Need Input on how to Address some IAs

[Throwaway42day]

So, I have a decently solid application but there is one big problem. I have 3 IAs. Things get interesting at #3.

1) for alcohol and fire safety in the dorms. That one is pretty annoying because the fire safety part was that my roommate had a hotplate that he refused to stop using. The alcohol part was a vase of flowers that was a jack bottle, I had gotten it for valentine's day.

But here are the big ones.

2) Classroom disruption - Made one of my friends laugh repeatedly in class. Professor got upset and moved him to the front of the classroom and we both got in trouble for "Unprofessional Behavior"

3) Classroom disruption - this one is bad. The teacher describes me having sent him foul messages filled with profanity. What actually happened is much stupider. In an attempt to copy-paste something off his lecture slides into my explanation box for an in class activity where we answered multiple choice questions on our computers and provided the "reasoning" behind our choices, I accidentally pasted the entire Navy Seal Copypasta into the box and before I saw I had done that, I hit submit. He didn't know what it was and reported it.

How in god's name am I supposed to address this? It was back in 2015 but I feel like it's gonna kill my application.

Any and all help would be HUGELY appreciated.

Please note that I do not want to lie about this, I just want to know the best way to address it. After this all happened I talked with the professor in question and he made me realize that I needed to grow up and spend my energy on things that mattered instead of amusing my friends. This is reflected in my application, as my involvement in EC's, volunteering, and whatnot jumps significantly following this.

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[Turkishking]

So, I have a decently solid application but there is one big problem. I have 3 IAs. Things get interesting at #3.

1) for alcohol and fire safety in the dorms. That one is pretty annoying because the fire safety part was that my roommate had a hotplate that he refused to stop using. The alcohol part was a vase of flowers that was a jack bottle, I had gotten it for valentine's day.

But here are the big ones.

2) Classroom disruption - Made one of my friends laugh repeatedly in class. Professor got upset and moved him to the front of the classroom and we both got in trouble for "Unprofessional Behavior"

3) Classroom disruption - this one is bad. The teacher describes me having sent him foul messages filled with profanity. What actually happened is much stupider. In an attempt to copy-paste something off his lecture slides into my explanation box for an in class activity where we answered multiple choice questions on our computers and provided the "reasoning" behind our choices, I accidentally pasted the entire Navy Seal Copypasta into the box and before I saw I had done that, I hit submit. He didn't know what it was and reported it.

How in god's name am I supposed to address this? It was back in 2015 but I feel like it's gonna kill my application.

Any and all help would be HUGELY appreciated.

Please note that I do not want to lie about this, I just want to know the best way to address it. After this all happened I talked with the professor in question and he made me realize that I needed to grow up and spend my energy on things that mattered instead of amusing my friends. This is reflected in my application, as my involvement in EC's, volunteering, and whatnot jumps significantly following this.

.

 

[Goro]

So, I have a decently solid application but there is one big problem. I have 3 IAs. Things get interesting at #3.

1) for alcohol and fire safety in the dorms. That one is pretty annoying because the fire safety part was that my roommate had a hotplate that he refused to stop using. The alcohol part was a vase of flowers that was a jack bottle, I had gotten it for valentine's day.

But here are the big ones.

2) Classroom disruption - Made one of my friends laugh repeatedly in class. Professor got upset and moved him to the front of the classroom and we both got in trouble for "Unprofessional Behavior"

3) Classroom disruption - this one is bad. The teacher describes me having sent him foul messages filled with profanity. What actually happened is much stupider. In an attempt to copy-paste something off his lecture slides into my explanation box for an in class activity where we answered multiple choice questions on our computers and provided the "reasoning" behind our choices, I accidentally pasted the entire Navy Seal Copypasta into the box and before I saw I had done that, I hit submit. He didn't know what it was and reported it.

How in god's name am I supposed to address this? It was back in 2015 but I feel like it's gonna kill my application.

Any and all help would be HUGELY appreciated.

