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3.1mid, 180, 2 years w/e, non-AA URM

hi everyone! about 5 years ago during freshman year i collaborated with another student on a take home math exam and was subsequently charged with violating the academic code of conduct at my university. my institution imposed minimum sanctions for the incident--i received an F on the assignment in question and was asked to write an essay about dishonesty and the violation no longer appears on my records. additionally, given extreme extenuating circumstances at the time of the incident the actual course and grade no longer appear on my transcripts either.

i realize this is going to be seriously detrimental to my admissions prospects. i've tried to tailor a specific part of my application to demonstrating my commitment to integrity within academia, and i've put some years between me and the incident. i wanted to ask a few questions:

1. has anyone here ever applied and had to make a similar disclosure? how did your cycle turn out? do you feel you under-performed your stats?

2. would it be advisable to hire a consultant? my application is fairly unique considering the disparity between my LSAT score and my GPA with the addition of the major C&F issue, but it's a lot of money to spend and i have a hard time gauging how helpful a consultant would be.

3. does anyone have any resources concerning how to address this on an application? or dean's, adm\comms, consultants, etc. speaking specifically about academic dishonesty online? i've scoured the internet to no avail, but i'm hoping i'm maybe missing something.

4. should i bother applying to any of the t14? i recognize that t6 are out of reach, but i don't know if there is any realistic chance at even touching the t14.

thank you in advance! any input is welcome!

You likely should contact a C&F attorney. My guess is you'll actually get into law school. You might want to talk to them about getting admitted to the bar with that.

You should apply to all the T14 and UCLA, UT, WashU, Vandy, and USC aside from HYS. I'd also apply to one regional strong school like Emory, GW, BC, BU, etc. depending on where you'd like to practice.

With a 3.1 GPA and an LSAT score of 180, admissions officers will probably be interested in your GPA year by year to see if there was a bad early year followed by greatly improved grades during your final two years of college.

Academic dishonesty will probably be viewed in a very serious manner by law schools which are accustomed to receiving and reviewing applicants with stellar LSAT scores.

Let's be honest, any elite law school that accepts you will do so due to your LSAT score as your undergraduate GPA and your act of academic dishonesty are major hurdles to overcome among top 30 law schools. Not sure if URM status is still the boost that it once was.

Since you will have about 3 years of work experience prior to attending law school, you have had many years to mature and to reflect upon the act of academic dishonesty. The more separation in time from a bad act and from low grades, the better your chances.

One way to show that you have matured is the fact that you are disclosing an otherwise unreported and now undocumented act of academic dishonesty. And this is the right approach in my view.

We are all human and we all make mistakes. You are now older, wiser, repentant, and better equipped to understand and deal with the failures of others. Present the improper collaboration as a learning experience upon which you reflect to this day.

P.S. I agree with OP that the top 6 law schools may be out of reach. Apply to as many law schools within the top 30 or so which are of interest to you.