Will an unclean record affect admission

[hopefulGrad]

I'm looking to apply to Berkeley and Stanford in about a year, but am worried because I have an underage drinking ticket which got dismissed on my record. Technically, I have a clean record since the charge got dismissed. Does anyone know if that kind of thing will affect my admission into a top grad program? Thanks in advance!

[bgk]

Hey there,

As far as I know they don't go checking your 'history' when you apply. It's possible that some applications ask whether you have committed a crime, but as far as I remember the Berkeley app. did not have such a question.

I'd guess this kind of thing is more likely to affect you for fellowships and the like, where they are more careful about choosing all round excellent people. Hope that helps

-bgk

[jfb2001]

An underage drinking ticket will definitely not affect your chances of admission. They can't ask you if you have ever committed a crime - they can't even ask you if you have ever been arrested - all they can ask (which they won't) is if you have been convicted of a crime, which you have not. Don't sweat it.

[Minnesotan]

Berkeley might require a criminal record to apply, in fact. heh

Between my MA and PhD apps, I've never seen anything asking about your past misdeedsin the real world. As long as you don't blacken the walls of the ivory tower, I think you're alright.