Please note that I do not want to lie about this, I just want to know the best way to address it. After this all happened I talked with the professor in question and he made me realize that I needed to grow up and spend my energy on things that mattered instead of amusing my friends. This is reflected in my application, as my involvement in EC's, volunteering, and whatnot jumps significantly following this.

You tell the truth and you own it. But frankly, with two dings on your record already, you should have been a lot more careful, especially since you were on that professor's radar. If you don't apply, your rejection rate will be 100%, but always have Plan B.

 

[Throwaway42day]

You tell the truth and you own it. But frankly, with two dings on your record already, you should have been a lot more careful, especially since you were on that professor's radar. If you don't apply, your rejection rate will be 100%, but always have Plan B.

I definitely agree with that, but I actually didn't know I had that second ding. They were both within 2 weeks from each other and I got the notification that I'd been written up for them on the same day, about a week after the second one was sent in. Should I mention this?

Thanks for replying, I appreciate the help

 

[Goro]

Yes, mention it

I definitely agree with that, but I actually didn't know I had that second ding. They were both within 2 weeks from each other and I got the notification that I'd been written up for them on the same day, about a week after the second one was sent in. Should I mention this?

Thanks for replying, I appreciate the help

 

[Throwaway42day]

Yes, mention it

How strongly do you think this will affect my application? I want to apply this cycle but I'm worried this will take me out of the running.

 

[Goro]

How strongly do you think this will affect my application? I want to apply this cycle but I'm worried this will take me out of the running.

The IAs will hurt, I can't sugar coat that.

 

[Throwaway42day]

The IAs will hurt, I can't sugar coat that.

Thank you, I definitely don't want sugar coating on this. Do you have any recommendations on how to proceed? Would a gap year help significantly?

 

[bannie22]

I think your institution is very immature.
How do you get punished for your roommate using a hotplate?
Laughing in class?
and worse of all, you copy pasted the wrong thing and they tell you to grow up? what is this. kindergarten?

 

[Throwaway42day]

I think your institution is very immature.
How do you get punished for your roommate using a hotplate?
Laughing in class?
and worse of all, you copy pasted the wrong thing and they tell you to grow up? what is this. kindergarten?

Well we shared a room so they viewed it as "our" hotplate they said.
And yeah the professor was very unhappy that we were laughing so much in class because he viewed it as disrespecting him. I really am sorry about it and haven't disrespected any professors since but that's not really relevant I guess?

As for the copy paste thing, that was totally my bad. I should have been paying attention and not sending memes to friends in class. I felt like an idiot when I found out I'd sent that in!

 

[blackroses]

I think your institution is very immature.
How do you get punished for your roommate using a hotplate?
Laughing in class?
and worse of all, you copy pasted the wrong thing and they tell you to grow up? what is this. kindergarten?

Like it or not, college is a professional environment. You're expected to act professional.

 

[Throwaway42day]

Like it or not, college is a professional environment. You're expected to act professional.

I agree - And since that incident I've matured a lot and my app reflects it. All my leadership and involvement starts around a month after this.

 

[blackroses]

I agree - And since that incident I've matured a lot and my app reflects it. All my leadership and involvement starts around a month after this.

There's not really a lot of advice to give at this point, honestly. You have to apply with the application you have. Apply broadly, be very prepared to discuss how you've grown and changed since these incidents. For obvious reasons, these IAs will raise concerns about whether or not you will be able to conduct yourself in a professional manner.

I suspect that a single gap year would not do much to demonstrate change to adcoms. I would be much more inclined to believe that several years "in the real world" holding down a job and maintaining (a) volunteer position(s) would change minds that would normally be very opposed to accepting someone with this type of record.

 

[tantacles]

Thank you, I definitely don't want sugar coating on this. Do you have any recommendations on how to proceed? Would a gap year help significantly?

Maybe. I don't know that your application is going to be looked at favorably no matter what you do. If you want to prove yourself, I think putting something like 10 years between your college behavior and your application would be a good start, and that's when you'll be able to say something like, "I had a maturity issue in college," which, honestly, it sounds like you do. So take an extended break from applying to medical school, work for 6-8 years, and then apply. That is my suggestion.

