Applying to top schools?

[Biochemist3412]

Resolved

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[LizzyM]

Read the AMCAS instruction manual. Whether or not this is reportable depends on your state of residence, etc. Because it did not rise to the level of a misdemeanor, it may not be reportable to AMCAS at all. In essence, this may be like a parking ticket. Even a parking violation can be recorded by the government entity issuing a ticket but won't be reported on a criminal background check or keep you out of school.

 

[mediocrestudent97]

Look into getting it sealed. Some offenses like that you may be able to reach out to the district/county court and jump through some hoops (write a letter to the judge, a little community service etc.) to have it not totally expunged but sealed from jobs and in this case AMCAS's background check. AMCAS requires that you report any felony/misdemeanor offense besides those that have been sealed/expunged and when you do the background check itself it asks to disclose the exact same thing. Being that this sounds like it was maybe a minor misdemeanor (correct me if I am wrong), you may be alright anyways.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Order yourself an extensive background check first. If it shows up, then depending on how long the offense happened, it might qualified to be sealed or expunged. Contact a criminal law attorney for advice on how to go about doing that...

 

[Planes2Doc]

See if you can get this expunged. If not, then own up to it. This doesn't sound like a big deal at all, and they may look past it.

 

[deleted1129181]

Harvard or BU

LOL

 

[TragicalDrFaust]

I recommend getting a background check done on yourself if your state doesn't have a public criminal database. It's $30 - $50. You can also get one done if you apply for rover (dog walking app) or care.com (babysitting service) if you want to make sure you're getting a proper one done.

Regarding your last point about marijuana being legal in certain states: what matters is you broke the rules/law of the land. IMO the bigger red flag is not the use of drugs itself but your failure to uphold your end of the social contract, at the risk of waxing philosophical. From a more practical standpoint, marijuana is still included in a pre-employment drug screen in any US hospital so yes, it matters that broke the rule/law and smoked even if it's legal where you intend to matriculate.

That being said it's possible to be accepted with a criminal record. You can PM me if you want to know how I know.

 

[Goro]

Hi all,

I have been charged with 2 petty offenses at a National park - procession and under the influence of a controlled substance (weed). Long story short, I was smoking with a couple friends in the woods and a ranger caught us. There was no arrest, just issues fines. It’s a petty offense and I was given the option to fight it in court but have given up on that option, and the 2 petty offenses will be on my federal record for 5-7 years.

Is this something that the AMCAS background check picks up? Is this something medical schools will care about if the AMCAS does pick it up? Like in Massachusetts, marijuana is recreational… will Harvard or BU etc see this as a red flag?

I’m applying this cycle and scared this might just be a red flag and will be rejected everywhere, please let me know you think

Why do people always assume that schools like Drexel, Wake Forest, or Leola would be more willing to overlook a drug offense than Harvard or Yale????

 

[BritainKittenMittens]

OP just wants everyone to know that they're elite caliber.