F Statement help please

Post by csargean » Wed Nov 20, 2013 8:30 pm

Two Questions:
1. How do these two statements look? (too much or too little detail given)
2. Will either of these citations affect the strength of my application?

Thanks!

On February 24, 2010, I was issued a citation for minor in possession of a tobacco product, namely a cigarette. I was 17 years old and in California, possession of tobacco under the age of 18 is a misdemeanor. I plead guilty to the misdemeanor offense, paid the $145 fine, and served the 30 hours of required community service. I have had a clean record since this offense, accept full responsibility for the offense, and do not intend for anything of this nature to happen again.

On October 10, 2008, while riding my skateboard home, I was issued a citation for skateboarding on a sidewalk. I plead guilty to the infraction and paid the required fine. I accept full responsibility for the offense.

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dusters

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Re: C & F Statement help please

Post by dusters » Wed Nov 20, 2013 9:08 pm

they won't care, looks fine to me.

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sublime

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Re: C & F Statement help please

Post by sublime » Wed Nov 20, 2013 9:20 pm

..

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Iroh

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Re: C & F Statement help please

Post by Iroh » Wed Nov 20, 2013 10:46 pm

Personally, I think you could do without the "accept full responsibility for the offense, and do not intend for anything of this nature to happen again" part. I think they kind of expect that you're a mature adult at this point, and don't need any sort of assurance from you that you are a reformed citizen.

Plus, since you're now an adult, isn't it literally impossible for "anything of this nature" to happen to you again?

hiltopp01

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Re: C & F Statement help please

Post by hiltopp01 » Thu Nov 21, 2013 1:54 am

Iroh wrote:Personally, I think you could do without the "accept full responsibility for the offense, and do not intend for anything of this nature to happen again" part. I think they kind of expect that you're a mature adult at this point, and don't need any sort of assurance from you that you are a reformed citizen.

Plus, since you're now an adult, isn't it literally impossible for "anything of this nature" to happen to you again?
If OP was 17 in 2010, there's a chance he's still <21.

@OP: Last sentence of 2010 offense seems wordy. You might want to condense it.

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bp shinners

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Re: C & F Statement help please

Post by bp shinners » Thu Nov 21, 2013 2:29 pm

Content, as noted by others, is mostly good (if you make a few changes).

Give it a grammar/spelling edit, though.

stickershocked

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Re: C & F Statement help please

Post by stickershocked » Thu Nov 21, 2013 4:02 pm

hiltopp01 wrote:
Iroh wrote:Personally, I think you could do without the "accept full responsibility for the offense, and do not intend for anything of this nature to happen again" part. I think they kind of expect that you're a mature adult at this point, and don't need any sort of assurance from you that you are a reformed citizen.

Plus, since you're now an adult, isn't it literally impossible for "anything of this nature" to happen to you again?
If OP was 17 in 2010, there's a chance he's still <21.

@OP: Last sentence of 2010 offense seems wordy. You might want to condense it.
I agree with iroh, though. I think that the "and do not intend for anything of this nature to happen again" part sounds silly, and even sarcastic. If you really want to add a "lesson learned" part, then you could address it from a different angle by, say, explaining that you understand how foolish it was or that you understand why such laws exist. Even this might be a stretch though.

My $.02

SPerez

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Re: C & F Statement help please

Post by SPerez » Thu Nov 21, 2013 5:25 pm

Iroh wrote:Personally, I think you could do without the "accept full responsibility for the offense, and do not intend for anything of this nature to happen again" part. I think they kind of expect that you're a mature adult at this point, and don't need any sort of assurance from you that you are a reformed citizen.

I think it's always good to include some closing language that signals ownership and acknowledgement of the offense, including an appropriate level of contrition if it's called for. OP's stuff is pretty minor so not the best case to use as an example, but for the more common drug/alcohol offenses (e.g. MIP, MIC) it's a good idea. I routinely see professors read an addendum that's a little too "just the facts" as the applicant not thinking the offense was wrong, wasn't a big deal, wasn't their fault, etc. Nine times out of ten I'm sure that's not what the applicant intended, but it is nevertheless how it was read by some adcoms.

As for OP, I think stickershocked has the right idea. As always, read the school's instructions and call them (yes, every single one of them) to see what they're looking for if you're not sure. If I got that addendum, I would be contacting OP for more details because that's what our app calls for. We're just doing a little due diligence, so to speak, that the small things really were as small as they sound and not, say, lesser charges plead down from something more serious.

Dean Perez

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