When you’re a high school senior, you have so much to do, and so much on your mind. You’re wrapping up high school with final senior projects, taking SATs for the last time, filling out extensive, time-consuming college applications, participating in plenty of extra curricular activities and clubs to hopefully boost your college acceptance chances, and lots more. If you have a girlfriend or boyfriend, you’re trying to stay in the moment and enjoy senior prom with them while still wondering what the future will bring – if you should break up now before heading off to college or try to make things work long-distance. It’s hard to know the best choice to make when it comes to romance.
Emotions are always running high and people don’t always think through the potential consequences of their actions during graduation and after-prom parties. Sometimes teen pregnancies result and people’s lives are changed irreversibly. Sometimes arrests for DUIs happen – causing major embarrassment, financial repercussions, and other awful consequences.
But did you know that if you have an underage DUI conviction on your record, you could be rejected from your top choice for college?
It’s true – and most people have no idea they risk their entire future when they get behind the wheel to drive home after a party. Many colleges request information about any criminal convictions an applicant may have, and it’s important that you honestly report any you have. Sometimes colleges will conduct criminal background checks on applicants, and if they have charges that they failed to list on their application, they will be denied admission.
Usually applicants will be admitted if they have one DUI conviction and can faithfully show that they’ve learned from their mistakes and reformed their ways, but it’s not a guarantee. Those who have multiple DUI convictions may not be admitted to colleges because this pattern reveals a lot about the character of the applicant.
If you are admitted to college, if it’s a public school, your financial aid offers will only be affected if you have a felony DUI charge on your record. An underage DUI is charged as an infraction, not a misdemeanor or felony, so hopefully that won’t affect you. But private schools each have their own criteria for evaluating applicants and may decide to offer applicants with DUI convictions the same amount of financial aid as they offer other potential students.
California’s Zero Tolerance Law
Everyone who’s under 21 should be aware of California’s Zero Tolerance Law, which indicates that any minor who is found to have a BAC (blood alcohol level) of .01% or above may be arrested for DUI. .01% is one-eighth of the adult BAC limit, so even if someone has one beer, one shot, or a couple sips of a mixed drink, they could be arrested for underage DUI. So if you go to a party and people are drinking, it’s not a good idea to do so if you’re underage – especially if you need to drive yourself home afterward.
Pending underage DUI case? Prevent a conviction now
If you’ve already been arrested for underage DUI, your best bet to avoid conviction is to contact Attorney Dan Chambers for personalized legal advice and representation throughout your case. Your first appointment with Attorney Chambers will be free. There, he’ll analyze the facts of your case, give you solid recommendations, and tell you what you can realistically expect the outcome of your case to be. Schedule your free appointment now by calling 714-760-4088, emailing dchambers@clfca.com, or using the chat box below.
