DUI after medical school acceptance...don't loose hope

[doctorgtx]

Hi guys, I just wanted to share my experience of overcoming a DUI right after medical school acceptance. Hopefully others can also share their positive stories here or ask questions. I was accepted to 3 of the 6 medical schools I applied to and NO my stats were not very stellar. I had a 3.42 undergrad gpa, 4.0 grad gpa, 30 MCAT and decent extracurricular activities . Hence, I was extremely excited about my acceptances. My first acceptance came in mid November and unfortunately in late November I got a DUI. I was pulled over for making a wrong left turn and ended up getting arrested for suspicion of dui because the officer thought that my eyes looked glassy and red . At the police station, my BAC came back as 0.081 and the limit is 0.08. Hence, I got charged with DUI. This was the beginning of the most stressful, embarrassing and regretful period of my life. I cried the whole night in the cell, thinking that my medical career might be over. As soon as I came back home, I went on studentdoctor forums trying to find people who had been in similar situation. Most of the posts in the forums here were very negative and the members who posted never actually were in this situation themselves. Many of my friends advised me against telling the admission's committee anything since I was only charged and not convicted. However, after researching online here on studentdoctor and also other resources I decided that telling admission's committee everything would be the best option. Hence, I wrote down and sent an apology letter to all the three schools within a week of the incident. I also personally went and met dean of admissions of one of the school that was very close to my house. I was pleasantly surprised at my meeting when the dean asked me to relax and not be nervous since they deal with such situations quite often and the process is very student friendly. Since, I had already written and sent my disclosure letter about the incident, he told me that all I had to do now is wait and the school will contact me when they get my CBC results. He told me that my CBC result will be reviewed by the committee which will decide whether or not the incident is serious enough to result in rescinding of the acceptance. Other two schools also contacted me via email stating more or less the same thing - committee will tell me about the next steps after receiving the CBC results. I finished my AMCAS CBC in January and again to my surprise it came out to be absolutely clear. My guess is that an AMCAS CBC only looks for convictions and hence charges don't show up. None of the schools contacted me since my CBC was clear. However, the story doesn't end here. The school that I decided to attend ( not the one whose dean I met) does FBI fingerprinting of all the accepted students and my FBI background check showed the arrest and dui charge. Two weeks after I sent my FBI background check results( mid May) , the director of admissions of the school emailed me and asked me to send them the court records and letter from my lawyer stating the possible outcome of the case. To update you guys about my case - My lawyer and I decided to complete a pretrial diversion program called ARD program. Basically, after completion of this program my arrest records would be expunged without any conviction. So, I sent in all the required stuff and then again waited for a reply. Yesterday on 24th July, I recieved an email stating that the committee has reviewed the reported incident and decided that it WILL NOT affect my matriculation. I CAN'T WAIT FOR MED SCHOOL TO START.
MY ADVISE TO PEOPLE IN THE SAME SITUATION: 1)Be honest with the admissions committee and tell them of such incidents as soon as they occur. 2)FBI background check will show up all the charges(except expunged ones) even if you are not convicted yet so again tell the committee before hand.3) The review process is very lengthy but student friendly so be patient and do not bombard the school with useless emails. NEVER EVER EVER DRINK AND DRIVE AGAIN...NOT EVEN ONE DRINK.

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[911 Turbo]

I'm glad to hear your future is back on track (and a 0.001 difference didn't stop you from practicing medicine)

 

[sliceofbread136]

What about tight hope?

 

[whitemagic]

I'm really glad to read the last very last line of your post. I'm glad you actually learned your lesson and realized how fortunate you are. Good luck in medical school!

 

[doctorgtx]

Thank you guys for the positive responses.....wish you all luck too in your future endeavors.

 

[22031 Alum]

Thank you guys for the positive responses.....wish you all luck too in your future endeavors.

You've basically been given a gift- I'm glad you realize that. Make good use of it! Best of luck to you.

 

[Meeehai]

