Can your DWI record impact your schooling?

As a student fresh to the college scene, you may end up making somewhat questionable life choices in the new freedom that college affords. While some mistakes are a simple part of the experience of growing up, others can have lasting legal repercussions.

This includes DWI-related convictions, which can potentially impact your schooling and the potential career paths open to you later down the road.

Will you get expelled?

The College Investor talks about the impact that intoxicated driving can have on your life. First, know that you cannot hide your conviction from your college. If convicted of a DWI charge, law enforcement will contact your college and inform them of this conviction, especially if you must do time in jail for it.

It is still rare for a college to expel a student due to a DWI conviction alone, however. In most cases of expulsion, the case also involved additional charges such as destruction of property, endangerment of fellow students, injury or bodily harm and so on.

Potential financial impacts

But you will still face repercussions, and most of the time, it is financial. Colleges will likely drop any type of financial support they had previously provided, including awards and scholarships. They will do so in order to distance themselves from you and prevent a DWI conviction from tarnishing their reputation.

They may also ban you from using on-campus housing, forcing you to pay out of pocket for off-campus housing instead. These combined costs can actually make it too expensive for you to continue your schooling, and having to change your college plans can also alter the potential career path you set for yourself. Thus, when facing DWI charges, you always want to treat it seriously.