Does a pot bust trump a 4.0 GPA?

Larry Gordon of the Los Angeles Times recently had a story about colleges and universities increasingly worrying about students' backgrounds. The Virginia Tech murders earlier this year has administrators concerned about past behavior and whether they've ever been convicted of a crime.

But critics claim it's an invasion of privacy to look into a student's history, and high school seniors are getting anxious about the potential probes.

This from the story:

"I'm really stressing myself out about this. Is it worth it to apply? Is this going to cancel out all my virtues?" asked an Oregon teenager with a stellar academic record who is petrified that colleges will learn about his conviction four years ago for shoplifting a shirt.

The student, who requested anonymity, said he has only applied to universities that do not ask about such issues and he is hesitant to apply to those that do by their January deadlines. He concedes that what he did was wrong but said colleges should only ask about violence or chronic cheating, not a one-time foolish mistake such as his.

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