Applying with an arrest record

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Hi guys,
Last year, I was arrested for possession of drugs and charged with a third degree felony (this was in Dallas). I was in a car with some friends, and we got searched, and everyone in the car got charged with possession (some more severe than others). Anyway, the DA rejected my case due to the fact I didn't have anything on me, and I was illegally searched. I still have the arrest record, and I can't get it expunged for another 2 years, however, the DA told me that I have absolutely no record, and I'm completely clean. They also offered to provide me an official letter stating that I am clean. I would like to remain in Texas, and it seems on TMDSAS they require you to disclose everything (unless expungement).


My question for you guys is, how would that affect my chances or will there be any prejudice? I made the mistake of hanging out with the wrong friends, and ended up getting screwed for it. And on the explanation prompt, how would y'all recommend I answer it (600 characters).
My GPA was 3.69 and MCAT 510 (if that can help y'all tell me about potential chances)
Thanks,
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Plan on staying in Texas for a few more years.
Get a decent job that has some relevance to medicine or service or research.
Get better friends.
Get the charges expunged.
Apply after the charges are expunged. If this means retaking the MCAT, prep the hell out of it and go for it.
 
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Goro said:
I agree with my wise colleague.

Also, get better friends, because the current ones put your medical carerr into stasis.
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Why is his medical career into stasis? If the DA rejected the case, there is no conviction on the record. Wouldn’t it be unfair for AMCAS/AACOMAS/TMDSAS to play judge when the DA has already played judge and determined “not guilty.”
 
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LondonVibes said:
Why is his medical career into stasis? If the DA rejected the case, there is no conviction on the record. Wouldn’t it be unfair for AMCAS/AACOMAS/TMDSAS to play judge when the DA has already played judge and determined “not guilty.”
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Because OP has an arrest record.
 
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LondonVibes said:
I see. Would saying the DA looked at my case and determined the arrest was wrongful suffice?
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"Suffice"? I dunno. Suppose you're on an adcom. Everything else being equal, who is a more desirable candidate -- the one who was never arrested or the one who was arrested with insufficient evidence to go forward? It's huge leap from " not enough to convict" to "wrongful."

This is why it's probably safer to only apply when the arrest is not subject to disclosure or discovery on a background check. JMHO, even though I'm not a "Big Gun." 😎
 
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KnightDoc said:
"Suffice"? I dunno. Suppose you're on an adcom. Everything else being equal, who is a more desirable candidate -- the one who was never arrested or the one who was arrested with insufficient evidence to go forward? It's huge leap from " not enough to convict" to "wrongful."

This is why it's probably safer to only apply when the arrest is not subject to disclosure or discovery on a background check. JMHO, even though I'm not a "Big Gun." 😎
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Omg knightdoc are you pre-lawyer too?? You wear so many capes 😉
 
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LizzyM said:
Plan on staying in Texas for a few more years.
Get a decent job that has some relevance to medicine or service or research.
Get better friends.
Get the charges expunged.
Apply after the charges are expunged. If this means retaking the MCAT, prep the hell out of it and go for it.
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They’re no longer my friends. I’m currently working in research at my number 1 med school. It’ll take 2 years of waiting before I can expunge it due to being a felony.
I’ve called TMDSAS and different schools, and they said they don’t care about Minor in Consumption and Marijuana charges. And my case was dropped because the DA determined that there was not enough evidence to prosecute me and the fact I was illegally searched and unfairly arrested. I will be getting a letter from them stating that.
And yes there was a racial factor involved, as all of us were brown and I was the only one without a stereotypical Muslim Name (I’m not Muslim, they just assumed I was).
 
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Go ahead and apply with a felony arrest on your record. Come back and let us know how things turned out as it will help us understand how to counsel others who are in a similar situation.

I'm giving advice as a "best option IMHO" but if you want to take a risk similar to eating sushi during pregnancy, go for it.
 
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LizzyM said:
Go ahead and apply with a felony arrest on your record. Come back and let us know how things turned out as it will help us understand how to counsel others who are in a similar situation.

I'm giving advice as a "best option IMHO" but if you want to take a risk similar to eating sushi during pregnancy, go for it.
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I can agree with that. The vast majority of these arrests become convictions, so it’s hard to know how an arrest without a conviction will affect things. Maybe he can explain not only that the DA refused to prosecute, but WHY the DA refused to prosecute.
 
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LunaOri said:
Listen to LizzyM. “Not enough evidence to proaecute” is not the same as “innocent”. And claiming there was racial bias (even if there was) makes you look like you have a chip on your shoulder.
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Doesn’t keeping someone out on an arrest alone destroy the whole point of innocent, until proven guilty?
 
