PhD/PsyD African American Male with 10 - year old Felony Conviction

[John Dunne]

Here we go, I am getting closer to graduating as an University Honors and McNairs Scholar (GPA: 3.94). I wish to be a Clinical Psychologist. However, I plead guilty to ID theft in 2006. I have since not gotten as much as a ticket, yet the guilt and shame of what I've done plagues me. I continue to excel academically (winning 8 scholarships in undergrad,Dean's list 4 consecutive semesters in a row, Summer research opportunity at top institution and everything) yet I feel like this conviction will derail my dreams, that my achievements will never outshine my past conviction. Do you think I should address this in my personal statement? Should I tell my faculty mentor, who greatly supports me? I feel like I'm betraying those who have supported me at the academic level. Could I even get an internship? I have no idea what I am going to do, this conviction cannot be expunged, only executive clemency would do away with it, and this process has no timetable. Please, any advise.

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[PsychMajorUndergrad18]

Um it may not really matter for clinical psych programs but it may be a problem when you try to get your Psychologist license after passing the EPPP. Then again it could not really affect anything or your academic excellence and scholarships may counterbalance the felony or even be use as a way to say "look I have made bad mistakes in the past, but now I am proving to myself and other that I have overcame that adversity".

If it was me, I would take some time (not too much time since personal statements shouldn't be long) to just explain how you got from being a convicted felony to wanting to become a clinical psychologist.

Also, do you have research experience? Usually if you want to get into a solid PhD program, you are gonna need some undergrad or post-UG research lab experience. For example, I will be working with one of my professors in a decision making and judgement lab which will give me the opportunity to conduct my own research.

 

[John Dunne]

I had a summer research experience at a top university, also working on Honors thesis (independent study) and I am currently a research assistance in the Psy dept. I have about 3 research experiences total. No one knows about my past at my home university.

 

[erg923]

Here we go, I am getting closer to graduating as an University Honors and McNairs Scholar (GPA: 3.94). I wish to be a Clinical Psychologist. However, I plead guilty to ID theft in 2006. I have since not gotten as much as a ticket, yet the guilt and shame of what I've done plagues me. I continue to excel academically (winning 8 scholarships in undergrad,Dean's list 4 consecutive semesters in a row, Summer research opportunity at top institution and everything) yet I feel like this conviction will derail my dreams, that my achievements will never outshine my past conviction. Do you think I should address this in my personal statement? Should I tell my faculty mentor, who greatly supports me? I feel like I'm betraying those who have supported me at the academic level. Could I even get an internship? I have no idea what I am going to do, this conviction cannot be expunged, only executive clemency would do away with it, and this process has no timetable. Please, any advise.

Some felonies, if that's what it was, are a no-go in terms of getting a healthcare license. Might want to contact state licensing board where you think you may likely live and practice down the road.

 

[CheetahGirl]

I agree with erg923.

Edit: After writing all below, I just read that this cannot be expunged. If so, if this were me (based on limited info here), I would start the executive clemency process, (seriously, can you work with an attorney to contact your governor's office?....maybe not the president, of course) regardless of the 'no timeline.' (One may think...'no one has time for that,' but why not, if you're a superstar now? And I say this with sincerity mixed with some naivete of the legal system). Doctoral programs take 5+years, you could have what you need before time to apply for internship (where you will be asked to check a 'ever convicted of a felony'? box).
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Search an old thread about the getting the conviction expunged. I don't know if you can do this, but you should contact an attorney about this (if this was a first-time offense, and you can prove to the courts that you are a 'different' person with many improvements, they may be able to seal this conviction from your record; also discuss with the attorney how, or if, you report on it, once it is sealed/removed). If you can't afford an attorney, see if you can find one Pro Bono or ask a court advocate how they could help you seek legal help.

You sound like you've done so much academically, and I am from the school of thought that we can improve from past transgressions (like how old you were in 2006 may say much compared to now).

If this were me, I would put some effort into looking into to expungement first, then contacting state licensing boards, then figuring out personal statement (only b/c some programs will see the felony and decide to reject - so I wouldn't waste time there first). And if the felony cannot be removed, I would contact the universities' graduate school offices - not the individual psychology depts - (maybe anonymously, at first) to see how felonies fare for admission there...then, if some programs are foregiving, I would most certainly address in 1-2 lines in the personal statement (maybe even vauguely, something like "I've improved from past transgression in these ways...." (i.e., then, when on an interview, they'll ask what your transgressions were and you open the dialogue to talk about how you've grown constructively).

Good luck!

 

[PsyDr]

As an employer, I would never hire someone with an ID fraud conviction. There are too many pieces of information about my patients around (e.g., Medicare has you ssn in the bill). Even if I don't think there's a risk of future offending, my liability is through the roof. A board complaint, insurance audit, lawsuit... there's just too much to risk.

 

[CheetahGirl]

So my question: If you got it expunged, and one ever mentioned it, would you then hire (especially if the applicant was kick-a**)?

(Kind of like, if a tree fell in the forest...) (and I wonder, philosophically, is that lying or misrepresenting?)

