How can an underage DUI affect your life?
Drinking underage can potentially put a person at huge risk for enormous legal penalties. This can include fines and fees, and may even include incarceration or time in jail in some cases.
However, there are plenty of repercussions that do not get as much attention. The impact on a person’s college path and career may end up one of them.
Denial of entry and expulsion
The College Investor discusses the impact of DUIs on underage drinkers with hopes to attend college, or who already gained acceptance to their college of choice. First, the student should understand that police will contact a college to alert them of the DUI conviction. In short, there is no point in attempting to hide it.
Colleges will take various stances on reprimanding and punishing students with a DUI on record. In the event of reviewing an application, a college may actually turn away or de-prioritize a student with a DUI compared to their colleagues.
As for students already accepted, it is possible for a college to expel them, but this is not likely unless the DUI conviction had other convictions accompanying it. More likely, a college will simply revoke their financial support of the student in question.
Financial repercussions and career changes
Revocation of financial support can include awards, scholarships, gifts and more. Colleges may also bar a student from on-campus housing, thus adding on the cost of off-campus housing instead.
On top of this, many career paths will close to someone with a DUI. Plenty of fields do not hire individuals with one on record, including government positions and teaching positions. As such, a student with a DUI could find their entire life turned awry.