 

[Throwaway42day]

Maybe. I don't know that your application is going to be looked at favorably no matter what you do. If you want to prove yourself, I think putting something like 10 years between your college behavior and your application would be a good start, and that's when you'll be able to say something like, "I had a maturity issue in college," which, honestly, it sounds like you do. So take an extended break from applying to medical school, work for 6-8 years, and then apply. That is my suggestion.

That seems really extreme. I don't think it is reasonable to base my entire maturity off of this post. I think I have done a fair job of owning up to my mistakes and I am not attempting to avoid it or hide it.

 

[tantacles]

That seems really extreme. I don't think it is reasonable to base my entire maturity off of this post. I think I have done a fair job of owning up to my mistakes and I am not attempting to avoid it or hide it.

I think your attitude about your mistakes is wonderful, but if I were reading your application, I would have pause taking someone who had three institutional actions during undergraduate when I have myriad applicants who have zero waiting for a spot. I would, in that situation, smell a maturity issue. I think it's best not to be defensive about this; you're going to get many opinions on this site, and if you disagree, you are welcome to ignore the advice you receive and apply anyway.

I'm not giving you advice to discourage you, but rather to try to prevent you from potentially wasting your money on a process that, right now, is unlikely to favor your application. I don't have any particular worry personally about your actions; I wasn't there, and I wasn't affected. But I think it will have an extremely poor impact on your application irrespective of your actual maturity level.

But again, as I said in my original post, this is my suggestion. I will not be the final judge of your medical school application.

 

[ndafife]

As someone who has had to deal with a few black marks in the past here is a general outline to deal with them:

1. Say what you did. "I have 3 IAs for ...." Keep it short in sweet. Say what happened, say what your charge was. "I was disruptive in class" "I copy and pasted Navy Seal Copypasta into an explanation."
2. Say what you've learned since then.
3. Show that you have grown from the incident. - leadership and involvement have grown here.

 

[Throwaway42day]

As someone who has had to deal with a few black marks in the past here is a general outline to deal with them:

1. Say what you did. "I have 3 IAs for ...." Keep it short in sweet. Say what happened, say what your charge was. "I was disruptive in class" "I copy and pasted Navy Seal Copypasta into an explanation."
2. Say what you've learned since then.
3. Show that you have grown from the incident. - leadership and involvement have grown here.

Thank you, this is really helpful advice!

 

[Goro]

Maybe. I don't know that your application is going to be looked at favorably no matter what you do. If you want to prove yourself, I think putting something like 10 years between your college behavior and your application would be a good start, and that's when you'll be able to say something like, "I had a maturity issue in college," which, honestly, it sounds like you do. So take an extended break from applying to medical school, work for 6-8 years, and then apply. That is my suggestion.

I'll have to disagree with my learned colleague here. I think a few years of exemplary behavior, preferably having positions of responsibility, will help you.

 

[Throwaway42day]

I'll have to disagree with my learned colleague here. I think a few years of exemplary behavior, preferably having positions of responsibility, will help you.

Well that's reassuring. Is there any chance I could message you with the more positive portions of my app, so you could get a fuller view of my path?

 

[Goro]

Well that's reassuring. Is there any chance I could message you with the more positive portions of my app, so you could get a fuller view of my path?

Ok, but I can't read essays

 

[RenegadeOkapi]

Oh, I'm so sorry OP, those don't seem like they are indicative of you being an insincere or criminal applicant, just someone who is immature. Just be honest with all your explanations. #1 is fairly benign. For #2 and #3, address your intended comedic intent (I say this because you clearly did not mean offense with profanity in #3) and focus on how you have improved your maturity since then. Be professional and project yourself as an adult and no longer a class clown.

As a millennial quite familiar with the internet, that story about the Navy Seal copypasta cracked me up, but I doubt adcoms will see the humor in it.

