Criminal Record over 10 years ago

[Mikeyboy8]

Student Doctor Network,
I was in and out of trouble in my younger years (16-17) and was arrested multiple times and charged with a few crimes. I was young and stupid back then, I am now 32 years of age and have turned my whole life around. I went from a high school dropout (10th grade) to getting a GED, Associate's degree in science and now a Bachelor's degree in Biology. I graduate this spring and my GPA is currently 3.7 cumulative and have been doing research in molecular biology (translational and regenerative medicine) under a distinguished research professor. I am also a Robert E. McNair Scholar (a program for underprivileged students to receive PhDs) and I have presented my research at three research symposiums (two Texas A&M systems conference and one international cell biology conference ASCB, which I am a member of) all in the fall semester which I had to take all my final exams early to attend, and still made a 4.o! I am currently trying to get my research published and my P.I. feels our work is very publishable. I am studying for the MCAT this semester and defending my undergraduate thesis as well.

I was wondering if my criminal record will be hinder my chances of securing a spot in a US school. My record consists of.........................

1.) arrested at age 15 of possession of alcohol, fireworks and vandalism of school property (spray painting). I did completed a program that dissolved theses offenses.

2.) arrested and convicted of failure to identify (class B misdemeanor I think) served time in jail at age 17 or 18, I think

3.) arrested for burglary of a vehicle, I was not charged with but arrested since I was with the guys who did it (guilty by association)

4.) arrested for 2 class A misdemeanor assault (but theses charges were dropped) and class A resisting arrest and class A evading arrest. The later two were the only charges that I was convicted of and I served my time in jail for these.

Many of the other times I was arrested was for unpaid traffic tickets, I was also arrested

I did an FBI check on my criminal record and the assault charges that I was arrested for do not show up. I also petitioned the state for the record of this particular incident and since there was a minor present at the incident, they would not release the record. I am very embarrassed about my past, but I am also proud of how far I have come. Many of the people that I hung out with when I was younger are all either in jail, high school dropouts and jobless. I do not associate with them as I have turned my life around. The last time I was in trouble was when I was 18, I am now 32. If anyone could offer advice, I would by very grateful.
-Mike, student researcher

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[Mikeyboy8]

Please excuse my grammatical errors.

 

[FMDoge2020]

This is something you would be writing in your personal statement.
If you have a strong desire (and a good reason) to become a doctor, then I think you'll have a chance.

So make sure you write an excellent essay that brings out who you are NOW.
Chances might not be good, but you should always apply nevertheless.

Your grade is not bad at all, as long as you have a strong MCAT score and recommendations (might need some clinical and volunteer experience), medical school would love to have you as a student.

This forum and your school has many good resources to help you prepare your application.
1)Be confident in who you are now
2)Be ready to submit your application early
3)Be prepared to be asked about your past
4)Face and own your failure in the past, allow it to help you push through the obstacles.

 

[Goro]

I think that both enough time has passed, and that you've behaved in an exemplary manner, to erase doubts about your character. Go for it. Just be open and do as suggested in the above post. Good luck! And let us know how things turn out.

 

[Mikeyboy8]

Thank you YoushallpassthyMCAT! I am very excited to have made it thus far, and having the opportunity to go to college (I'll be the first to graduate in my family). In my research, we are using a unique RNA to regenerate cardiac tissue post-myocardial infarction; more specifically, I am using this RNA to transform fibroblast cells directly into cardiac cells. My mentor and P.I. has trained many students who have become distinguished MD/PhDs (research scientists) and feels that I should apply to a MD/PhD program. I need to collect some more data (mainly western blot and a qt-pcr) before I can finalize my paper and send it to various journals, but my mentor strongly feels I could get published.

I also should mention, I worked as a CNA/medication aide at a nursing home and a caretaker (concurrently) for a patient with cerebral palsy. I got the opportunity to work in the med/surg unit as well as other hospital units while I was in nursing school, but I changed my major to pre-med as this was my true desire. I'm sure to be asked about why I changed majors and why I didn't finish nursing school. The scope of practice for nursing is much different than that of a physician, I would like to be more involved in the diagnosis and the critical analysis of patient care, that is why I changed my major.

 

[Mikeyboy8]

Thank you YoushallpassthyMCAT and Goro! I am very pleased to hear from you all and value your thoughts and comments.