Ancient non-academic disciplinary action and 'lying'

[petomed]

Just called up my undergraduate institution to dig up the details on my wrist slap drinking disciplinary action from years ago. Yep, it's still there. I'm prepared to talk about it on my application if needed, you know, the 'old me'.

Digging a bit deeper though, my institution purges qualified disciplinary records 7 yrs after graduation. I'm just beyond that mark and the adviser on the line said my record would be cleared by the end of the year.

So, how do I answer the inevitable application question referring to whether or not deviance will be dug up during the background search? This isn't a police record, it lives at my institution, where it will be deleted in the coming weeks. I don't want to lie but there is no point in revealing otherwise undesirable history if it truly doesn't 'exist'.

The tree fell in the forest and only I was around to hear the noise. Was there a noise?

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[Goro]

Contact the Registrar and find out if it's still on your transcripts.

Just check the box and own the transgression.

 

[DokterMom]

Even if there's no record, you are still obligated to disclose. So disclose.

 

[esob]

My understanding is that you are obligated to disclose it even if it has been purged. If it is found out years later that you failed to disclose it I think it could have serious consequences and is not worth the anxiety of looking over your shoulder for the rest of your career.

 

[petomed]

I do agree with all the above. I kind of figure there will be a chain reaction by checking 'Yes', something like:

Yes.
Application auto filtered out in Primary phase.
If not, phone call / email sent to applicable University.
'Records purged for all students after 7 yrs,' received as response.
Admissions committee tosses out application to be safe.
Or 'trusts' my version of the story.

I still think all would be well with rolling the dice but I've never been much of a liar. I'll play it safe and shoot myself in the foot in advanced. AMCAS is also pretty explicit:

2019 AMCAS Applicant Guide

pg. 20 - Institutional Action

"If you were ever the recipient of any institutional action by any college or medical school for unacceptable academic performance or conduct violation, you must answer Yes, even if such action did not interrupt your enrollment or require you to withdraw. Furthermore, select Yes even if the action does not appear on, or has been deleted or expunged from, your official transcripts as a consequence of institutional policy or personal petition."

"Failure to provide an accurate answer to the question about institutional action or, if applicable, failure to complete the form provided by the school will result in an investigation. Medical schools require you to answer the question accurately and provide all relevant information. Medical schools understand that many individuals learn from the past and emerge stronger as a result. Full disclosure will enable medical schools to evaluate the information more effectively within the context of your application."

 

[petomed]

Contact the Registrar and find out if it's still on your transcripts.

Just check the box and own the transgression.

I have no problem owning the transgression. I am annoyed at the thought of losing an interview through automation because of a person that no longer exists today.

 

[Matthew9Thirtyfive]

The majority of schools aren’t going to throw your app away for that. Just own it and move on. Applicants get in with stuff like that every cycle.

 

[Crayola227]

I wouldn't personally, but you should listen to people who are clearly better than I am

 

[atomi]

If the offense was simply underage drinking literally nobody cares. If you got drunk and set the library on fire that’s a different story.

 

[petomed]

The offense is nothing out of line with stereotypical underage college nonsense. Digging in further and contacting the right folks at the university, I was able to get my hands on detailed public safety reports. Seems like there are a good deal of breadcrumbs laying around across a few different databases...no way will be not reporting on my apps.

 

[BC_89]

I’m going with the majority by stating “If in doubt, check it out.” In the scheme of things, I can think of a dozen other mistakes deemed unforgivable for an institution. Mention it and move on your mature now (or at least present yourself as such should the time come).