C + F Addendum Concern Forum

[chezzin]

So I have resigned myself to the fact that I will need to disclose the stupidity of my younger self on my application. Could anyone tell me whether the addendum below is acceptable? Anyone who can also speak to how much this potentially affects my application would also be welcomed. Pretty bummed that schools could look unfavorably on me for this, but I suppose that's life's consequences.

"On xx/xx/xxxx, when visiting a friend in South Carolina, I was a member of a #-person group that went to a nearby golf course late at night and found (#) golf carts with keys in the ignition. We drove these carts on the golf course, and disturbed nearby homeowners. We were later detained by golf course security and police. I plead guilty to the borough ordinances of noise violation and petty disorderly person, and paid a $(1,000+) fine.

The experience was a valuable lesson in that it forced me to confront the immaturity of the act, and helped me decide that it did not reflect at all the type of person I wanted to be. I am positive that nothing even remotely similar will occur in the future."

[ikethegremlin]

So I have resigned myself to the fact that I will need to disclose the stupidity of my younger self on my application. Could anyone tell me whether the addendum below is acceptable? Anyone who can also speak to how much this potentially affects my application would also be welcomed. Pretty bummed that schools could look unfavorably on me for this, but I suppose that's life's consequences.

"On xx/xx/xxxx, when visiting a friend in South Carolina, I was a member of a #-person group that went to a nearby golf course late at night and found (#) golf carts with keys in the ignition. We drove these carts on the golf course, and disturbed nearby homeowners. We were later detained by golf course security and police. I plead guilty to the borough ordinances of noise violation and petty disorderly person, and paid a $(1,000+) fine.

The experience was a valuable lesson in that it forced me to confront the immaturity of the act, and helped me decide that it did not reflect at all the type of person I wanted to be. I am positive that nothing even remotely similar will occur in the future."

How much younger? It's a subjective thing but I'd say the more recent, the more explanation you need to give. If this was when you were 17 and you're now 27, then like... yeah. Whatever - this is probably fine, though a bit cliche/copypasta-ish.

If it was when you were 20, and you're now 22 then you might need to do a bit more grovelling. In the nicest possible way, reading it gives me the kind of feeling that the person you were then is not the person I would want in law school - it was kind of a douchey, immature offense, and relatively serious compared to the standard public urination/underage drinking etc. So I'd try and make it really clear that that person is not what you are like now, and prove that you have changed.

[chezzin]

Thanks for responding. I definitely understand your point - as it was only 3-5 years ago I wanted to include the last couple of sentences to try and address that - I suppose I'm struggling because I've gone over hundreds of posts people have made about C+F addendums and they always say that you should stick to addressing the facts as much as possible. What would your advice be to make it less cliché, and how do I prove that I've changed without it becoming even more cliché? I can talk about community service and etc. but to me that just seems to come off as really unconvincing.

It feels even more difficult to accomplish because the whole situation really was a product of peer pressure, but I wanted to work hard for it not to seem like I'm not shirking responsibility for it or anything because in the end it was a choice I made.