sput
Bluelighter
Always admit to past violations when asked. Admissions staffers at a vast majority of universities are mature enough to weigh the seriousness of the charge versus your academic performance and genuine desire to complete your graduate degree.
If you're applying to law school, yes, your criminal history will be checked, period. It's generally a national requisite, and essentially no state will ever admit an individual to their respective bars if he or she has a drug charge of any kind. (The entire concept of lawyer ethics blows my mind personally). Medical schools are also likely to check your criminal history, though I would imagine this matters somewhat less than admission to law school in many contexts. Finally, I personally know that from my time working in the admissions office at the University of Texas, the most likely scenario in which a university will check your criminal background depends largely upon the specific department within the university itself. There are quite a few large universities that conduct privately- and government-contracted research that is sensitive in nature; i.e., applying to the chemistry and physics department at UT guarantees a background check because the department holds tons of federal contracts whereas the English and history departments wouldn't necessarily require a check because they hold no such sensitive requisites and contacts.
But like I said at the beginning of my post, it's better never to lie. If worse comes to worst, you can always open up a dialogue with the admissions staff itself and find out exactly what you can personally do to place yourself in better standing.
If you're applying to law school, yes, your criminal history will be checked, period. It's generally a national requisite, and essentially no state will ever admit an individual to their respective bars if he or she has a drug charge of any kind. (The entire concept of lawyer ethics blows my mind personally). Medical schools are also likely to check your criminal history, though I would imagine this matters somewhat less than admission to law school in many contexts. Finally, I personally know that from my time working in the admissions office at the University of Texas, the most likely scenario in which a university will check your criminal background depends largely upon the specific department within the university itself. There are quite a few large universities that conduct privately- and government-contracted research that is sensitive in nature; i.e., applying to the chemistry and physics department at UT guarantees a background check because the department holds tons of federal contracts whereas the English and history departments wouldn't necessarily require a check because they hold no such sensitive requisites and contacts.
But like I said at the beginning of my post, it's better never to lie. If worse comes to worst, you can always open up a dialogue with the admissions staff itself and find out exactly what you can personally do to place yourself in better standing.