Did my life just get ruined?

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Ismet said:
We had to do an FBI background check/clearance before matriculation. Along with the child abuse check. Might be state-specific, but since you haven't matriculated yet you might not be aware of that.
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You have to get a fingerprint clearance card which uses a state mandated govt background check. FBI uses FBI background checks.
You don't even have to report juvenile offenses to them. Not sure where your info is coming from.
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crossfit4lyfe said:
You have to get a fingerprint clearance card which uses a state mandated govt background check. FBI uses FBI background checks.
You don't even have to report juvenile offenses to them. Not sure where your info is coming from.
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It was a "Federal (FBI) Criminal History Report." Maybe that's not the same as the FBI background check that the FBI uses, but that's what it's called.
 
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Regardless of what type of background check it is, if they ask have you ever been convicted of a crime- you need only report CONVICTIONS (this is what is asked on aacomas/amcas- and every secondary I filled out). convictions =/= arrests. That's all I was saying.
 
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DermViser said:
Um, no it's not. Facts are facts. You can rationalize it all you want.
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I don't believe people should use cannabis. That said, those who are for it, aren't going to change their opinion no matter what you say. Sorry, if it came across wrong.
 
MI3PEO said:
I just wanted to see what advice Adcoms and others could offer me. I was just under the impression that even if my innocence is proven that I was doomed due to the charge itself. Therefore, it would be pointless for me to even continue school and that I'd need to end all intentions/hopes of going into medicine. I would hate to continue this unhealthy lifestyle we all have/had to go through to get in just to end up with a very disappointing outcome.




Are secondaries that ask only about convictions common? I assumed that it was the other way around and that they are rare.
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I don't know if you're doomed. But even if MD/DO doesn't work out there is alternate routes, shorta:

Nurse practitioner is kinda of a doctor. They make less though. Also, I have no idea what their school is like.
 
Spirit of the Student Doc said:
I don't believe people should use cannabis. That said, those who are for it, aren't going to change their opinion no matter what you say. Sorry, if it came across wrong.
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Oh, I know they're not going to change their minds and I won't be trying to. But the evidence up to this point is quite damning in terms of brain changes.
 
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FedSquarewall said:
Probable cause applies anywhere so I'm not sure what you're talking about? There are no exempt zones. If you mean they can't search for things that are out of plain view, you are correct. Anything inside and in plain view is fair game. Once a k9 zeros on something they can search that as well. At least in my state. There are lots of ways they get around using a warrant. If you agree with that is another discussion.
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Read the link and you will know what I'm talking about.

You're right. Refusing to consent to a search of your house may not stop an officer. That being said, evidence collected in that scenario might not be admissible in court because the search was not constitutional. Vehicles are a different story, however, Flex Your Rights also explains that scenario and probable cause in great detail.

I hope that you actually read the link in my first post. You should be well informed about your constitutional rights when dealing with the police, even if you aren't behaving like a sketchball.
 
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Ismet said:
It was a "Federal (FBI) Criminal History Report." Maybe that's not the same as the FBI background check that the FBI uses, but that's what it's called.
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When I was fingerprinted for nursing school in Pennsylvania, it was an FBI Clearance Check, so yeah, that's what I was screened with too.
 
MI3PEO said:
I just wanted to see what advice Adcoms and others could offer me. I was just under the impression that even if my innocence is proven that I was doomed due to the charge itself. Therefore, it would be pointless for me to even continue school and that I'd need to end all intentions/hopes of going into medicine. I would hate to continue this unhealthy lifestyle we all have/had to go through to get in just to end up with a very disappointing outcome.




Are seconadries that ask only about convictions common? I assumed that it was the other way around and that they are rare.
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I think out of the 20 secondaries I filled out, maybe 1 or 2 asked about it.
 
MI3PEO said:
The police officer told me that my career wouldn't be over because he wouldn't be able to see the charge if he were to "pull me over." That's where I started to explain that it wasn't about the charge being expunged or dropped because of innocence anything like that but the fact that it "exists" on my record no matter what. In secondary applications, a lot of them ask you about engagements, arrests..etc. I don't see how so many background checks wouldn't show these.



I just moved in literally a week or two ago. That's untrue, I don't have the friends or the time to do that. I am either in class, in the lab, at the hospital, or studying at home. That is why I mentioned that I tend to get emotional sometimes because of how stressful, busy, and lonely the whole pre-med "competition" can be. I need contact with people outside of school or I'd lose my mind.. As is happening now haha.

What's ironic is I smell marijuana outside my apt. often.
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You do realize that the police are under no obligation to tell you the truth and their motivation is not to help you or give you sound advice?
 
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crossfit4lyfe said:
convictions
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Sorry to keep asking, but I need some more clarification. So, 18 out of the 20 asked about arrests, charges, and expungments as well as convictions? Or are you saying that practically all of them didnt ask about a criminal record at all?
 
