I have some things on my criminal record (DUI) that I did when I was younger (18)...I am 22 now...how will that affect my chances of getting into med school?
Criminal Record and getting into Med School?
- Thread starter arnee
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arnee said:
If Bush can be president with one, you surely can become a doctor with one. You may be asked about it. Be honest and I'm sure you'll be fine. I asked an admissions officer about a similar situation and she said they understand people make mistakes.
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arnee said:
i have a misdemeanor that could be considered worse, but i got in on oct 15th! all ican say is be honest and apply to places that seem liberal. good luck.
capt
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arnee said:
Exact same situation as you (22 now, DUI when I was 17). I don't think it has been a factor at all, only one interviewer has asked me what I learned from it. An admissions dean actually told me they understand everyone makes mistakes, and something stupid you did in high school shouldn't prevent you from doing what you want to do in life. And, considering our president and vice-president have a combined THREE DUI's between them, I think we're going to be alright.
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On my college record, I have a disciplinary action for cheating. I was suspended for one semester, but my overall record (3.7 gpa in biomedical engineering, MCAT score of 14 in PS, 11 in BS and 10 in VR, etc) are all fine. I know the previous posts have been about DUI's, but what about having this on my record?
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ser1218 said:
I'm not on any committee, but I'd think that cheating would be a bigger deal to them than a DUI or shoplifting
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just don't go to your interview drunk and you should be a-ok.
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ser1218 said:
it's definately going to make your road a more difficult with this on your record, but it's not impossible.
as with so many things, the importance here is to show that you've grown from the mistake.
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Isn't it funny that we're brushing off DUI's as silly, but acting like cheating is the kiss of death??
I'm just saying it to highlight how weird our perspectives are as pre-meds - I'm not trying to rag on anyone, nor pass judgement.
Just a thought
I'm just saying it to highlight how weird our perspectives are as pre-meds - I'm not trying to rag on anyone, nor pass judgement.
Just a thought
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SitraAchra said:
I know what you mean. Im not sure that anyone is saying a DUI is silly, but I definitely consider it worse, as someone could have been killed. But, I suppose everyone has their own opinions *shrug*
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Does AMCAS REALLY checks your criminal record? Do they pull your credit history as well? Should I report my late payments? 🙂
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Yes, report everything. I heard amcas has little cameras in our houses and everywhere. They even watch us in the shower! 
Everyone should reveal their deepest secrets and hope for the best! 😛
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jammin06 said:
you'll be fine
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jammin06 said:
That's not too bad.
"We've got a 400 lb English teacher back at the station that's just gonna LOVE YOU, son." 😀
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just read this today:: relatively speaking, a DUI isnt so bad. here's an excerpt and the link,
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20041019/1a_medschoolxx.art.htm
Slaying quickens push for med school checks
Case involving Olympian- turned-medical student renews call for mandatory criminal background checks before admission
By Erik Brady and Robert Davis
USA TODAY
Robert Howard looked like an ideal candidate for medical school. His grades were good and his recommendations solid. Plus he had a certain intangible that made him stand out from the crowd: He was an Olympian who was among the finest triple jumpers in the world.
But Howard, 28, also had a violent temper, which officials at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) would not learn until mid-August, when the third-year medical student killed his wife and himself, according to police.
They say he stabbed her about three dozen times at their home before jumping out of a 10th-story window on campus. His wife, Robin Mitchell, 31, was chief neurosurgery resident at the UAMS College of Medicine in Little Rock.
Evidence of Howard's violent streak was available through a criminal background check. He pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in 1998; the conviction on a Class A misdemeanor was part of a plea bargain under which felony charges of residential burglary and terroristic threats were dropped. He was accused of breaking down a door and menacing a man with a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol.
Richard P. Wheeler, student affairs dean at the medical school, says if the admissions committee had known this, it probably would not have admitted Howard when he applied in 1999. But UAMS, like most of the nation's 125 medical schools, does not run background checks. Its application asks if prospective students have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor other than minor traffic violations. Howard checked a box that said no.
Many medical schools now are considering mandatory criminal background checks for the men and women who apply to become the nation's future doctors.
The Association of American Medical Colleges and its member schools had been talking about the issue for months before the Howard case. Their interest had been raised by a greater societal concern for security because of terrorism and the pedophile priest scandal in the Roman Catholic Church.
?In an age of uncertainty and anxiety, people want to be certain about the qualifications of the professionals who serve them and their families,? says Robert Sabalis, associate vice president of student affairs and programs for the medical school association.
The Howard case has given the idea of mandatory background checks added urgency, according to the association, which hopes to have proposed national guidelines for schools to consider by the end of the year. UAMS is also studying the issue independently.
The selection process for medical schools is so rigorous that nobody believes criminals are routinely getting accepted. But the Howard case is a grim reminder that relying on an applicant's word is risky.
?Self-reporting is not very reliable,? Sabalis says. ?There is a general concern about whether we are doing enough to protect patients.?
http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20041019/1a_medschoolxx.art.htm
Slaying quickens push for med school checks
Case involving Olympian- turned-medical student renews call for mandatory criminal background checks before admission
By Erik Brady and Robert Davis
USA TODAY
Robert Howard looked like an ideal candidate for medical school. His grades were good and his recommendations solid. Plus he had a certain intangible that made him stand out from the crowd: He was an Olympian who was among the finest triple jumpers in the world.
But Howard, 28, also had a violent temper, which officials at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) would not learn until mid-August, when the third-year medical student killed his wife and himself, according to police.
