Crimes Question

[Faze2]

---

Members do not see this ad.

When I was 18 I got caught with beer in my room. I was cited with "Possession of Alcohol" and lost my license for 3 months. I talked about this in my AMCAS so I am not trying to hide anything, but a lot of the secondaries are not clear with their 'CONVICTED OF A CRIME' questions. It was a summary offense and quite a number of years ago. I don't want to put Yes if I don't have to, because it wasn't a misdamenor or a felony, but I don't want to put NO and have it show up on a background check down the road, because again, I am not trying to hide anything. I've talked to a few of my friends who are lawyers and most say don't put it because it was a summary offense, but none are 100% sure of what to do. Has anyone else had this issue as well? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[NotSur]

.

 

[caseofthemndays]

You lost your driver's license for having beer in your room? huh.... I think MIP is just a fine/citation, like at the level of a traffic ticket. I think they just asked for convictions of misdemeanor or felony, so, no I wouldn't put it.

 

[J ROD]

I would not put and said I checked with legal folks and they advised not to since it was not that serious.

I would def not draw attention to it and put it on my AMCAS! 😱

 

[Laryngophed]

When I was 18 I got caught with beer in my room. I was cited with "Possession of Alcohol" and lost my license for 3 months. I talked about this in my AMCAS so I am not trying to hide anything, but a lot of the secondaries are not clear with their 'CONVICTED OF A CRIME' questions. It was a summary offense and quite a number of years ago. I don't want to put Yes if I don't have to, because it wasn't a misdamenor or a felony, but I don't want to put NO and have it show up on a background check down the road, because again, I am not trying to hide anything. I've talked to a few of my friends who are lawyers and most say don't put it because it was a summary offense, but none are 100% sure of what to do. Has anyone else had this issue as well? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

OP pull your criminal history. Start by calling your local sheriff's office and if that doesn't work your state's highway patrol will certainly have a record for you. Typically there are two types of criminal background checks. One is based on your name, SSN and DOB, the other is those plus your fingerprints. Get the second one. If there is nothing on there, then you can safely assume that no adcom will get any different information.

 

[chman]

When I was 18 I got caught with beer in my room. I was cited with "Possession of Alcohol" and lost my license for 3 months. I talked about this in my AMCAS so I am not trying to hide anything, but a lot of the secondaries are not clear with their 'CONVICTED OF A CRIME' questions. It was a summary offense and quite a number of years ago. I don't want to put Yes if I don't have to, because it wasn't a misdamenor or a felony, but I don't want to put NO and have it show up on a background check down the road, because again, I am not trying to hide anything. I've talked to a few of my friends who are lawyers and most say don't put it because it was a summary offense, but none are 100% sure of what to do. Has anyone else had this issue as well? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks.

You should be fine. Don't lie about it whatever you do. I have written some fairly lengthy responses to this in the past. So check out the search function.

Bottom line, nobody here can tell you for sure. Most states and schools have specific crimes (usually felonies against children, the elderly, and vulnerable people, that bar's one from acceptance). Consult a lawyer that specializes in this kind of thing, your state board, and the schools you want to apply to (don't have to use your real name if you don't want to).

Most people have a little blemish from the past. Good Luck.

 

[chman]

I would not put and said I checked with legal folks and they advised not to since it was not that serious.

I would def not draw attention to it and put it on my AMCAS! 😱

If the question is specific the OP will get in way more trouble for lying than admitting to a small violation.

 

[sustentacular]

This is only slightly related to the OP's question but I didn't feel like starting a new thread. What system do the medical schools use to check if you've had an "Institutional Action" against you? I called my undergrad to see if I had any conduct violations on my record (specifically the time I was written up for having a candle in a dorm room.. so dumb) and they had no idea what I was talking about and said minor conduct violations didn't show up on transcripts. So is there some other reporting system for things that wouldn't show up on a transcript?

 

[chman]

This is only slightly related to the OP's question but I didn't feel like starting a new thread. What system do the medical schools use to check if you've had an "Institutional Action" against you? I called my undergrad to see if I had any conduct violations on my record (specifically the time I was written up for having a candle in a dorm room.. so dumb) and they had no idea what I was talking about and said minor conduct violations didn't show up on transcripts. So is there some other reporting system for things that wouldn't show up on a transcript?

I think it gets sent with transcripts, but I'm not sure, that is more for cheating and stuff, and even then I'm not positive that is how the go about it. I doubt they will have that written anywhere except in the dorm supervisors log or something.

 

[J ROD]

This is only slightly related to the OP's question but I didn't feel like starting a new thread. What system do the medical schools use to check if you've had an "Institutional Action" against you? I called my undergrad to see if I had any conduct violations on my record (specifically the time I was written up for having a candle in a dorm room.. so dumb) and they had no idea what I was talking about and said minor conduct violations didn't show up on transcripts. So is there some other reporting system for things that wouldn't show up on a transcript?

I doubt it...unless you did something major and had to go before the school's displinary com.

 

[J ROD]

If the question is specific the OP will get in way more trouble for lying than admitting to a small violation.

I just dont think that tiny violation will be listed. Why let them know something that would not show?

Give yourself a red flag?

But, I would def run a check on myself. Then, go from there!

 

[Josh22]

This is only slightly related to the OP's question but I didn't feel like starting a new thread. What system do the medical schools use to check if you've had an "Institutional Action" against you? I called my undergrad to see if I had any conduct violations on my record (specifically the time I was written up for having a candle in a dorm room.. so dumb) and they had no idea what I was talking about and said minor conduct violations didn't show up on transcripts. So is there some other reporting system for things that wouldn't show up on a transcript?

I can answer this question:

I heavily researched the "Institutional Action" issue because I myself was concerned about it. I was a chemical engineering major and my second semester of college I was on academic probation (at my school, having a GPA of less than a 2.5 constitutes academic probation). I was concerned that this was institutional action. I called AMCAS numerous times and every representative I asked stated the exact same thing: Institutional Action is when your institution is literally forced to take action as a result of something you have done. This was vague, so I asked for each AMCAS rep to elaborate and they each said something along the lines of, Call your undergraduate university and ask them if your academic probation was institutional action. If your university registrar says no, then AMCAS will not be doing any investigation. One woman I spoke to mentioned that institutional action to her meant a "cheating offense" or something that would constitute disciplinary action at your university (underage drinking).

The major point here is -- it varies by university. Call your registrar (I called mine) and they will tell you.

BTW - my academic probation was not considered institutional action. It was considered just a "warning". & I just was accepted EDP to a US MD school, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, even for those of us with a few black marks on our record!

Good luck!!