disclosing criminal charges voluntarily?

[emilia112]

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Hi, so i had a misdemeanor charge for MIP Alc in my county that I was never fingerprinted for, charges for dismissed, never convicted, restricted and sealed.
I am currently applying and amcas says I do not have to disclose that.

I was wondering should I voluntarily disclose this to school. I know it’s only going to hurt me but i’m not sure what to do because i’m scared if it pops out of background checks later and they think im being dishonest so they rescind my acceptance.

However I was never asked solely about arrests only on the applications only convictions and stuff which never happened so obviously i said NO. but someone said i should’ve put it in the “anything else to tell us” box bc lying is the same as omission

I’m super scared idk what to do

 

[PickaGodnPray]

If AMCAS says no, you do not need to. If you are so worried, pay for a background check on yourself. See which ones some medical schools commonly use and see if anything pops up. That should relieve any stress you have about it "popping up" out of the blue for you.

 

[Mad Jack]

No need to report

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Article (from 2022 before the AMCAS policy change, be aware of the prompts from individual programs)

Reporting an Institutional Action | Student Doctor Network | SDN

Last month, we discussed what constitutes an Institutional Action in the eyes of the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC). If you have one of

www.studentdoctor.net

 

[emilia112]

Article (from 2022 before the AMCAS policy change, be aware of the prompts from individual programs)

Reporting an Institutional Action | Student Doctor Network | SDN

Last month, we discussed what constitutes an Institutional Action in the eyes of the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC). If you have one of

www.studentdoctor.net

wait i thought IA is the school reprimanding you but my school never even found out and i did nothing for them

 

[Mr.Smile12]

wait i thought IA is the school reprimanding you but my school never even found out and i did nothing for them

For your situation, who brought the charges? Does your university's office of student conduct have a record, or was this handled by law enforcement? (I just want to make sure.)

 

[emilia112]

For your situation, who brought the charges? Does your university's office of student conduct have a record, or was this handled by law enforcement? (I just want to make sure.)

law enforcement. i was arrested on the city ordinance violation not on the state level so i was never fingerprinted so its not on the fbi check or anything. o never reported it my school (even tho i was supposed to technically) so they never found

 

[Mr.Smile12]

law enforcement. i was arrested on the city ordinance violation not on the state level so i was never fingerprinted so its not on the fbi check or anything. o never reported it my school (even tho i was supposed to technically) so they never found

Okay... reading this thread late. Then it wouldn't count as an institutional action. Usually IA's come from violations of a student code of conduct or academic integrity policy.

We don't know whether the class of misdemeanor you had been charged with would be reportable to a background check, but since it was dismissed, I would suspect that it would not be a big issue. Just don't do it again. How many college students do you think ever possessed alcohol in a manner that would get them into legal trouble? Of course, this also goes into the fuzzy arena of whether you tried marijuana (smoked but didn't inhale).

 

[LizzyM]

Don't report what is not reportable. It just makes more work for everyone and signals that you aren't able to follow directions.

 

[Med Ed]

but someone said i should’ve put it in the “anything else to tell us” box bc lying is the same as omission

I’m super scared idk what to do

What you should do is stop listening to that person.

There aren't any trick questions on the application, and you don't get extra points for not following the directions and oversharing.

 

[AJ25]

Don't report what is not reportable. It just makes more work for everyone and signals that you aren't able to follow directions.

LOL. Sweep that misdeameanor under the rug but ALWAYS report if you attended medical school in the Caribbean. (Even if you won a Borrower Defense case which accused THE SCHOOL of misconduct..and the US DOE wiped out all the loans you took out to attend the school...and there is no record of) I wish this advice had more consistency across the board because you're just going to confuse everyone.

Personally, I would want to dig a little deeper to know why someone has infractions with the law before offering them a spot in a medical school class. The last thing you want is some student becoming a doctor and accepting bribe money as a physician. But hey, that's just me.

 

[LizzyM]

Well, seeing how many people have been wrongly arrested in LA, Chicago, Charlotte and now New Orleans, only to be released days or even weeks later with no charges filed, reporting arrests that did not result in charges, never mind pleas or convictions, is a waste of everyone's time.