They say he stabbed her about three dozen times at their home before jumping out of a 10th-story window on campus. His wife, Robin Mitchell, 31, was chief neurosurgery resident at the UAMS College of Medicine in Little Rock.
Evidence of Howard's violent streak was available through a criminal background check. He pleaded guilty to first-degree assault in 1998; the conviction on a Class A misdemeanor was part of a plea bargain under which felony charges of residential burglary and terroristic threats were dropped. He was accused of breaking down a door and menacing a man with a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol.
Richard P. Wheeler, student affairs dean at the medical school, says if the admissions committee had known this, it probably would not have admitted Howard when he applied in 1999. But UAMS, like most of the nation's 125 medical schools, does not run background checks. Its application asks if prospective students have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor other than minor traffic violations. Howard checked a box that said no.
Many medical schools now are considering mandatory criminal background checks for the men and women who apply to become the nation's future doctors.
The Association of American Medical Colleges and its member schools had been talking about the issue for months before the Howard case. Their interest had been raised by a greater societal concern for security because of terrorism and the pedophile priest scandal in the Roman Catholic Church.
?In an age of uncertainty and anxiety, people want to be certain about the qualifications of the professionals who serve them and their families,? says Robert Sabalis, associate vice president of student affairs and programs for the medical school association.
The Howard case has given the idea of mandatory background checks added urgency, according to the association, which hopes to have proposed national guidelines for schools to consider by the end of the year. UAMS is also studying the issue independently.
The selection process for medical schools is so rigorous that nobody believes criminals are routinely getting accepted. But the Howard case is a grim reminder that relying on an applicant's word is risky.
?Self-reporting is not very reliable,? Sabalis says. ?There is a general concern about whether we are doing enough to protect patients.?
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During my interview at KU, they mentioned that KU will be starting background checks on all students (beginning with my class). They also said that due to several reasons, this was going to quickly become the standard and that they didn't really like it anymore than we do.
Oh yea, and guess who gets to pay for the background checks!!! Here's a hint, it's not the schools.
s
Oh yea, and guess who gets to pay for the background checks!!! Here's a hint, it's not the schools.
s
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jammin06 said:
For some reason this reminded me of a night I was at the county jail, booking a guy I'd caught buglarizing. I was filling out a booking sheet and property forms, when out of my eye I see a guy in one of the holding tanks who looked at LOT like a kid I went to HS with (HS being about 500 miles from where I was at). So I check the board, and sure enough, that's his name up there!!!
I walked over and the guy recognizes me and starts yelling "GET ME OUT OF HERE CHRISTINE!!!! PLEASE!!!" I have one of the deputies that works at the jail pop the door and I stood there talking to him a while... he was just out partying, got a little too wild, got in a fight, and got brought in for public intoxication. I tell him that they've got to hold him for a minimum of four hours, then breathalyzer him, and if he's reasonably sober and can find a friend to pick him up, he'll be out of there. Meanwhile, he was alone in a tank (I asked the deputies to leave it that way... he was a skinny blonde kid who's best talent was computer programming). Such a mind flip... he'd been such a pompous ass in HS.
Anyway, to answer people's questions about cheating, or public intox and D.U.I. (and this answer will sound very similar to those who say "I got an F my freshman year in college!!") the longer ago it happened, the better. The more you can explain that you learned a lesson from it and will never do it again, the better. A little community service focused on helping people with alcohol problems would impress me more, if I were an interviewer.
Everyone in the world makes mistakes... some are bigger than others, and some are harder to recover from, but not much is insurmountable as long as you embrace the fact that you F'd up, confess it, make amends, and realize that it won't happen again.
Do not... under any circumstances, blame it on anyone but yourself. "That cop was a jerk" "My friends made me drink" "I just had to drive around the block to get home." All of which may be true to some extent, but will not impress interviewers. When asked say, "Yes, I drank too much that night." (short and sweet, don't belabour it or get into details... cops got called because you were fighting because you were drunk would be a lot of details, unless assault is in your jacket, don't mention it) and then a quick, "Afterwards I realized that __________________ " and "Since then, I've really come to appreciate how many people have serious addiction problems with alcohol through my volunteer work with ___________."
If you handle it right, it's not a problem whatsoever. And it's possible they won't ask you at all.
One caveat... I'm not saying this with any inside information with medical school interviews (obviously) but i DO have the perspective of being an interviewer for other sorts of jobs where background checks are done.
Good luck to everyone.
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ser1218 said:
I have a friend who had a disciplinary action for cheating. He didn't get any acceptances the first time he applied (his stats were not as good as yours), but he did get accepted the second time he applied. Everyone has a weak point (or several) on their app, the point is, if you really want to get in, just keep trying. Apply early, and to many places. The admissions game can be random and arbitrary, so don't get discouraged. If you have to take a second or third time to get in, who cares, you still get an MD at the end. Plus, I am a firm believer that time off before med school is a good thing, so if it turns out that you don't get in, you might be better off in the long run (more motivated when you do get in). I hope this helps.
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CoverMe said:
This is very, very good advice. Evertime someone ask about a criminal problem in the past, this answer should be copied and pasted for them.
thanks for the great reply.
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stoic said:
A-A-ok
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sophiethe1md2b said:
they may or may check you, but it is widely known, that even if you make it through med school, you have to apply for a license to practice, and then you are caught, all that time and money wasted.
i have also heard of ppl who were caught for whatever reason in their last year of med school... harsh...
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cooldreams said:
Exactly, it's just not worth it to lie.
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I just wanted to second stoic re CoverMe's post: great advice and thanks for sharing your experience. It is sometimes prett droll to see how heated up people on SDN get without any experience to back up their ideas.
