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Hello all,

This is my first time posting to this forum, so hopefully I'm doing it right.

I've applied to law schools and have been accepted by my dream school - great.

Now, weeks later, I start thinking about the BAR, and all of the things that go along with that, so I went back to double check EVERYTHING as a symptom of my somewhat neurotic behavior.

I've found a few errors and I'm wondering what I should do about them. That is, do I ignore them, as they are not big issues, or do I contact the dean of admissions immediately with an apology and corrections to the application, which again, has already been accepted. I've made both deposits already, even.

1. I did not list any schools before high school. I was homeschooled by my mother for my entire life until going to public school, so I have no record of anything done before that time, and have no idea if it qualifies as an "educational institution" as the term is used in the application. As a result, I did not make an entry for it at all. Was that a mistake?

2. I was unable to find records of when it was that I started high school - I know the school years that I attended, but had to estimate the months started/ended based on the current school years calendar, which I found online. This information was not included anywhere on the transcripts that I still have. I only realized later that the date I was conferred my diploma was included on the diploma, which is one month earlier than the date that I put on the application. I'm still unsure of the starting month. Is this a big deal? Should I amend this? Will the BAR look at this at all?

3. The application for this particular school did not have a section for employment. The only place where I included employment history on my application was in the resume I included. My resume did not include a job that I worked at (as a waiter) for about 3 weeks. Is this a big deal? There was no technical requirement for a full work history - as far as I can tell, there were no requirements that detailed what should be included in your resume.

4. One of the questions on the Character and Fitness section of the application asked if I had ever been warned, disciplined, advised to resign, suspended, etc. from any post-secondary institution. My post-secondary academic record is squeaky clean. HOWEVER, I currently work as staff at a post-secondary institution. There was a single incident where I and a few others were investigated for an inappropriate conversation. For the record, no, it was not me who said the inappropriate thing. I was, however, in the room, and was therefore included in the investigation. The result was "not-sustained", that is, it was determined that I had done nothing and would not be disciplined. I was asked to attend a seminar on respect in the workplace along with everyone else investigated, sustained or not, which I did.

The big issue here for me, which I'm worried about, is that when I read the question I read it as meaning in an academic sense. Other applications that I submitted had a specific question asking if you were ever disciplined at work. You can probably see why I understood it the way that I did. Is this an issue? Yes, technically it was a post-secondary institution that, I would say informally, disciplined me. I doubt I could have said no to the seminar. Thoughts?

What do I do here, guys? If I get unenrolled from the school, I feel like my life and any hope for the future will be entirely lost.

Thanks for reading, guys.

Which school doesn't include employment history on the application? That's a fairly standard application component specifically because the bar is going to ask for it.

But assuming that there was no request for a full employment history anywhere, then the only thing that might warrant correction is the high school graduation date. The rest of these are non-issues. No one expected you to include your pre-high-school educational history, and the disciplinary question is only meant to refer to when you were a student at a post-secondary institution. Employment-related discipline is usually covered by a separate question, and based on what you described, that question likely did not cover your situation unless they asked whether you were ever investigated for any kind of violation at work.

cavalier1138 wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 14, 2021 8:53 am

Which school doesn't include employment history on the application? That's a fairly standard application component specifically because the bar is going to ask for it.

But assuming that there was no request for a full employment history anywhere, then the only thing that might warrant correction is the high school graduation date. The rest of these are non-issues. No one expected you to include your pre-high-school educational history, and the disciplinary question is only meant to refer to when you were a student at a post-secondary institution. Employment-related discipline is usually covered by a separate question, and based on what you described, that question likely did not cover your situation unless they asked whether you were ever investigated for any kind of violation at work.

Thank you for the response. I would prefer not to name the school, but it is indeed the case.

The only requirement to include work is in the description for the resume.

"Résumé: Please provide a résumé detailing any significant vocational, extracurricular, or community activities; graduate work or degree; honors and awards; any service in the Armed Forces; job descriptions and major areas of responsibility, along with location (city and state) and dates of employment; publications, or other information that you believe the Admissions Committee should consider in evaluating your application. Your résumé may not exceed three (3) pages."

I would hardly consider a two week stint as a waiter "significant", so I think you're right about not amending the resume.

I'm glad you think so too - I've asked my girlfriend and a work buddy, and they both felt the same way. Hopefully the BAR interprets it the same way.

As for the pre-high school education, it actually includes high school to some degree. I entered public education as a sophomore. I suppose I should have mentioned that in my first post. Does that change your evaluation?

I'm going to get all lawyer-y here for a moment and suggest that "significant" only modifies "vocational, extracurricular, or community activities," not job descriptions, so you would be expected to list all jobs. That said, no one is going to care about a 3-week waiter job on a space-limited resume like that. I would probably amend it so everything matches up when you apply for the bar, but it will be a very simple process of sending an email that says, "in reviewing my application I realized I overlooked a short-term job when I submitted my resume, I'm attaching a resume that includes those details, please let me know if there's anything else you need from me." It won't present any problems or affect your admission.

The education thing is fine. You attended the high school you graduated from, whenever you started. You didn't attend any other educational institutions. No one's going to look back before high school, but even if they did, people know homeschooling is a thing.

Agree with cav on everything else.

Okay. Thanks guys. I really appreciate your responses.

I just sent the email, which notes the error and gives corrections on the dates and the temporary job, as well as attaching an updated resume that includes it.

Hopefully this won't tarnish my future as a law student or potentially a lawyer.

Absolutely no one will care. Not worth worrying about. Good luck in school!

Thank you so much! It's my first time going to law school, so I'm kind of nervous

joejouzu wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 14, 2021 11:41 am

Thank you so much! It's my first time going to law school, so I'm kind of nervous

The good news is that it [should be] everyone else's first time going to law school as well lol. Don't psych yourself out.

joejouzu wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:54 am

1. I did not list any schools before high school. I was homeschooled by my mother for my entire life until going to public school, so I have no record of anything done before that time, and have no idea if it qualifies as an "educational institution" as the term is used in the application. As a result, I did not make an entry for it at all. Was that a mistake?

C&F doesn't care about pre-high school education, so you're fine.

joejouzu wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:54 am

2. I was unable to find records of when it was that I started high school - I know the school years that I attended, but had to estimate the months started/ended based on the current school years calendar, which I found online. This information was not included anywhere on the transcripts that I still have. I only realized later that the date I was conferred my diploma was included on the diploma, which is one month earlier than the date that I put on the application. I'm still unsure of the starting month. Is this a big deal? Should I amend this? Will the BAR look at this at all?

I would amend it just because you noticed it, but I don't think it would cause issues.

joejouzu wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:54 am

3. The application for this particular school did not have a section for employment. The only place where I included employment history on my application was in the resume I included. My resume did not include a job that I worked at (as a waiter) for about 3 weeks. Is this a big deal? There was no technical requirement for a full work history - as far as I can tell, there were no requirements that detailed what should be included in your resume.

It shouldn't be any sort of deal. On the California C&F application (the only state's I'm familiar with), they don't ask for disclosure of non-legal jobs lasting less than 6 months. Not sure what state you're going for, but it shouldn't be an issue.