Background Checks for Dental Schools

[nixon13]

Do dental schools do background checks? I got a DUI my freshman year and now i am the president of UMADD at my University. I also work with the county courts with kids aged 10-20 about alcohol safety. Should I include this in my PS about what happened and how i have changed? Please let me know thanks.

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[Bruinlove]

Do dental schools do background checks? I got a DUI my freshman year and now i am the president of UMADD at my University. I also work with the county courts with kids aged 10-20 about alcohol safety. Should I include this in my PS about what happened and how i have changed? Please let me know thanks.

I believe there is a section where you put down any arrest or conviction in the past.

 

[jigabodo]

Do dental schools do background checks? I got a DUI my freshman year and now i am the president of UMADD at my University. I also work with the county courts with kids aged 10-20 about alcohol safety. Should I include this in my PS about what happened and how i have changed? Please let me know thanks.

Quite a few conduct background checks, from what I heard.

 

[nixon13]

Would you advise that I include this in my PS?

 

[Bruinlove]

Would you advise that I include this in my PS?

Well, there is only so much to write about.

You drunk drove and got caught. Now you are mature that nothing like that will ever happen.

I think you can put this in the section I mentioned and save the space in PS unless you had such dramatic transformation after the incident.

 

[nixon13]

it was a pretty dramatic transformation, as i use my experiences in the courts to help other children not follow the same path that i did. I work with the courts and run a university organization that deals with alcohol safety.

 

[trixie2126]

.

 

[samdds]

I think you should put it in your personal statement or include that in the section where they ask for any convictions. Remember to explain what you have learned in the incident and how you are different. Some people think having a DUI might not affect that much, but i think the schools should know this...you don't have this haunt you later because you haven't disclosed this information.

 

[TheWiredNerv]

You must at least put it in the appropriate section. It is a tough call to include it in your PS or not. Depends how significant you hold the event. Maybe ask some of your professors what they think?

 

[DDSguyLA]

did the DA office actually convicted you of DUI or brought it down to a lower crime and made you do the same thing as if you were convicted for a DUI.
the prosecuter's office and the DA usually do that for first time offenders.

1. if they did bring it down. don't worry it won't show up anywhere

2. if they didn't then I wouldnt put it down. if they bring it up be prepared to tell them how sorry you feel now and hwo you're a president of the organization you mentioned.

3. run a background check on yourself... it costs around $30 and you'll find out what they can see and what they can't. That way you can make a decision.

 

[IDoWhatIWant]

Dental schools really conduct background checks? They get tons of applications. Where do they have the time, energy, and money to do so? Don't they have more important things to worry about? If they do, then I am sorry for being misinformed by my logic, but realistically, it just doesn't seem plausible to do all that. They don't even review previous applications if you are a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time applicant.

 

[qwerty86]

I would just leave it alone. If you do include it, your PS will be all about DUI and lessons you learned and it will digress from the main topic which is dentistry. Add all your activities in your Extracurricular section. You might even get a chance to talk about it during interviews.

 

[nixon13]

The thing is, I finished my PS and then I was talking to another friend applying to med school and he asked me if I included my incident in my PS. I said no, and he told me we'll the schools will be pissed if you withold info from them. The reason I didnt put it in there in the first place was that AADSAS doesnt have a section on the application where they ask about arrests. They only ask about academic probation and what not. But then schools probably send out secondary apps where they might ask something about arrests. Is this true? And does this happen before or after the interview?

 

[nixon13]

Anyone that is attending dental school or have been acceptd already- did you guys have to do a background check?

 

[Brownstain]

Yes, they DO conduct background checks. If I'm not mistaken it's mainly do to a student at Oregon I believe a few years ago who made it through D-school just to find when he applied for a license that due to his previous felony he could not get a state license. He then turned around and sued the school. This is the story I got at my interview at UK from one of the administrators who told us they would be conducting background checks. I know my school also looked me up because a couple months ago when at a banquet I was announced as my hometown being my place of birth...where I only lived to a little past the age of 2!!!!!!!!!!!! So they obviously got that from somewhere. Schools have to cover themselves. You will have to admit it on your application. Be prepared to explain and if you think it's necessary to explain the situation in your statement then do so. Everyone deserves second chances. Best of luck!

