Anyone get accepted after answering "YES" to disciplinary action Q?

[true1]

Hey all,

Did any of you get accepted to medical school with "yes" checked on the AMCAS question about discipliary action being taken against you by your college? If so, what was your explanation?

Thanks for the comments

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[AllezLesBleus]

Hey true1,

I answered "Yes" to the disciplinary action question; I failed a class and it was my school's policy to send a letter of warning from the Dean to any student receiving an F in a class, no matter the reason. (Of course, I had no good reason for failing the class, so this didn't matter to me anyway.) I wasn't sure if it counted as true disciplinary action, so I called my school and asked if it counted as such; they thought it didn't and that I would be fine. In the end I decided to respond "Yes" because I didn't want any admissions committee to think I was trying to cover something up when I wasn't. Moral of this: even if it was for something minor, fess up to it if your school took any action against you.

I explained mine thusly: "I received a Letter of Warning from the Dean of Blah Blah University for receiving an F in Blah Blah class in the fall of Blah Blah." That was it. I figured if a med school had a policy against people who had had disciplinary action against them (that is, if you did you're automatically out), then any explanation was useless; on the other hand, I figured if a school didn't have such a policy, there would be a better place to explain it (namely, secondaries or interviews) and that I didn't need to waste their time--or mine--with anything that smacked of trying to make an excuse. Did this work against me? Perhaps, but I was accepted outright at a couple medical schools and recently got off the waitlist at some well-reputed ones. So, in the end, I don't think the question harmed me.

Now, if you did something truly odious (or stupid) and think that the simple statement of fact is so bad that it will sour most admissions committee members, an explanation (NOT an excuse!) is perhaps warranted. If not, e.g., if you did poorly in a class or series of classes and don't have a close relative deathbed/dying reason, just state what happened and move on. There will be time for explanations later.

I hope this helps, and good luck!

 

[Firebird]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by AllezLesBleus:
•Hey true1,

I answered "Yes" to the disciplinary action question; I failed a class and it was my school's policy to send a letter of warning from the Dean to any student receiving an F in a class, no matter the reason. (Of course, I had no good reason for failing the class, so this didn't matter to me anyway.) I wasn't sure if it counted as true disciplinary action, so I called my school and asked if it counted as such; they thought it didn't and that I would be fine. In the end I decided to respond "Yes" because I didn't want any admissions committee to think I was trying to cover something up when I wasn't. Moral of this: even if it was for something minor, fess up to it if your school took any action against you.

I explained mine thusly: "I received a Letter of Warning from the Dean of Blah Blah University for receiving an F in Blah Blah class in the fall of Blah Blah." That was it. I figured if a med school had a policy against people who had had disciplinary action against them (that is, if you did you're automatically out), then any explanation was useless; on the other hand, I figured if a school didn't have such a policy, there would be a better place to explain it (namely, secondaries or interviews) and that I didn't need to waste their time--or mine--with anything that smacked of trying to make an excuse. Did this work against me? Perhaps, but I was accepted outright at a couple medical schools and recently got off the waitlist at some well-reputed ones. So, in the end, I don't think the question harmed me.

Now, if you did something truly odious (or stupid) and think that the simple statement of fact is so bad that it will sour most admissions committee members, an explanation (NOT an excuse!) is perhaps warranted. If not, e.g., if you did poorly in a class or series of classes and don't have a close relative deathbed/dying reason, just state what happened and move on. There will be time for explanations later.

I hope this helps, and good luck!•••••I honestly don't think that was disciplinary action. And I don't think anyone at AMCAS or whatever would have thought so, either. It was called a warning, and that's exactly what it was. But you got in, so it doesn't matter, I don't guess.

 

[AllezLesBleus]

True enough: it wasn't a "disciplinary" action; my apologies if I misled. However, the question on AMCAS asks, "Were you ever the recipient of any institutional action by any college or medical school for unacceptable
academic performance or conduct violation, even though such action may not have interrupted your enrollment or required you to withdraw?" They go on to say that you must answer "Yes" even if the action taken doesn't appear on your transcript, e.g., a Warning. So I disagree: I do think that I fit the bill here (not that I'm proud of this, of course).

 

[Firebird]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by AllezLesBleus:
•I do think that I fit the bill here (not that I'm proud of this, of course).•••••Yep...definitely.

Sorry--I didn't know that was how it was worded.

 

[abefroman]

I answered yes because I had been caught with a fake ID. I got accepted to two places off the waitlist.

 

[Rezul]

I also answered yes because I got housing probation for getting caught with a candle lit in my dorm room. Talk about an anal retentive housing policy! I still got into my number one choice school. Don't worry too much about it!

 

[true1]

bump

 

[vmn2]

hey true1,

you need to go to your profile and change it so that you can accept private messages, i'm trying to send a reply to your message.

vmn2