C&F Mistake Forum

[jerseymike]

I applied to law schools this cycle and have recently begun to think that I botched one of my C&F questions on a few apps. I'd like some feedback on my situation from those willing to help. It's pretty sensitive so please PM me if you're willing to give me some feedback on my situation. Actual law students/lawyers would be an especially big help.

[Auxilio]

I would definitely PM Spivey for this, good chance of a reliable response.

[Nebby]

Depending on the seriousness, you can inform the school after admission. (as long as you didn't forget to tell the school you were caught cheating or that you raped someone). The schools don't care a lot about c&f, but the bar does. And you can fail the bar c&f if they discover you withheld information from the school.

[jerseymike]

Thank you for your responses.

If it is not that serious will my late disclosure severely hurt scholly chances?

[Nebby]

Thank you for your responses.

If it is not that serious will my late disclosure severely hurt scholly chances?

No.

[slurpy]

.

[SPerez]

I just emailed the schools and asked what to do.

THIS. Always this.

You can call and explain your situation without giving your name if you want. The only people who can give you accurate advice is the specific school in question because all the questions are, while similar, are different. Not lawyers, not law students, not judges. (Our question specifically says not to take the advice of lawyers or judges because they often give incorrect advice.)

It is true that students amend and update their application with C&F stuff all the way through their 3L year (although it's mostly before school starts and the first few weeks after Orientation). But waiting to disclose until after acceptance or after receiving a scholarship can look shady as hell, whether intentional or not, and could lead to Honor Court proceedings at the school, separate from the admissions review, depending on that school's policy. For example, here at Tech if you amend after school starts there is a dual process. The admissions committee reviews the new disclosure and decides whether it would have still admitted given the new information. If we say no harm-no foul, then the Dean of Students decides whether there is sufficient cause to pursue Honor Court proceedings, e.g. there was no way the student didn't know they had to disclose and it looks like they were trying to pull a fast one.

Schools care a lot about C&F issues, actually. They just have perspective and understand a few isolated "youthful indiscretions" aren't enough to derail a kid's future over. Some adcoms are more open than others to giving people a second chance in more situations like felons who have served jail time, but it doesn't mean they don't care. What schools DO care a lot about was mentioned by others, and that's anything dealing with dishonesty like plagiarism or attempting to hide negative information in hopes of getting into law school.

As always, just disclose. If you're really worried, make an anonymous phone call to the respective admissions offices.

Dean Perez
Texas Tech Law