When you’re in high school, the biggest goal is to move on and into the college of your dreams. All your life, your parents have talked about their alma maters with pride, and you can’t wait to do the same. In fact, you are a big fan of their sports teams, and they have an excellent program in Biology. Things are going great, and your senior year is coming up fast. So, it’s time to celebrate! So, you drink with some friends and decide to drive home. All is well, until you see those blue lights in your window. Now, everything comes to a stop, and you’re wondering what this means for your future.
In short, a DUI can cause an admission committee to throw out your application. This is not necessarily true. Depending on the type of DUI and how you present the information, the admissions committee will view the DUI in a different way.
DUI and College Applications: How Does DUI Affect your Dream School?
A DUI can change the course of things, absolutely. Especially if you are underage, a DUI can have some pretty serious consequences. And, it’s a strong possibility that you’ll have to reconsider your plans. Some universities will not take kindly to this mark on your record. However, some might not take it too seriously. No matter how it fares for your college application, disclosing the information is extremely important. As admission could always be rescinded if you apply under false conditions.
What types of DUI are there?
The first kind of DUI is a misdemeanor. Most of the time, a first-time DUI is a misdemeanor offense. Misdemeanor offense are far less serious and generally not looked at closely by admissions councils.
Now, a felony DUI is a much more serious charge. A felony DUI occurs when a charge gets upgraded. First, if you have an extremely high BAC when you are arrested, that can be a felony DUI charge. Second, if you have a subsequent DUI charge within ten years, that will be a felony DUI. Finally, if your DUI charge resulted in an injury or death, that is also a felony DUI.
A felony DUI will certainly draw the attention of an admissions committee. The more serious the offense (for example, a second DUI that causes a death), the more likely that an admissions committee will react negatively to the DUI.
In South Carolina, even a misdemeanor DUI cannot be expunged from your record. Therefore, it’s important to never try and hide or lie about your criminal record. While an admissions committee may certainly look down on a DUI, they will react even more negatively DUI that they’ve discovered.
Mistakes do not always define you
You made a mistake, and showed poor judgement. Sure. But, that is not to say that it will come to define you for the rest of time. plenty of people have a DUI and rise above it. The important thing, if you’ve received a DUI, is to make sure it does not happen again. One DUI, while not ideal, can be excusable. However, a second offense becomes more difficult to move past.