 

[SugarNaCl]

First yes, most do conduct background checks. Second, I would NOT put it in a personal statement. That is an inappropriate place to put it in my opinion unless somehow it will make you a better dentist because now you learned how not to be drunk and drive (Im kidding)...DO NOT PUT THAT IN YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT. You don't want the schools to focus on that. Under convictions, I think you are given a place to explain your convictions. Take care of it there where it belongs.

 

[Quattro DMD]

I think background checks really check for things like being convicted of a crime like raping somebody, molesting somebody, stealing, etc.

Things that would put their school at risk, or if you became a dentist, would put patients at risk.

Having a DUI back then won't put your patients at risk, or put the school at risk. SUre, you'd rather not have it on there, but I don't think it's really going to impact whether you'll get admitted or not.

Having a DUI shows the lack of ability to make proper decisions, which could correlate into dentistry if you think about it. Granted if this happened 3 to 4 years ago when the OP was young and stupid like a lot of 18 teen year olds then one can attribute it to immaturity and it might not be as much of an issue. However, I know a girl that got a DUI 6 months before she applied and I think it may have been a larger issue for her.

 

[Brownstain]

I think background checks really check for things like being convicted of a crime like raping somebody, molesting somebody, stealing, etc.

Things that would put their school at risk, or if you became a dentist, would put patients at risk.

Having a DUI back then won't put your patients at risk, or put the school at risk. SUre, you'd rather not have it on there, but I don't think it's really going to impact whether you'll get admitted or not.

I'm going to agree with the previous poster here. DUI's are a serious issue for a medical professional. You are responsible for script writing and can have controlled substances in your office. It CAN get in the way of a DEA license. It is a poor life decision that dental schools will take into consideration. Having problems with drugs and alcohol puts patients in great risk. Would you want a dentist operating high on pills or drunk? You are also a representative of the school. Take this into account the next time you go to the bar after class. In college we grabbed "lunch beers" all of the time in between class. It's pretty risky to do stuff like this in dental school. You also have to be careful of things you do in school shirts, scrubs, etc. A guy in our class had his picture taken in the paper at a bar wearing a dental school shirt, he sure got an earfull!

 

[doc toothache]

Dental schools really conduct background checks? They get tons of applications. Where do they have the time, energy, and money to do so? Don't they have more important things to worry about? If they do, then I am sorry for being misinformed by my logic, but realistically, it just doesn't seem plausible to do all that. They don't even review previous applications if you are a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time applicant.

Background checks are required for some schools as a condition of enrollment.

 

[MisterBrightside]

First yes, most do conduct background checks. Second, I would NOT put it in a personal statement. That is an inappropriate place to put it in my opinion unless somehow it will make you a better dentist because now you learned how not to be drunk and drive (Im kidding)...DO NOT PUT THAT IN YOUR PERSONAL STATEMENT. You don't want the schools to focus on that. Under convictions, I think you are given a place to explain your convictions. Take care of it there where it belongs.

I have a similar question that I'm concerned about. I got a minor with consumption of alcohol my freshman year of college. I never took a breathalyzer so my university found me not guilty and kept it off my school records. However it was on my criminal record for a year after the incident until it got taken off (that's the law where I'm from). Do you think dental schools will still be able to see that I got a minor somehow? If not should I still be honest about the situation? Anything helps, thanks.

 

[asusundevilll]

I have a similar question that I'm concerned about. I got a minor with consumption of alcohol my freshman year of college. I never took a breathalyzer so my university found me not guilty and kept it off my school records. However it was on my criminal record for a year after the incident until it got taken off (that's the law where I'm from). Do you think dental schools will still be able to see that I got a minor somehow? If not should I still be honest about the situation? Anything helps, thanks.

You'll be fine. They really only care about convictions imo. For most people even charges dismissed or dropped will show up on their background checks. But you didn't have to disclose them on your app since most they ask for is convictions.

 

[xerxes106]

I have a similar question that I'm concerned about. I got a minor with consumption of alcohol my freshman year of college. I never took a breathalyzer so my university found me not guilty and kept it off my school records. However it was on my criminal record for a year after the incident until it got taken off (that's the law where I'm from). Do you think dental schools will still be able to see that I got a minor somehow? If not should I still be honest about the situation? Anything helps, thanks.

Thats a tough one. Even those "expunged" charges still exist in some sense. Overall though, I'm doubting an MIP is going to ruin your dental school chances. Did you state it on AADSAS? You definitely want to, because if they run a background check and it somehow DOES turn up, then you look like a liar.