Hi I am a recovering alcoholic and I am currently applying. I am disclosing my recovery in my personal statement due to my 2 DWIs. I am 4 years sober now. Does anyone have any experience with this or faced adversity in their applications.?
Recovering alcoholic in the need of advice during the admissions process
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Not exactly the same admissions process, but a friend of mine was denied admission to dental school for having a drunk in public charge on his record from 10 years ago. He was a non trad, 2nd career applicant obviously, and the conviction was from his time in undergrad the 1st time around. He actually got in and this school runs criminal record checks on accepted students, so after the adcoms saw his record, he was denied admission.
Maybe not the most helpful or hopeful info, but its the only case I know about regarding criminal issues and professional health grad school admissions. Maybe look into getting the DUIs removed from your record but still write about your recovery in your PS? That way you are being authentic to your journey, but not ruining your chances of getting in.
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I don't think the OP would mention the DUIs in the PS if it weren't for the fact that they're on the OPs record
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krupajl- I honestly think your best bet is to anonymously call/email the schools you are interested in applying to and asking someone in admissions if you even have a chance.
I thought my chance was ruined at Cornell because their supplemental asked if you'd ever been fired from a job and I had for drinking underage on camp property when I was working horseback staff, this was on top of divulging the fact that though it was not on my record I had been subject to judicial proceedings at my undergrad as a result of being underage, intoxicated, on-campus. I was very honest about both of the things and gave contact information for my manager at the camp as well as my undergrad's judicial office. I ended up getting in, which would have never happened if I had wanted to apply to med schools, so I think vet schools may be more forgiving to some of these things.
I thought my chance was ruined at Cornell because their supplemental asked if you'd ever been fired from a job and I had for drinking underage on camp property when I was working horseback staff, this was on top of divulging the fact that though it was not on my record I had been subject to judicial proceedings at my undergrad as a result of being underage, intoxicated, on-campus. I was very honest about both of the things and gave contact information for my manager at the camp as well as my undergrad's judicial office. I ended up getting in, which would have never happened if I had wanted to apply to med schools, so I think vet schools may be more forgiving to some of these things.
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I agree with anonymously asking. It would suck to spend all of this time/money applying only to be shut down.
I have history of minor substance abuse (no worse than the average NYC teenager, I'm sure), but I, thankfully, had no legal repercussions. Hopefully the adcoms will see past your record and view you for who you are now. I'm rootin' for ya!
I have history of minor substance abuse (no worse than the average NYC teenager, I'm sure), but I, thankfully, had no legal repercussions. Hopefully the adcoms will see past your record and view you for who you are now. I'm rootin' for ya!
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Did they contact the manager, et al?
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Mmmmm...good point.
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No.
I'm assuming bbeventer is right on the money here, which is why I think the best bet is to talk to adcoms at the schools you're interested in applying to and get an honest opinion on how much that is going to hurt your application and if it's worth it at all (I would just set up an anonymous gmail account for this purpose, but also let them know you'd be willing to talk on the phone as well). I'm assuming you were on probation or in some sort of recovery program, I might ask programs if it would help if you have an officer/mentor/therapist who could write you a letter of support stating that you have fully recovered and they don't have any reason to believe substance abuse will be an issue for you in the future (though it may be hard to find someone to do this for you because of the liability issues involved).
Best of luck to you.
This sounds like a different situation, where your friend didn't disclose the charge on his record, the school accepted him, and then found out he didn't disclose (where on every application I've ever filled out it has asked if you've ever been convicted). The OP said he would disclose the fact that he's had 2 DWI's and is a recovering alcoholic of 4 years.
I agree with the calling the schools or maybe a mentor in the field if you have one. I commend you though for your recovery as well as following your dream while not hiding from your past. It's very admirable.
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I second this, I would make it abundantly clear in your PS that you recognise you have a lifelong battle and that you have support programs in place to help you out when the going gets tough. Substance abuse of both alcohol and other drugs is a huge problem in vet med so you're going to have to prove how this isn't going to be a problem again in the future.
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This!
Of course this is going to raise red flags, and it is going to be discussed by the adcoms, and it is certainly good advice to check with them if it is a no-go from the start..
BUT, IMHO, it should not exclude you from acceptance.
1) You are not hiding from it, which is important.
2) You have undergone treatment. Alcoholism is now considered a disease, not a personal decision. To automatically deny you would be like automatically denying a depressed person, or a handicapped person.
3) In the end, your PS WILL be key. How sincere do you sound? Does it sound like you are realistic and understand the struggles involved (especially going to a drinking environment in vet school)? Do you sound like a person who is now stronger for your struggles? Etc. Etc.
4) How strong an applicant are you? If you are so-so in other areas, then this might be too much to overcome. But if you have a good application, then this might make you stand out as someone who has overcome obstacles.
Many people are going to think of this as your personal failing (including some posters here), and not a disease for you to conquer. I think the fact that you are addressing it head-on is in your favor, and if you can make a strong application otherwise you should be fine. Just make sure you are sure what you are getting into as well. You will be in an environment where a lot of people drink to get rid of stress, and where people may not be as supportive as you are used to regarding abstinence. The last thing anyone would want for you is to get into vet school unprepared and relapse.
Good luck all around.
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In this regard, I have a friend who recently applied to med school. He's been battling bipolar disease for several years now. He's had breakdowns, left jobs out of rage, etc. He made it a big point to address it in his personal statement as a huge obstacle that he had to overcome and is still fighting with.
My dad is an adcom at the med school this friend applied to, and thought it was equal parts risky and good to talk about it. (Obviously, you can't not talk about your battle since it's on your records, so it's a little different).
He was a strong applicant, career-changer, with a good knowledge of what he was getting into, so the moral of the story is that he got in.
Just a take on the alcoholism-as-a-disease bit. Good luck!
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Honesty honesty honesty. A troubled past is not an automatic deny, but not disclosing convictions and getting caught out later IS.
Definitely contact the schools. Just call them; no need for a dummy email account, and if you apply you'll be disclosing your arrests anyway. I think you are on the right track! But yes, you should probably get a feel for which schools would be a waste of application fee money.
Definitely contact the schools. Just call them; no need for a dummy email account, and if you apply you'll be disclosing your arrests anyway. I think you are on the right track! But yes, you should probably get a feel for which schools would be a waste of application fee money.
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This is kind of what I was getting at. Since substance abuse is a big issue in vet med and the career provides easy access to controlled substances, adcoms IMO would be remiss in not pausing before considering admission to a recovering alcoholic or addict. That's why I suggested getting the DUIs removed and discussing the recovery process as a path to a new life in the PS, rather than using the PS to explain some DUIs. Just a softer approach, without hiding the past or being ashamed of the journey that the OP experienced to get to this place in his/her life.
OP-sorry if I implied that you should be ashamed or that alcoholism is a "personal failing". I didn't mean that at all. It takes a lot of strength to realize when you need help and to take control of your life, regardless of what the challenges are. Addiction is a real disease and not at all a weakness. Congrats on being in recovery and good luck on your apps!