MI3PEO said:
Sorry to keep asking, but I need some more clarification. So, 18 out of the 20 asked about arrests, charges, and expungments as well as convictions? Or are you saying that practically all of them didnt ask about a criminal record at all?
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Many secondaries ask about getting in trouble with the law, and ask you to list anything, including convictions and dropped charges.

As far as the charges go, battery - and arguably providing a false ID - are morally turpitudinous crimes.
 
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only 2 asked about it, and yes @zzxxzz it depends what they ask. I am just saying the ones I got questioned about were CONVICTIONS only, there have been job applications I have filled out where they ask arrests. It is different for different schools/places. I am tired of answering these questions and this thread and defending my stance. SDN really annoys me more and more these days, you try giving advice based on your experience, and no matter what people will argue and berate you. Best of luck to you.
 
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Didn't the state of MA outlaw the use of background checks for admissions purposes in some form? Maybe I'm just making this up, but I thought I saw something about that on AMCAS. Does anyone know what I'm talking about?
 
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crossfit4lyfe said:
Regardless of what type of background check it is, if they ask have you ever been convicted of a crime- you need only report CONVICTIONS (this is what is asked on aacomas/amcas- and every secondary I filled out). convictions =/= arrests. That's all I was saying.
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A lot of schools explicitly ask if you've even been arrested. I think that's a bogus question, in my opinion. A cop could essentially arrest you for a bullsh*t charge, and you'd still have to explain it on your app. Human psychology is what it is; if you have to explain something like that on your app, it's going to hurt your app.

Frankly, I think it should be illegal to ask about anything other than convictions. If you weren't convicted of a crime, you shouldn't be punished for it. Punishment doesn't have to be overt to still be punishment; having to explain something on job/school applications is still going to hurt you. That's in addition to the fact that you already had to deal with an arrest, a holding cell, bail, and a court appearance for something that you were ultimately not convicted for.
 
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Aloft085 said:
A lot of schools explicitly ask if you've even been arrested. I think that's a bogus question, in my opinion. A cop could essentially arrest you for a bullsh*t charge, and you'd still have to explain it on your app. Human psychology is what it is; if you have to explain something like that on your app, it's going to hurt your app.

Frankly, I think it should be illegal to ask about anything other than convictions. If you weren't convicted of a crime, you shouldn't be punished for it. Punishment doesn't have to be overt to still be punishment; having to explain something on job/school applications is still going to hurt you. That's in addition to the fact that you already had to deal with an arrest, a holding cell, bail, and a court appearance for something that you were ultimately not convicted for.
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"Have you ever been arrested?" answers the question "is this person capable of keeping himself/herself out of bad situations?"
 
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zzxxzz said:
"Have you ever been arrested?" answers the question "is this person capable of keeping himself/herself out of bad situations?"
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This is pretty stupid/sheltered logic but I wouldn't expect anything less from SDN.

OP you made a few stupid (though very minor in the scheme of life) mistakes here. Right now you should be asking a GOOD AND EXPENSIVE LAWYER for advice, not a bunch of sheltered babies on SDN. That's my take. Peace.
 
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and a good lawyer should be able to have this whole thing thrown out for the right price. lmao at "making a deal" with the "DA"
 
Goro said:
On secondaries, there are prompts for "Have you ever been arrested? Have you ever been convicted of anything other than traffic tickets?

You will have to answer yes, because their will be records of these. You'll be given the chance to explain.
.
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Would receiving tickets for failure to display car registration qualify as a traffic ticket or would I have to answer 'yes'
 
That's a traffic thing.

ratman7 said:
Would receiving tickets for failure to display car registration qualify as a traffic ticket or would I have to answer 'yes'
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What's more concerning to me as an Adcom member is that the OP has made several mistakes, and has a history of poor choice making. Lying to a cop isn't a simple mistake.

Now given that we have literally thousands of qualified applicants who haven't gotten into trouble, why should we admit the OP?

This is pretty stupid/sheltered logic but I wouldn't expect anything less from SDN.

OP you made a few stupid (though very minor in the scheme of life) mistakes here. Right now you should be asking a GOOD AND EXPENSIVE LAWYER for advice, not a bunch of sheltered babies on SDN. That's my take. Peace.
 
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zzxxzz said:
"Have you ever been arrested?" answers the question "is this person capable of keeping himself/herself out of bad situations?"
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The problem with that assumption is that you're prejudging a situation in which you do not have all of the facts. If a person has not been convicted, then a determination was made that they should not be punished. That could be due to lack of evidence, lack of guilt, or a minor crime. By judging someone that has previously been arrested (but not convicted) as a lesser-qualified candidate, you're essentially sentencing them to punishment without evidence or due process.
 