As an employer, I would never hire someone with an ID fraud conviction. There are too many pieces of information about my patients around (e.g., Medicare has you ssn in the bill). Even if I don't think there's a risk of future offending, my liability is through the roof. A board complaint, insurance audit, lawsuit... there's just too much to risk.

 

[WisNeuro]

So my question: If you got it expunged, and one ever mentioned it, would you then hire (especially if the applicant was kick-a**)?

(Kind of like, if a tree fell in the forest...)

If it was expunged and not mentioned, how would PSYDR know to distinguish whether or not he would do so?

 

[CheetahGirl]

If it was expunged and not mentioned, how would PSYDR know to distinguish whether or not he would do so?

Exactly. I'm asking philosophically... if one would never know, then the person (with expungement) can go about their business.

 

[WisNeuro]

Exactly.

Well, at that point, it would be fair game, since PSYDR's liability would not be increased. But, in the former case, I can definitely see the unease of a potential employer considering that we, as clinicians, have access to a great deal of information that would allow ID theft very easily.

 

[CheetahGirl]

Yes. I'm only speaking from the perspective of support for the individual who reports being a former felon. Not the perspective of the circumstances of the felony conviction; plea vs actual acts.

Well, at that point, it would be fair game, since PSYDR's liability would not be increased. But, in the former case, I can definitely see the unease of a potential employer considering that we, as clinicians, have access to a great deal of information that would allow ID theft very easily.

 

[PsyDr]

I do a background check on all prospective employees. If anything ever happens, I can pull that out and show I am not negligent. Ordinary, rationale and all. Liability for psydr clinical Corp just went to almost zero. Things that have nothing to do with me? Could not care at all.

I believe in providing people with information so that they can make an informed decision. I'm not going to lie and say everything is fine, because I neither believe this, nor do l think this would ultimately benefit OP.

 

[psychRA]

I think that you're going to need to talk this over with your current mentor.

A felony will probably be an automatic disqualifier for at least some grad programs, but probably not all programs. Based on my experience with reviewing applications for grad school, internship, and postdoc, when someone encounters an application that's strong overall but has a red flag or potential concern (e.g., isolated period of poor academic performance, disciplinary action, area of weakness mentioned in a letter of rec), it's common for that person to pick up the phone and reach out to someone who knows that applicant to get more info. For example, say there's an internship applicant who's very qualified but was on probation in their program because they proposed their dissertation after the program's deadline. A training director might follow up with that applicant's mentor to find out what happened; is this an applicant who frequently has trouble making deadlines, or were there issues beyond the applicant's control that came up and prevented them from proposing on time? Hopefully the applicant has already addressed this in their materials, but the training director may want to hear from another source as well.

In your case, I would operate under the assumption that any department that considers your application is also going to contact your mentor (at the very least) to get their perspective on whether the felony from your past is a cause for current concern. The department is going to want to hear that you've learned from your past decisions, you've grown since then, and you accept responsibility for your actions. If someone calls your mentor to ask about this and your mentor has no idea what they're talking about, it's going to jeopardize your relationship with your mentor, and it's not going to give a favorable impression to the department. I might expect them to contact your recommenders as well.

 

[John Dunne]

I think that you're going to need to talk this over with your current mentor.

A felony will probably be an automatic disqualifier for at least some grad programs, but probably not all programs. Based on my experience with reviewing applications for grad school, internship, and postdoc, when someone encounters an application that's strong overall but has a red flag or potential concern (e.g., isolated period of poor academic performance, disciplinary action, area of weakness mentioned in a letter of rec), it's common for that person to pick up the phone and reach out to someone who knows that applicant to get more info. For example, say there's an internship applicant who's very qualified but was on probation in their program because they proposed their dissertation after the program's deadline. A training director might follow up with that applicant's mentor to find out what happened; is this an applicant who frequently has trouble making deadlines, or were there issues beyond the applicant's control that came up and prevented them from proposing on time? Hopefully the applicant has already addressed this in their materials, but the training director may want to hear from another source as well.

In your case, I would operate under the assumption that any department that considers your application is also going to contact your mentor (at the very least) to get their perspective on whether the felony from your past is a cause for current concern. The department is going to want to hear that you've learned from your past decisions, you've grown since then, and you accept responsibility for your actions. If someone calls your mentor to ask about this and your mentor has no idea what they're talking about, it's going to jeopardize your relationship with your mentor, and it's not going to give a favorable impression to the department. I might expect them to contact your recommenders as well.

thank you all for your help and suggestions, I will likely have to bite the bullet and talk to my mentor. I do not believe that I will be able to become a Clinical Psychologist, it is simply.....too much to overcome, constant explanations...with some just wanting to know and not wanting to help

 

[entitlement]

Definitely check in with your mentor - you are going to need someone going to bat for you when you apply. Don't give up thought. This was 10 years ago and many folks will look past that if you have proved yourself otherwise. I also agree with checking in with the jurisdictions where you want to be licensed. In California, a felony record doesn't preclude you from getting licensed, you just need to be upfront about it and demonstrate that you have been "rehabilitated." I would suggest as much as possible (unless you manage to get the charge expunged from your record) to divulge this information whenever asked. The last thing you want is this to come up in a criminal background check after denying that you had a record.