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LondonVibes said:
I can agree with that. The vast majority of these arrests become convictions, so it’s hard to know how an arrest without a conviction will affect things. Maybe he can explain not only that the DA refused to prosecute, but WHY the DA refused to prosecute.
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See that’s the thing, the District Clerk can’t tell me why they didn’t prosecute, and they can’t find out why. My lawyer says this is the second time in over 20 years of practice he’s seen this happen.
We just believe it was due to a search without warrant and the fact that the others claimed responsibility for the drugs
 
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Yeah..... this uncertainty wouldn’t be enough to convince me if I was a reader.
I mean you were felony arrested, even if you didn’t have drugs you were in a car with enough drugs to convict your friends of felonies.... just being there would be enough for me to be like what the **** was this kid thinking.
Cook1e said:
See that’s the thing, the District Clerk can’t tell me why they didn’t prosecute, and they can’t find out why. My lawyer says this is the second time in over 20 years of practice he’s seen this happen.
We just believe it was due to a search without warrant and the fact that the others claimed responsibility for the drugs
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Cook1e said:
Hi guys,
Last year, I was arrested for possession of drugs and charged with a third degree felony (this was in Dallas). I was in a car with some friends, and we got searched, and everyone in the car got charged with possession (some more severe than others). Anyway, the DA rejected my case due to the fact I didn't have anything on me, and I was illegally searched. I still have the arrest record, and I can't get it expunged for another 2 years, however, the DA told me that I have absolutely no record, and I'm completely clean. They also offered to provide me an official letter stating that I am clean. I would like to remain in Texas, and it seems on TMDSAS they require you to disclose everything (unless expungement).


My question for you guys is, how would that affect my chances or will there be any prejudice? I made the mistake of hanging out with the wrong friends, and ended up getting screwed for it. And on the explanation prompt, how would y'all recommend I answer it (600 characters).
My GPA was 3.69 and MCAT 510 (if that can help y'all tell me about potential chances)
Thanks,
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So the highlighted is speculation on your part?
Anyway, you came here for advice and now you don’t like it despite the fact that some of the responses are from the best sources of information on SDN. And like @Talldoctor96 said, the convoluted message you are giving isn’t strong enough or realistic enough to be believable. You are just going to have to accept the fact that you are going to have to wait a few years to get that arrest expunged. Try using these years to build a competitive and outstanding application. Use this experience and maybe focus your activities on the consequences of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
 
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Talldoctor96 said:
Yeah..... this uncertainty wouldn’t be enough to convince me if I was a reader.
I mean you were felony arrested, even if you didn’t have drugs you were in a car with enough drugs to convict your friends of felonies.... just being there would be enough for me to be like what the **** was this kid thinking.
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Okay man. In Texas they can charge everyone in the car. Dallas is really strict in drug laws. And 2 of us had no idea there were drugs in the car. We both got our **** dropped, while the other 2 got charged.
 
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LondonVibes said:
Agreed. I still disagree on keeping someone out unless there’s a conviction or a chance of conviction.
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Yep, quite of bit of people are arrested unfairly. Cops like to arrest people, then let the judges deal with it. It’s how they make their money.. and they were laughing at us the whole time.
 
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Cook1e said:
Yep, quite of bit of people are arrested unfairly. Cops like to arrest people, then let the judges deal with it. It’s how they make their money.. and they were laughing at us the whole time.
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It's the job of the police to make the arrest, and the job of the judicial system to convict or not convict. That's how our legal system works.
 
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A life lesson to behold, OP: Hang out with trash and you're eventually going to start to stink like trash.
 
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tahinitajin said:
Wow is that how you will think about and judge your future patients?
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And what if he does? As long as the applicant recognizes that patients deserve the best medical care we have to offer regardless of their lifestyle choices and the company they keep, what does it matter?
 
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LunaOri said:
You are young enough that waiting a couple of years shouldn't be a problem for you. Wait to apply until your arrest has been expunged. Meanwhile, keep up your volunteering and clinical activities, and your application will only get better!
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Tell that to my Indian parents who are pissed that I’m taking 2 gap years
 
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And to answer your original question: be humble in your explanation. Take responsibility, and show remorse. Be clear that this kind of problem will never be repeated.
 
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sarcasmrules said:
A life lesson to behold, OP: Hang out with trash and you're eventually going to start to stink like trash.
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LizzyM said:
And what if he does? As long as the applicant recognizes that patients deserve the best medical care we have to offer regardless of their lifestyle choices and the company they keep, what does it matter?
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With respect, I don’t think it’s appropriate to refer to anyone as “trash” especially when you know nothing about them, whether they are are a patient or not.
 
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RJ McReady said:
The words you use matter, my friend
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Again, it's a saying. If it's clear if OP hangs out with that crowd, it's going to hurt OP's chances of becoming a doctor. There are many variations of that metaphor such as "Your tribe determines your vibe." But I prefer the one I used as it was more appropriate. Personal preference. Get over it.
 
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