DermViser said:
Uh, no. Smoking weed is bad for you. Yes, I said it.
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Cannabis use for medical purposes is actually not bad for you. Cannabis oil is being used to treat many different forms of cancer. Many studies have been done on the effectiveness of cannabis.

Some patients also smoke cannabis to mitigate their pain.
 
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PreciousHamburgers said:
Sugar is associated with diabetes, alcohol with liver damage and a host of other issues. If someone was adamant about using some substance, marijuana would be a better choice than alcohol for sure.
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Any substance inhaled or ingested for recreational purposes is going to be bad for you, and if used for long periods of time, will have negative health effects.

You may not see the impact now, but you will see it in a few years.
 
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Aloft085 said:
A lot of schools explicitly ask if you've even been arrested. I think that's a bogus question, in my opinion. A cop could essentially arrest you for a bullsh*t charge, and you'd still have to explain it on your app. Human psychology is what Tis; if you have to explain something like that on your app, Tis going to hurt your app.

Frankly, I think it should be illegal to ask about anything other than convictions. If you weren't convicted of a crime, you shouldn't be punished for it. Punishment doesn't have to be overt to still be punishment; having to explain something on job/school applications is still going to hurt you. That's in addition to the fact that you already had to deal with an arrest, a holding cell, bail, and a court appearance for something that you were ultimately not convicted for.
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I agree 100%. A fundamental part of the justice system is innocent until proven guilty. If anyone can see any charge filed against you, regardless of innocence, then you're allowing everyone to be their own private judge, jury, and executioner for any crime, with the punishment being whatever power they have over you. Requiring records of charges (without convictions) and allowing reporting on crimes before the verdict is decided both make no sense to me. Forget the judge, forget the jury. You've already ruined the person's life the moment you put the handcuffs on them.

Goro said:
Now given that we have literally thousands of qualified applicants who haven't gotten into trouble, why should we admit the OP?
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See this is what scares me about that concept. Just out of curiosity, say you have two applicants and you must choose one. They are extraordinarily similar, and trying to separate them is very tough, but applicant 1 has a very slight edge. However, applicant 1 has a charge against him/her for possession. He/she was found innocent and attached a statement explaining that it was not his/hers, and that it was a random person he/she didn't know who showed up at a party at his/her house. Does applicant 1 get the nod, or does applicant 2 represent the safer bet and get an acceptance?
 
This is a fool's errand. We don't invite two to accept one. We invite two to accept two. And because we were young and stupid once, we tend to be forgiving of possession charges, especially since marijuana is legal in a number of places.

But people who don't learn from their mistakes don't catch as much slack.


See this is what scares me about that concept. Just out of curiosity, say you have two applicants and you must choose one. They are extraordinarily similar, and trying to separate them is very tough, but applicant 1 has a very slight edge. However, applicant 1 has a charge against him/her for possession. He/she was found innocent and attached a statement explaining that Twas not his/hers, and that Twas a random person he/she didn't know who showed up at a party at his/her house. Does applicant 1 get the nod, or does applicant 2 represent the safer bet and get an acceptance?[/QUOTE]
 
DermViser said:
Oh, I know they're not going to change their minds and I won't be trying to. But the evidence up to this point is quite damning in terms of brain changes.
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Agree *chugs down whiskey* damn drug addicts. They should know that an occasional smoke is no different than a daily smoke for 10 years. No difference at all.

:rolleyes:
 
Goro said:
This is a fool's errand. We don't invite two to accept one. We invite two to accept two. And because we were young and stupid once, we tend to be forgiving of possession charges, especially since marijuana is legal in a number of places.

But people who don't learn from their mistakes don't catch as much slack.
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Okay, makes sense about multiple charges. If you get in trouble once, even if it wasn't your fault, it says something about you if you're not treading very lightly after that. In OP's case I get it. It's not 100% innocence, and there were some clearly poor choices.

I think what I was trying to get at was, do you still consider it if the person was found to be innocent? I guess I'm just thinking about the crazy things that can happen to completely innocent people. A friend of mine had a neighbor whose house was raided for downloading "indecent" images (I won't elaborate, it was quite disgusting). Turned out to be some creep using his wifi. In another case, someone from my high school got charged with possession of cocaine because a friend of a friend brought it to their house party. He didn't even know about it until the cops came for a noise complaint. Both were found innocent, but I just wonder, if these things happened to a pre-med would they be at a disadvantage because they have to report the charge regardless of the conviction? Seems like a backwards policy to me. Hopefully I'm never unlucky enough to be in that situation.
 
This is why they give you the little box to explain what happened. Saying "I was arrested for possession but never charged/and found not guilty" would be the end of the story. Not the end of your chances, just the arrested part.

