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Do I need to report these IAs? Really confused
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You need to report any IA that would appear on your record. If it doesn't appear, the honest thing to do is report them. The second one, however, was not an IA. It was a standard incident, was handled, and you were not found responsible, so with no actual conviction, don't report it. The alcohol write up you may have to. But, like I said, it's up to you what you do if it isn't on your record. I personally wouldn't, but that's just me and it's pretty small. The easiest way to check is to request a copy of your disciplinary record from the school as it would be sent to any inquiring medical schools to see what comes up. That's also wise in case something is there you were somehow unaware of or if the second incident did in fact end up on record (which should not have been the case).
absolutely not. you will probably get some herbs on here who are telling you that the only morally correct thing to do is report it, but they are wrong. The school removed it from their records because they don't care. So why should anyone else.
Its just misbehavior. This is not the kind of thing that med schools are looking for in that question. At the same time, don't give them any reason to put you in the reject pile, if you don't have to.
Its just misbehavior. This is not the kind of thing that med schools are looking for in that question. At the same time, don't give them any reason to put you in the reject pile, if you don't have to.
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If the school doesn't have records of it. It never happened.
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Contact your school to see what would show up on your record when you apply. Even if something shows up, med schools rarely care about minor alcohol incidents (unless it led to a DUI or some type of violence/sexual assault). The second incident you described isn't an IA as there is no "charge" to report.
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this is probably true.
however, if the reporting of any IA results in delays to your app (june submission treated as october submission), then the damage will be catastrophic. submitting in june is 100X better than submitting in october.
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i dont knnow this for sure. but some on SDN have claimed this. LizzyM's school USED to do this, though the delay isnt substantial. my example is probably an exaggeration.
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Yes, but a (possible) late application > being blacklisted everywhere you apply because it seemed like you were lying; THAT would be catastrophic.
Again, OP, just contact your school and see what would show up. And its honestly MUCH safer to report it, when in doubt. I've had members of my school's adcom literally tell us, face-to-face, that they more or less ignore minor alcohol infractions.
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have you heard anything about late applications? i can understand a week later or so for another committee to look over the IA and making sure that it isn't a huge deal. but i can't imagine schools putting a june submission into an october pile just because the IA box is marked; this seems fundamentally unfair.
i've contacted the adcoms of a few schools, and they told me (they were a bit vague, of course) that there aren't delays and that apps aren't segregated into different piles. some other folks on SDN who applied with IAs all received multiple interviews before thanksgiving, so their apps aren't delayed a bit. my premed dean also told me that he/she hasn't heard of any delay policy used by medical schools, so there's another source of info.
but then again, i dont know how every schools works, so applying a bit broadly is a smart idea.
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It is correct that my school doesn't delay IAs as it once did.
All IAs must be reported whether your school has wiped your record clean or not. That means all applicants are treated equally whether their schools have strict or loose record keeping policies. That is, all applicants are treated equally IF those people who attended schools that were liberal in their IA distruction policies are HONEST about reporting what must be reported which is any IA, even if it has been wiped from your record.
In my experience, "alcohol in the dorm" is not considered a deal breaker. It is water off a duck's back. The second IA could be reported thusly: "While an accusation against me was investigated, the school required that I move from my dorm to another. The accusation was found to be false and I was permitted to move back to my dorm." Being required to move was an institutional action.
It is better to over-report than to be found to have failed to report.
All IAs must be reported whether your school has wiped your record clean or not. That means all applicants are treated equally whether their schools have strict or loose record keeping policies. That is, all applicants are treated equally IF those people who attended schools that were liberal in their IA distruction policies are HONEST about reporting what must be reported which is any IA, even if it has been wiped from your record.
In my experience, "alcohol in the dorm" is not considered a deal breaker. It is water off a duck's back. The second IA could be reported thusly: "While an accusation against me was investigated, the school required that I move from my dorm to another. The accusation was found to be false and I was permitted to move back to my dorm." Being required to move was an institutional action.
It is better to over-report than to be found to have failed to report.
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i disagree. the amcas states that you must report any IAs that resulted from conduct violations. the OP never violated any conduct/school policy in the second instance, and he didn't receive any IA.
but i agree with the first instance, since that was the result of violating the alcohol policy. an IA is only an IA if it is a sanction given out as a result of policy/conduct violation. and even if the IA never makes its way to any records, it should still be reported. However, if an action is NOT an IA (not given as a result of violations), then it is no one's business to know about it.
but i agree with the first instance, since that was the result of violating the alcohol policy. an IA is only an IA if it is a sanction given out as a result of policy/conduct violation. and even if the IA never makes its way to any records, it should still be reported. However, if an action is NOT an IA (not given as a result of violations), then it is no one's business to know about it.
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You are correct! Page 30 of the AMCAS instruction manual is clear, it has to be a "conduct violation" (or unacceptable academic performance) to be reportable.
So the alcohol violation must be reported but not the dorm fiasco.
https://www.aamc.org/students/download/182162/data/amcas_instruction_manual.pdf
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thanks for checking LizzyM. at first i thought there was a sudden change in the description.
i think when it comes down to it, most undergrads went through things that they aren't proud of and don't want others to find out about, and that should be 100 percent understandable. i am a firm supporter of truthfully disclosing all requested information and following the instructions to the letter. no more, no less.
