Retail Theft in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

My question involves criminal records for the state of: Pennsylvania
So I am 18 and was caught and arrested 2 days ago for retail theft at a local store. I was issued a citation from the local police and I was fingerprinted and had a background check done at the station (this was my first offense of any kind). I went to the district court today and they said they could not handle my case yet because they did not receive my prints from the state yet but due to me being out of town for a while gave me a 3 week period before they issue a warrant for my arrest. The woman at the district court office said that if I pay the fine ($50) and then pay roughly $90 for a program they had that is basically some rehabilitation session my record would be clean afterwards. I would like to know the truth in this as to how clean it would be. It is very important to me as I could be expelled from my school if they find that I have a criminal record and I don't wish for it to interfere with future employment either. Also, should I plead guilty (admittedly I am) or not guilty, the instructions on the back of the citation were very non-descript as to the effects of each.

Also, the store security said that they would be mailing me a bill for the merchandise I attempted to steal (they have it, and it is undamaged) and I wanted to know if I am obligated to pay that because the way I see it I caused no loss to them and they have the merchandise on the shelf again so how do they have the right to charge me for it now. Will I be in more legal trouble if I refuse to pay it (not that I could as of now).

This is the first time I am dealing with the legal system and I have been getting mixed messages from the police, the district court, and people who are self proclaimed legal experts. Please help!

Read some of the hundreds, if not thousands, of other threads asking essentially the same question.

Talk to a lawyer about the possibility of a deferral program or deferred disposition, so as to potentially ignore a criminal conviction.

A civil demand is not related to the criminal prosecution. Paying the civil demand resolves any civil claim against you.

If you can be expelled from school over something so stupid, you should not have interpreted "Commonwealth" so liberally. I suggest you hire a lawyer fast, to attempt and preserve your education.