Personally, I would be more than happy to give you a chance based on the information you have presented here, as long as this doesn't catch me by surprise and you have been upfront about your past. I am optimistic that there are many other folks who would also give you that chance (cheetahgirl seems to be another).

 

[John Dunne]

I am so scared of the look she will give me. I know it sounds conceited, but I am kinda of a star there ( my picture is on the public board next to my research poster and everything), everyone lauded me when I landed that internship at the top university. I fear she will never forgive me, for I had so much promise. Everyone went to bat for me, now they will just see me as another statistic (ex-convict black guy). But in any case I thank you all for your support. I feel I might be seen as.....less. Smdh

 

[psychRA]

You can't control how others will view your past, but you've done your best to provide them with positive information about who you are now. What they do with all of that information is up to them. And while you can't change your past actions, I do think that being proactive about talking to your mentor about the felony will have a better result than taking a chance on them finding out from someone else.

I think it will be important for you to have a realistic sense of how this will impact you in terms of grad school applications as well as down the road. Yes, it will likely be a barrier in at least some settings. Clinical psych is highly competitive, and you'll be competing against equally qualified people who don't have criminal records. Given that barrier, it's fortunate that the conviction is now 10 years behind you - it would be much, much tougher to make your case if you had been convicted a year ago, in the midst of a strong academic career. It's fortunate that it wasn't a violent offense. It also helps that your application doesn't seem to have any other obvious weaknesses. And being a minority applicant will not hurt. At least in my department, there were some automatic cutoffs (based on GPA, GRE, etc.) that were used to narrow down the initial applicant pool, but minority applicants were given a second review to see if there were positive factors to offset whatever it was that caused them to be cut on the first pass. I can't speak for other departments, but it wouldn't necessarily be an automatic exclusion in my program.

Be prepared to deal with this again at multiple points in the future. When you apply for externships, internships, fellowships, and jobs, you will likely need to be less selective about where you go in order to account for the fact that the felony will be a barrier at some places. This would be true regardless of which field you pursue, ours just happens to have a lot of hoops along the way.

 

[Harry3990]

You can't control how others will view your past, but you've done your best to provide them with positive information about who you are now. What they do with all of that information is up to them. And while you can't change your past actions, I do think that being proactive about talking to your mentor about the felony will have a better result than taking a chance on them finding out from someone else.

I wanted to echo this sentiment. For what it's worth, I've had a handful of professors who seemed to really take pride in helping people get a leg up who might otherwise have had a really hard time succeeding. If anything, these profs seemed to almost work harder for the people who were talented but had less chance of succeeding for xyz reason. From what I saw, that typically wasn't in the form of a past criminal conviction, but I do think that this would still apply because of the 10 year gap and great work that you've done since this happened. Especially if you frame it as a mistake that you made when you were much younger, and something that you would never do again, etc.

Point being that, IME, there are people out there who genuinely want to help students succeed in spite of (or even because of) past actions or background.

 

[Aestheticism]

I agree with above.

There are lots of professors that will gladly help you overcome these issues and from what I see, you seem to really have grown from that situation (so long ago!). I would gladly take part in hiring you as well and you would be a great clinical psychologist because you have experience that you can possible share with your future patients!

I am an African-American woman and I've seen the judgments that follow us African-Americans but forget that crap! Be strong and push through. You could only try and see what happens! I support you so much and this was so heartbreaking to read because I can truly see how scary this is for you. But, do not let this take your confidence away.

Much Love♥ and please keep us posted.

 

[Sendtrees]

This is a huge problem--the automatic shutting-out of people with past convictions makes it very difficult for people to become productive members of society again! I hate even using that cliche, as there are many people who are productive in the shadow economy. In any case, my advice is to worry less for the moment about graduate programs, and spend some time figuring out if you'd be able to get licensed to practice in the state or states you'd consider settling in. I'm assuming that every state licensing board asks if you have been convicted, but that does not mean that you automatically cannot get licensed. It may be that the explanation, time since the crime, and nature of the crime will allow some and not others. If you are stopped at the state level, getting into graduate school will be a huge accomplishment but ultimately a waste of time if you can't use the degree. Licensing boards will have contact information available to the public. If you do find that you will be unable to get licensed with this conviction, I would contact the ACLU and see if you can get representation either for clemency or for challenging the licensing board's automatic "no" on past convictions. The ACLU has been doing work on "ban the box" and other remedies, and your story fits into this broader narrative. Don't give up yet.

 

[ClinicalABA]

As an example, here is the language in my state regulations that could hang you up:

"Section 119. Each person desiring to obtain a license as a psychologist shall make application to the board upon such form and in such manner as the board shall prescribe and shall furnish evidence satisfactory to the board that such person:

(a) is of good moral character;"

Note that there is no formal definition of "good moral character." You will be asked on your licensure application if you have ever been convicted of a felony, and to provided details if you were. The board has the ability to discount the felony based on factors such as age at conviction, length of time, participation in and response to any sentences or treatment programs, etc. As others have said, call the board in any states you see yourself potentially ending up in in the future and see if this will be an insurmountable hurdle.