I'm planning on applying to the University of Chicago later in the school year. The University of Chicago, like a number of other schools scattered across America, only accepts the Common Application. As such, I've given myself somewhat of a head-start in completing this application, having registered an account on the Common Application website and completing the application with all of the information I have available.
On the final section preceding signature (with the essay questions), there's a question asking whether or not I've ever been convicted or adjudicated of a felony, misdemeanor or other crime. As I was brought to court as a juvenile, I was adjudicated rather than convicted. I was only 15 when this happened, with my crimes taking place during the summer break spanning the gap between my freshman and sophomore years of high school. So it's not as if this was a recent development or anything.
Still, I'm really worried now. I know I screwed up (I don't need a lecture on morality, or a "serves you right" comment - believe it or not, I've learned my lesson, and I don't need you to rub it in), but I'm not eligible to expunge my records until I'm 20, which will be two years after I've graduated. That means that there's nothing I can do about this so-called "black mark" for the time being.
If I answer "yes" to this question, which I'll obviously have to, how much of an impact will that have on my college application? Will it be one of those make-or-break questions, where my application will immediately be discarded or I'll be denied an interview on moral grounds or... something? My grades haven't always been the best (I failed a couple of classes last year due to depression, and my GPA dive-bombed. I still have great extracurricular activities, and I got above average marks on the ACT - 35 in reading and 33 in English - which is why I'm even bothering applying to a school as good as the University of Chicago. I plan on doing all of my homework this year, which will mean that I'll get straight As), and I don't know if this combination of a low GPA and juvenile adjudication will be killer for me.
I know I can write a great application essay on any subject, and I know I'd manage just fine at even an Ivy League institution. I've just been so lazy in the past with my grades and with my conscience that I don't know if I've dug myself a hole far too deep to climb out of.
On the final section preceding signature (with the essay questions), there's a question asking whether or not I've ever been convicted or adjudicated of a felony, misdemeanor or other crime. As I was brought to court as a juvenile, I was adjudicated rather than convicted. I was only 15 when this happened, with my crimes taking place during the summer break spanning the gap between my freshman and sophomore years of high school. So it's not as if this was a recent development or anything.
Still, I'm really worried now. I know I screwed up (I don't need a lecture on morality, or a "serves you right" comment - believe it or not, I've learned my lesson, and I don't need you to rub it in), but I'm not eligible to expunge my records until I'm 20, which will be two years after I've graduated. That means that there's nothing I can do about this so-called "black mark" for the time being.
If I answer "yes" to this question, which I'll obviously have to, how much of an impact will that have on my college application? Will it be one of those make-or-break questions, where my application will immediately be discarded or I'll be denied an interview on moral grounds or... something? My grades haven't always been the best (I failed a couple of classes last year due to depression, and my GPA dive-bombed. I still have great extracurricular activities, and I got above average marks on the ACT - 35 in reading and 33 in English - which is why I'm even bothering applying to a school as good as the University of Chicago. I plan on doing all of my homework this year, which will mean that I'll get straight As), and I don't know if this combination of a low GPA and juvenile adjudication will be killer for me.
I know I can write a great application essay on any subject, and I know I'd manage just fine at even an Ivy League institution. I've just been so lazy in the past with my grades and with my conscience that I don't know if I've dug myself a hole far too deep to climb out of.