 

[Moko]

LOL. Sweep that misdeameanor under the rug but ALWAYS report if you attended medical school in the Caribbean. (Even if you won a Borrower Defense case which accused THE SCHOOL of misconduct..and the US DOE wiped out all the loans you took out to attend the school...and there is no record of) I wish this advice had more consistency across the board because you're just going to confuse everyone.

Personally, I would want to dig a little deeper to know why someone has infractions with the law before offering them a spot in a medical school class. The last thing you want is some student becoming a doctor and accepting bribe money as a physician. But hey, that's just me.

A misdemeanor charge is very different than a misdemeanor conviction. Unless a school (or AMCAS in the future) specifically asks about arrests and charges, it is neither required nor recommended for the OP to disclose information that is not supportive of their application.

In contrast, AMCAS does specifically ask about prior medical school matriculations, so applicants are required to answer honestly. If AMCAS does away with this question in the future, we would not be telling students to disclose this info either. So I fail to see where the inconsistency is. Just my thoughts.

 

[AJ25]

A misdemeanor charge is very different than a misdemeanor conviction. Unless a school (or AMCAS in the future) specifically asks about arrests and charges, it is neither required nor recommended for the OP to disclose information that is not supportive of their application.

In contrast, AMCAS does specifically ask about prior medical school matriculations, so applicants are required to answer honestly. If AMCAS does away with this question in the future, we would not be telling students to disclose this info either. So I fail to see where the inconsistency is. Just my thoughts.

I guess you would have to define "medical school" first. My definition involves the school not being accused of misconduct related to federal loans.

That was very slippery of you pointing out that AMCAS does not care about charges! In my mind, I see the underlying behaviors similarly though. But that's just me.

 

[Med Ed]

Personally, I would want to dig a little deeper to know why someone has infractions with the law before offering them a spot in a medical school class. The last thing you want is some student becoming a doctor and accepting bribe money as a physician. But hey, that's just me.

To be fair, some schools do ask supplemental questions about arrests and charges. Somewhere around a third of US adults have criminal records, and many premeds end up reporting various incidents. The large majority of them are inconsequential, and I'm not sure there is any evidence that having a dismissed MIP at age 19 increases the odds of accepting bribes 10+ years later as a licensed physician.

There is general acknowledgement in the legal system that reporting arrests/charges that do not lead to convictions can be prejudicial. Last I heard people are still innocent until proven guilty, so it can create unfair and unnecessary burden, at least with respect to employment.

 

[AJ25]

To be fair, some schools do ask supplemental questions about arrests and charges. Somewhere around a third of US adults have criminal records, and many premeds end up reporting various incidents. The large majority of them are inconsequential, and I'm not sure there is any evidence that having a dismissed MIP at age 19 increases the odds of accepting bribes 10+ years later as a licensed physician.

There is general acknowledgement in the legal system that reporting arrests/charges that do not lead to convictions can be prejudicial. Last I heard people are still innocent until proven guilty, so it can create unfair and unnecessary burden, at least with respect to employment.

That's a little concerning actually.

My question now is what are people not reporting that they DIDN'T get caught doing? Something tells me that the people who have these "minor" infractions have a lot more to hide.

I wish we could argue grades like we do criminal records, but we are always guilty of getting the bad grade for some reason lol.

 

[Med Ed]

That's a little concerning actually.

My question now is what are people not reporting that they DIDN'T get caught doing? Something tells me that the people who have these "minor" infractions have a lot more to hide.

Indeed. I mean, how many times have you exceeded the posted speed limit and not gotten pulled over?

 

[AJ25]

Indeed. I mean, how many times have you exceeded the posted speed limit and not gotten pulled over?

I have an Audi S model and it idles at 25mph or so lol. We need to update those limits for modern vehicles.

But I wouldn't compare posted speed limits to lets say DUI or having illegal drugs on your person. ...and I know you wouldn't either!

 

[Med Ed]

I have an Audi S model and it idles at 25mph or so lol. We need to update those limits for modern vehicles.

But I wouldn't compare posted speed limits to lets say DUI or having illegal drugs on your person. ...and I know you wouldn't either!

Why not? Speed is a well known contributor to motor vehicle accidents, which killed almost 40,000 people last year.