In all my tears of doing interviews, I've never seen once someone who was arrested for a mistake, or because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It's not my place to argue about the fairness or unfairness of the law. If your friend has cocaine in your car and you get arrested, it's YOUR car and you take the hit too. That's not our problem....it's your problem.

Multiple arrests imply at the minimum, bad luck, but like the character in the old Li'l Abner cartoon, who walked around with a dark cloud over his head all the time and always had bad things happen, so if bad things happen too you more than once, is it coincidence, or is it bad judgement????

Dr.Zoidberg said:
Okay, makes sense about multiple charges. If you get in trouble once, even if it wasn't your fault, it says something about you if you're not treading very lightly after that. In OP's case I get it. It's not 100% innocence, and there were some clearly poor choices.

I think what I was trying to get at was, do you still consider it if the person was found to be innocent? I guess I'm just thinking about the crazy things that can happen to completely innocent people. A friend of mine had a neighbor whose house was raided for downloading "indecent" images (I won't elaborate, it was quite disgusting). Turned out to be some creep using his wifi. In another case, someone from my high school got charged with possession of cocaine because a friend of a friend brought it to their house party. He didn't even know about it until the cops came for a noise complaint. Both were found innocent, but I just wonder, if these things happened to a pre-med would they be at a disadvantage because they have to report the charge regardless of the conviction? Seems like a backwards policy to me. Hopefully I'm never unlucky enough to be in that situation.
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Visible Ghost said:
Any substance inhaled or ingested for recreational purposes is going to be bad for you, and if used for long periods of time, will have negative health effects.

You may not see the impact now, but you will see it in a few years.
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Like tea?

You can have a beer or glass of wine every do often with no ill effect. Same with other, less harmful substances. You might even see a net health benefit from some for reduced stress/blood pressure. Don't go by he Catholic Church doctrine of if it feels good, it's bad for you.

I don't smoke weed, but I hate seeing myth perpetuated with a disregard for scientific evidence to the contrary.
 
The situation for OP is unfortunate, and I highly recommend what others have already mentioned in regards to a good lawyer, cleaning up image, etc.

Wanted to comment on this too:

Visible Ghost said:
Cannabis use for medical purposes is actually not bad for you. Cannabis oil is being used to treat many different forms of cancer. Many studies have been done on the effectiveness of cannabis.

Some patients also smoke cannabis to mitigate their pain.
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Cannabis is very effective for some neurological spasms associated with epilepsy or severe spinal cord injuries. I have a very good friend who is quadriplegic and cannabis is much better for treating his spasms than the benzos and muscle relaxers he receives. Additionally, cannabis may also have potential for treatment of PTSD or irritable bowel syndrome. Cannabis recreational abuse isn't a healthy lifestyle, but it may not be as harmful as other accepted vices. More scientific research is obviously required. The social stigma is gradually decreasing and over time cannabis will most likely end up being used for many types of conditions. Colorado (where I live) recently funded research for treatment of PTSD, IBD, epilepsy, and chronic pain with cannabis oils.

Colorado funds research for treatment of PTSD, pediatric epilepsy, IBD, and chronic pain
http://kdvr.com/2014/12/17/colorado...search-to-show-benefits-of-medical-marijuana/

Time article on children with Dravet syndrome being treated with low THC high CBD cannabis oil
http://time.com/3264691/medical-marijauna-epilepsy-research-charlottes-web-study/
 
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It's decriminalized in my state and thus we don't have to have these silly arguments anymore in my neck of the woods. Marijuana just isn't a big deal imo- personally I hate the stuff, but I've never known anyone to do anything illegal (aside from the smoking) or dangerous while using it and thus don't really judge anyone that does. Alcohol, on the other hand, has destroyed plenty of lives among my friends, family, and acquaintances. It just makes the whole "marijuana is bad and should be illegal" line seem arbitrary and ridiculous.


All that being said, if you live in a state where marijuana is illegal, you should never, ever allow it into your vehicle any more than you would allow your friend to have an open container in your car.
 
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Aloft085 said:
A lot of schools explicitly ask if you've even been arrested. I think that's a bogus question, in my opinion. A cop could essentially arrest you for a bullsh*t charge, and you'd still have to explain it on your app. Human psychology is what it is; if you have to explain something like that on your app, it's going to hurt your app.

Frankly, I think it should be illegal to ask about anything other than convictions. If you weren't convicted of a crime, you shouldn't be punished for it. Punishment doesn't have to be overt to still be punishment; having to explain something on job/school applications is still going to hurt you. That's in addition to the fact that you already had to deal with an arrest, a holding cell, bail, and a court appearance for something that you were ultimately not convicted for.
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I couldn't agree more , arrests have negative stigmas attached . Even though it's supposed to be innocent until proven guilty , it's more like guilty but u just got away with it :(
 
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