 

[LizzyM]

Never heard of the Navy Seal Copypasta but now that I know what it is, all I can say is be very careful when cutting and pasting items into the experience section of your application.

Frankly, this is not a big deal and it will bring a smile and a head shake from most of the adcoms... we've all done something stupid at one time or another.

Come back a year from now and let us know how the cycle went for you.

 

[Yorick]

I would love to see the screeners' reactions when they look up "Navy Seal Copypasta"

 

[LizzyM]

I would love to see the screeners' reactions when they look up "Navy Seal Copypasta"

 

[P0ke]

I would love to see the screeners' reactions when they look up "Navy Seal Copypasta"

I just read part of it and there's actually some threatening lines in it. OP is lucky that worse didn't happen. They basically accidentally sent their professor a bunch of death threats.

 

[jcorpsmanMD]

I just read part of it and there's actually some threatening lines in it. OP is lucky that worse didn't happen. They basically accidentally sent their professor a bunch of death threats.

Them Navy Seals I tell you.. some scary .. you get the point.

 

[RogueBanana]

For those who are unaware of the literary masterpiece that is the "navy seal copypasta" :

What the f*** did you just f***ing say about me, you little b***? I’ll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I’ve been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 confirmed kills. I am trained in gorilla warfare and I’m the top sniper in the entire US armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the f*** out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my f***ing words. You think you can get away with saying that s*** to me over the Internet? Think again, f***er. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of spies across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, m*****. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. You’re f***ing dead, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and that’s just with my bare hands. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the United States Marine Corps and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable ass off the face of the continent, you little s***. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little “clever” comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your f***ing tongue. But you couldn’t, you didn’t, and now you’re paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will s*** fury all over you and you will drown in it. You’re f***ing dead, kiddo.


Did my best to censor it, let me know if I missed anything

 

[P0ke]

For those who are unaware of the literary masterpiece that is the "navy seal copypasta" :

What the f*** did you just f***ing say about me, you little b***? I’ll have you know I graduated top of my class in the Navy Seals, and I’ve been involved in numerous secret raids on Al-Quaeda, and I have over 300 confirmed kills. I am trained in gorilla warfare and I’m the top sniper in the entire US armed forces. You are nothing to me but just another target. I will wipe you the f*** out with precision the likes of which has never been seen before on this Earth, mark my f***ing words. You think you can get away with saying that s*** to me over the Internet? Think again, f***er. As we speak I am contacting my secret network of spies across the USA and your IP is being traced right now so you better prepare for the storm, m*****. The storm that wipes out the pathetic little thing you call your life. You’re f***ing dead, kid. I can be anywhere, anytime, and I can kill you in over seven hundred ways, and that’s just with my bare hands. Not only am I extensively trained in unarmed combat, but I have access to the entire arsenal of the United States Marine Corps and I will use it to its full extent to wipe your miserable ass off the face of the continent, you little s***. If only you could have known what unholy retribution your little “clever” comment was about to bring down upon you, maybe you would have held your f***ing tongue. But you couldn’t, you didn’t, and now you’re paying the price, you goddamn idiot. I will s*** fury all over you and you will drown in it. You’re f***ing dead, kiddo.


Did my best to censor it, let me know if I missed anything

And let's not forget that small slip-ups like this can have big consequences in the medical world. Small charting errors can lead to getting the pants sued off of you. When I was a new scribe, I had a doctor chew me out for putting that a patient, who was going into multiple organ failure, was in "stable" condition since I was just so used to clicking that for pretty much every other patient before that. Gotta be careful, especially with things that are documented.

 

[RogueBanana]

And let's not forget that small slip-ups like this can have big consequences in the medical world. Small charting errors can lead to getting the pants sued off of you. When I was a new scribe, I had a doctor chew me out for putting that a patient, who was going into multiple organ failure, was in "stable" condition since I was just so used to clicking that for pretty much every other patient before that. Gotta be careful, especially with things that are documented.

What? You mean "stable" doesn't refer to the sturdiness of the gurney upon which the patient is dying??