Alcohol & Drugs: MIP, MIC, Intoxication Underage Consumption in Tennessee

[c2011ut]

I am 18 years old (or atleast I was at the time of the party), I am a college student at the University of Tennessee. One night I was at a party and the cops came and busted up the party. They asked if I had been drinking and I responded yes. I had been there no more than 30 minutes, and did not even have a full drink yet and was not buzzed, etc. We did not get breathalized, but we were handed misdemeanor citations and then the cops left. I received a letter in the mail that says I have to appear somewhere for a hearing about me losing my license due to accumulating the amount of points required to lose it from moving violations. Also the notice mentioned that it was for people who were under the age of 18. I recieved this letter 2 days after my 19th birthday so at the time of the incident I was no where near being under the age of 18. It happened two weeks before my 19th birthday. My problem is, I have never had any tickets, whether parking or speeding. This is my first time getting in trouble. Also since recieving this citation, my insurance has gone from $400 every three months to $1500 and I don't understand why it would go up since I was not driving.

Questions.
1. How does an underage consumption count as a moving violation?

2. What can be done about the underage consumption charge? (other than getting a lawyer)

3. Can I possibly talk to the DA and see if I can get the charges dropped or is there anyone that can help me out?

4. Will my insurance go back to its earlier rates if the charges are dropped?

5. How can my insurance go up since this was not a driving charge?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[c2011ut]

oh and by the way, I work in a pharmacy and my course of study is pre-pharmacy. Will this hurt my chances of getting into pharmacy school and can it affect my current employment status?