jejelyme12
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- Joined
- May 1, 2024
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(Please do NOT quote).
Hello SDN,
I received an IA fall of my Senior year and I would like help on how to go about presenting this in my application to demonstrate integrity and growth from the situation.
I am a URM with a roughly 3.0 sGPA and cGPA with ~500 MCAT and will be re-applying to medical school this year after taking two gap years (1 in an Ivy league, NIH affiliated research program and conduct research at one of the top medical research institutions in the US). I had to apply to a few schools via AMCAS to gain acceptance to a post-baccalaureate program with a conditional interview/acceptance to the program's MD program. Now, I must re-apply to the school while in the post-bacc to matriculate into their MD program.
Context: Beginning of the semester, I tested positive for COVID-19 and I was home for almost a month recovering from the terrible symptoms I had. While not fully recovered, I returned to campus as I knew I needed to go full force to complete all missing assignments and carry on strong. However, shortly after, I unfortunately experienced the loss of a sibling to which I notified the school of. In the midst of this all, my mental state was definitely not where it should have been and I had travelled home to be with family (while completing my assignments). Regretfully, I was distracted, was rushing to submit my assignment, and submitted an incorrect file for submission without proper citation and was reported to the Honor Council. I pleaded with the professor to discuss the report to no avail. I was to wait the following semester for the official hearing date. I immediately registered for the same course the next semester in case I wasn't successful in the hearing to prevent delay of my graduation in the coming months.
The following semester, I returned from a mission trip over winter break and developed a terrible case of shigella. Once again, I was out for the first few weeks of class. Upon returning, I got into a car wreck on campus grounds (a campus vehicle hit me and the driver did not tell the truth) and was in a financial mess trying to fix my car (almost went homeless as I had to use funds to pay rent) since my college did not want to take responsibility. I also experienced another death in my family this semester and had to contribute financially towards that. Once again, my life was in shambles but I still prevailed. I had a hearing and presented my case, and although my professor knew I was going through hardships, told her it was an honest mistake, and my intentions of attending medical school, she told the jury she considered me guilty. I received an F for the course. I had the opportunity to appeal to the President of my college to re-judge my case and I took the opportunity to do so. Even though I wrote a lengthy letter, told her about my immense hardships, and even sat/talked with her at an academic scholarship ceremony around the time I submitted my appeal, I still did not get my appeal approved. But in the midst of this all, I was truly grateful to have gotten an acceptance to an Ivy League research program right before graduation. And subsequently, conduct research at a top medical research institution the following year.
However I have a few concerns...
1) I requested my transcript and noticed there was not an indication that I received an IA for that semester (although I still reported it on my first AMCAS application to for the post-bacc program and will be reporting it when I re-apply). Was I in the wrong to note the IA?
2) I spoke with the dean of academic integrity and she said that the school will not disclose the IA to medical schools if I have it expunged. I feel it may be too late for that, given I already applied and reported it on my AMCAS to demonstrate my integrity in regards to the matter. Should I even worry about having it expunged now?
Ultimately, I was thinking of talking with my professor and Dean to have them write a letter of support for my application to demonstrate I have learned from this mistake. Does this sound like a step in the right direction? What other steps should I take to show my remorse and commitment to a career in medicine?
Becoming a physician has been a lifelong dream of mine, especially the first physician in my family. My parents came to the US and struggled trying to make ends meet for my siblings and I, while unsuccessfully accomplishing their own goals. I have seen almost all of the individuals in my family give up on their dreams and I don't want to give up on mine. Help is greatly appreciated.
Hello SDN,
I received an IA fall of my Senior year and I would like help on how to go about presenting this in my application to demonstrate integrity and growth from the situation.
I am a URM with a roughly 3.0 sGPA and cGPA with ~500 MCAT and will be re-applying to medical school this year after taking two gap years (1 in an Ivy league, NIH affiliated research program and conduct research at one of the top medical research institutions in the US). I had to apply to a few schools via AMCAS to gain acceptance to a post-baccalaureate program with a conditional interview/acceptance to the program's MD program. Now, I must re-apply to the school while in the post-bacc to matriculate into their MD program.
Context: Beginning of the semester, I tested positive for COVID-19 and I was home for almost a month recovering from the terrible symptoms I had. While not fully recovered, I returned to campus as I knew I needed to go full force to complete all missing assignments and carry on strong. However, shortly after, I unfortunately experienced the loss of a sibling to which I notified the school of. In the midst of this all, my mental state was definitely not where it should have been and I had travelled home to be with family (while completing my assignments). Regretfully, I was distracted, was rushing to submit my assignment, and submitted an incorrect file for submission without proper citation and was reported to the Honor Council. I pleaded with the professor to discuss the report to no avail. I was to wait the following semester for the official hearing date. I immediately registered for the same course the next semester in case I wasn't successful in the hearing to prevent delay of my graduation in the coming months.
The following semester, I returned from a mission trip over winter break and developed a terrible case of shigella. Once again, I was out for the first few weeks of class. Upon returning, I got into a car wreck on campus grounds (a campus vehicle hit me and the driver did not tell the truth) and was in a financial mess trying to fix my car (almost went homeless as I had to use funds to pay rent) since my college did not want to take responsibility. I also experienced another death in my family this semester and had to contribute financially towards that. Once again, my life was in shambles but I still prevailed. I had a hearing and presented my case, and although my professor knew I was going through hardships, told her it was an honest mistake, and my intentions of attending medical school, she told the jury she considered me guilty. I received an F for the course. I had the opportunity to appeal to the President of my college to re-judge my case and I took the opportunity to do so. Even though I wrote a lengthy letter, told her about my immense hardships, and even sat/talked with her at an academic scholarship ceremony around the time I submitted my appeal, I still did not get my appeal approved. But in the midst of this all, I was truly grateful to have gotten an acceptance to an Ivy League research program right before graduation. And subsequently, conduct research at a top medical research institution the following year.
However I have a few concerns...
1) I requested my transcript and noticed there was not an indication that I received an IA for that semester (although I still reported it on my first AMCAS application to for the post-bacc program and will be reporting it when I re-apply). Was I in the wrong to note the IA?
2) I spoke with the dean of academic integrity and she said that the school will not disclose the IA to medical schools if I have it expunged. I feel it may be too late for that, given I already applied and reported it on my AMCAS to demonstrate my integrity in regards to the matter. Should I even worry about having it expunged now?
Ultimately, I was thinking of talking with my professor and Dean to have them write a letter of support for my application to demonstrate I have learned from this mistake. Does this sound like a step in the right direction? What other steps should I take to show my remorse and commitment to a career in medicine?
Becoming a physician has been a lifelong dream of mine, especially the first physician in my family. My parents came to the US and struggled trying to make ends meet for my siblings and I, while unsuccessfully accomplishing their own goals. I have seen almost all of the individuals in my family give up on their dreams and I don't want to give up on mine. Help is greatly appreciated.
