Character and Fitness Question

[libertybelle1]

Hi,

I submitted my applications mid-November and have already been accepted to several schools. I just realized (because I got my court date in the mail) that I received a speeding ticket in October that I forgot to disclose. I finished my essays, including character and fitness, over the summer and I simply forgot about the ticket and did not update my addendum - a stupid mistake on my part.

1. Obviously, in the spirit of full disclosure, I should email the schools I applied to and let them know. However, should I only email the ones that asked about traffic tickets (some only asked about more serious violations and specified that disclosing traffic or parking violations was not necessary)? I only ask due to not wanting to waste the time of admissions officers.

2. How bad will it look that I simply forgot to disclose this on my original application? It was a stupid mistake and I don't want law schools to think I'm totally irresponsible. :/

[Dave Killoran]

Hi,

I submitted my applications mid-November and have already been accepted to several schools. I just realized (because I got my court date in the mail) that I received a speeding ticket in October that I forgot to disclose. I finished my essays, including character and fitness, over the summer and I simply forgot about the ticket and did not update my addendum - a stupid mistake on my part.

1. Obviously, in the spirit of full disclosure, I should email the schools I applied to and let them know. However, should I only email the ones that asked about traffic tickets (some only asked about more serious violations and specified that disclosing traffic or parking violations was not necessary)? I only ask due to not wanting to waste the time of admissions officers.

2. How bad will it look that I simply forgot to disclose this on my original application? It was a stupid mistake and I don't want law schools to think I'm totally irresponsible. :/

Hi Liberty,

This is an easy one and not worth stressing over

1. Email the schools that asked about traffic-level violations and disclose this one. If a school didn't ask, don't waste their time.

2. It won't look bad at all. It's a simple oversight but it's an oversight of a meaningless violation. Traffic tickets are commonplace and nothing to worry about. If it was more serious then yes, you could worry, but it's not. This is a nonstarter.

That's it!

[libertybelle1]

Hi,

I submitted my applications mid-November and have already been accepted to several schools. I just realized (because I got my court date in the mail) that I received a speeding ticket in October that I forgot to disclose. I finished my essays, including character and fitness, over the summer and I simply forgot about the ticket and did not update my addendum - a stupid mistake on my part.

1. Obviously, in the spirit of full disclosure, I should email the schools I applied to and let them know. However, should I only email the ones that asked about traffic tickets (some only asked about more serious violations and specified that disclosing traffic or parking violations was not necessary)? I only ask due to not wanting to waste the time of admissions officers.

2. How bad will it look that I simply forgot to disclose this on my original application? It was a stupid mistake and I don't want law schools to think I'm totally irresponsible. :/

Hi Liberty,

This is an easy one and not worth stressing over

1. Email the schools that asked about traffic-level violations and disclose this one. If a school didn't ask, don't waste their time.

2. It won't look bad at all. It's a simple oversight but it's an oversight of a meaningless violation. Traffic tickets are commonplace and nothing to worry about. If it was more serious then yes, you could worry, but it's not. This is a nonstarter.

That's it!

Do I also need to email schools where I was admitted but have withdrawn my application from?

[Dave Killoran]

If you have withdrawn your application, you are no longer an applicant of record and have no further obligation to those schools

Thanks!