Character & Fitness Section of Application

mistermayonays

Hi all,

I got kicked out of my high school in my sophomore year. I was caught with marijuana. That part of my life is a blur. My mom had recently passed away and I was feeling very lost. This was also, like, more than 10 years ago. I am 26 now. I do not remember how I left it with the other school aside from knowing they asked me to leave. I don't know if its part of my "record" or anything like that.

Do I need to include this in my application? One application asked a question along the lines of "have I ever got into any trouble in a educational institution," or something like that.

Thanks in advance for any info!

BinghamtonDave

Others are going to weigh in with a bit more detail, but from everything I have read the general consensus seems to be to air on the side of caution and disclose this. Now, with that being said, I don't at all want to conjecture, but from everything I have read on the topic: law schools can be mildly forgiving about such instances, it is actually your states' bar that might be less forgiving about such instances. Others can comment on this further and correct any confusion I might have, I'm just getting into the application process myself!

Best of luck moving forward
David

Leah M B

Every school words their C&F question differently. I would guess that it would apply to some schools and not others. If I were you, I'd call admissions and just ask a general question, of if they are including high school in that question or just post-secondary schools. I'd call so there's not necessarily a paper trail, and you don't have to give your name haha. But if they say yes that they want to know for high school as well, then you'll definitely need to write something on that.

I highly recommend the 7sage Admissions course. It's only $20 and covers how to write addenda like this. It'd be a great resource for you.

_oshun1_

You’re fine! Read carefully, most schools’ apps in the c&f section say have you gotten in any trouble at any post secondary education. As in, after high school.

If you were arrested and have a misdemeanor that should be disclosed, although I think most apps say something like 10+ year old marijuana possession charges don’t need to be disclosed (i could be wrong about that part tho).

Good luck!

Leah M B

@oshun1 said:
If you were arrested and have a misdemeanor that should be disclosed, although I think most apps say something like 10+ year old marijuana possession charges don’t need to be disclosed (i could be wrong about that part tho).

I don't think I saw any apps with that disclaimer. I've seen some that say not to disclose minor traffic violations, and I think some said if anything was misdemeanor or higher to disclose (as in, you can ignore civil citations for things like jaywalking). But I think if there was a misdemeanor for marijuana possession, it would always need to be disclosed.

_oshun1_

Yeah> @"Leah M B" said:

@oshun1 said:
If you were arrested and have a misdemeanor that should be disclosed, although I think most apps say something like 10+ year old marijuana possession charges don’t need to be disclosed (i could be wrong about that part tho).

I don't think I saw any apps with that disclaimer. I've seen some that say not to disclose minor traffic violations, and I think some said if anything was misdemeanor or higher to disclose (as in, you can ignore civil citations for things like jaywalking). But I think if there was a misdemeanor for marijuana possession, it would always need to be disclosed.

Yeah I might be confusing that 10+ year marijuana bit with job applications!