College Confidential - View Single Post - Should I disclose an arrest to law school adcoms if the arrest itself was expunged?

jakebosco70 · 08-16-2010, 05:34 PM

Hi all,

I will soon be applying to law schools and have noticed that nearly every application has some sort of question asking about legal run-ins. When I was 18 years old (during freshman year of college) I was arrested for underage drinking. The county had a first-time offender diversion program that I entered and completed without any problems. The deal was, if I completed the diversion program, not only would there be no court hearings, the arrest itself would be expunged. Technically, I have no arrest record or criminal record. However, it feels dishonest of me to answer "None" when asked about my legal history. It was a big event in my life (that I'm certainly not proud of) that helped me to turn my life around. After the incident I got involved in a number of campus activities and improved by gpa to a 3.4 at a Tier 1 university. I have worked so hard the past few years to stay on the straight and narrow, it would be crushing to see it all undone by a stupid mistake made by an immature boy.

Should I disclose this at all? If you think I should, how should I disclose this information in such a way as to not minimize my law school chances? How much do you think adcomms would hold this against me if I disclose this information?

Thank you for any help. I really don't know who else I can talk to about this.

08-16-2010, 05:34 PM	#1
jakebosco70 New Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 29	Should I disclose an arrest to law school adcoms if the arrest itself was expunged? Hi all, I will soon be applying to law schools and have noticed that nearly every application has some sort of question asking about legal run-ins. When I was 18 years old (during freshman year of college) I was arrested for underage drinking. The county had a first-time offender diversion program that I entered and completed without any problems. The deal was, if I completed the diversion program, not only would there be no court hearings, the arrest itself would be expunged. Technically, I have no arrest record or criminal record. However, it feels dishonest of me to answer "None" when asked about my legal history. It was a big event in my life (that I'm certainly not proud of) that helped me to turn my life around. After the incident I got involved in a number of campus activities and improved by gpa to a 3.4 at a Tier 1 university. I have worked so hard the past few years to stay on the straight and narrow, it would be crushing to see it all undone by a stupid mistake made by an immature boy. Should I disclose this at all? If you think I should, how should I disclose this information in such a way as to not minimize my law school chances? How much do you think adcomms would hold this against me if I disclose this information? Thank you for any help. I really don't know who else I can talk to about this.
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