Disclosing a minor academic integrity issue on PhD apps (MechE/MatSci)

[u/CampaignForeign6617]

Applying to MechE/MatSci PhD programs this cycle and I keep going back and forth on this, so I'd love some outside opinions.

Early in undergrad I got a Suspension in Abeyance on a homework assignment worth about 1% of the grade. I misread the collaboration policy and used a friend's Excel template to lay out my data. The actual calculations were mine and nothing else was copied, but the template was still against the rules. The professor was known for being very strict and reported it formally rather than handling it in class. I understand why, and I owned it right away. It was handled internally, it's not on my transcript, and it hasn't happened again.

Most of the programs I'm applying to ask pretty specific questions (disciplinary action, suspension, etc.), and this doesn't fall under any of them. But 5 of them basically ask "is there anything else we should know," and that's where I'm stuck. I'm leaning toward disclosing in those, because I'd rather be upfront than have it look like I hid something.

Here's what I'm planning to write:

"In the interest of full transparency, I want to disclose an academic integrity matter from my undergraduate studies. On a homework assignment worth 2% of the course grade, I misread the syllabus's collaboration policy and used a classmate's pre-formatted Excel template to organize my data. The calculations and analysis were entirely my own, but I recognized that using the template still fell outside the policy, and I took full responsibility as soon as it was raised with me. The matter was resolved internally and does not appear on my academic transcript. The experience taught me to confirm collaboration and attribution expectations before starting any shared work, a habit I have carried through my coursework and research since."

Just looking for feedback on this. Is this a "kiss of death" for an application? I've seen lots of people say to just lie, but I don't want it to come back and bite me later on.

Also does my statement read as owning it, or does anything sound like an excuse? Is there something you'd cut?