Hi guys, I just wanted to share my experience of overcoming a DUI right after medical school acceptance. Hopefully others can also share their positive stories here or ask questions. I was accepted to 3 of the 6 medical schools I applied to and NO my stats were not very stellar. I had a 3.42 undergrad gpa, 4.0 grad gpa, 30 MCAT and decent extracurricular activities . Hence, I was extremely excited about my acceptances. My first acceptance came in mid November and unfortunately in late November I got a DUI. I was pulled over for making a wrong left turn and ended up getting arrested for suspicion of dui because the officer thought that my eyes looked glassy and red . At the police station, my BAC came back as 0.081 and the limit is 0.08. Hence, I got charged with DUI. This was the beginning of the most stressful, embarrassing and regretful period of my life. I cried the whole night in the cell, thinking that my medical career might be over. As soon as I came back home, I went on studentdoctor forums trying to find people who had been in similar situation. Most of the posts in the forums here were very negative and the members who posted never actually were in this situation themselves. Many of my friends advised me against telling the admission's committee anything since I was only charged and not convicted. However, after researching online here on studentdoctor and also other resources I decided that telling admission's committee everything would be the best option. Hence, I wrote down and sent an apology letter to all the three schools within a week of the incident. I also personally went and met dean of admissions of one of the school that was very close to my house. I was pleasantly surprised at my meeting when the dean asked me to relax and not be nervous since they deal with such situations quite often and the process is very student friendly. Since, I had already written and sent my disclosure letter about the incident, he told me that all I had to do now is wait and the school will contact me when they get my CBC results. He told me that my CBC result will be reviewed by the committee which will decide whether or not the incident is serious enough to result in rescinding of the acceptance. Other two schools also contacted me via email stating more or less the same thing - committee will tell me about the next steps after receiving the CBC results. I finished my AMCAS CBC in January and again to my surprise it came out to be absolutely clear. My guess is that an AMCAS CBC only looks for convictions and hence charges don't show up. None of the schools contacted me since my CBC was clear. However, the story doesn't end here. The school that I decided to attend ( not the one whose dean I met) does FBI fingerprinting of all the accepted students and my FBI background check showed the arrest and dui charge. Two weeks after I sent my FBI background check results( mid May) , the director of admissions of the school emailed me and asked me to send them the court records and letter from my lawyer stating the possible outcome of the case. To update you guys about my case - My lawyer and I decided to complete a pretrial diversion program called ARD program. Basically, after completion of this program my arrest records would be expunged without any conviction. So, I sent in all the required stuff and then again waited for a reply. Yesterday on 24th July, I recieved an email stating that the committee has reviewed the reported incident and decided that it WILL NOT affect my matriculation. I CAN'T WAIT FOR MED SCHOOL TO START.
MY ADVISE TO PEOPLE IN THE SAME SITUATION: 1)Be honest with the admissions committee and tell them of such incidents as soon as they occur. 2)FBI background check will show up all the charges(except expunged ones) even if you are not convicted yet so again tell the committee before hand.3) The review process is very lengthy but student friendly so be patient and do not bombard the school with useless emails. NEVER EVER EVER DRINK AND DRIVE AGAIN...NOT EVEN ONE DRINK.

Well, was it a fun night at least?

 

[doctorgtx]

Well, was it a fun night at least?

It will definitely go down as one of the worst nights of my life....I wasn't even out partying, just dropping a friend back home after watching the game.

 

[gannicus89]

Wow. I did not think that one could recover from that. Hope it's smooth sailing from here on out.

 

[doctorgtx]

Wow. I did not think that one could recover from that. Hope it's smooth sailing from here on out.

Me neither...specially after reading some of the forums here...thats why I wanted to share my experience

 

[Meeehai]

It will definitely go down as one of the worst nights of my life....I wasn't even out partying, just dropping a friend back home after watching the game.

Let me guess, your team lost that night too.

Either way, really glad to hear that everything worked out for you in the end. I wouldn't doubt that everyone here told you to give up on your med school dreams entirely when seeking advice.

 

[doctorgtx]

Let me guess, your team lost that night too.

Either way, really glad to hear that everything worked out for you in the end. I wouldn't doubt that everyone here told you to give up on your med school dreams entirely when seeking advice.

Yes my team lost...and yaaa majority said that I had basically dug my own grave but I did get some very positive and useful advise too here .

 

[cooldriver]

best of luck to you dude.....I am sure this post will help others in the same situation and also spread awareness amongst pre meds

 

[nRomaleos]

these darn ubert and lyft advertisements!!!

on a srz note. congratulations.

 

[deleted480308]

I would have thrown your application away. You got lucky that you didn't kill anyone . You got lucky that the adcom gave you a second chance. Don't prove them wrong.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

Let's have a drink to celebrate... Oh wait...

 

[mehc012]

I'm glad to hear your future is back on track (and a 0.001 difference didn't stop you from practicing medicine)

It wasn't the 0.001, it was the first 0.08. Besides, while the BAC makes it easier, they can charge you based on their own assessment, and OP was acting drunk enough to be taken to the station before a breathalyzer.

Sorry, DUIs are one thing I won't minimize. This wasn't "some silly technicality almost got me in trouble, but honesty saved me," it was "I actively put other peoples' lives in danger by driving while intoxicated enough to make illegal turns and that my appearance/behavior warranted being taken to the station before there was concrete proof of a DUI, and was lucky enough to be granted leniency."

While I think that leniency can be a good policy in the case of an isolated incident, and I am glad for OP that this wasn't the end of their career, that leniency should come with an open acknowledgement of the extent to which OP effed up to begin with. Minimizing it as simply "a 0.001 difference" does not do that. OP messed up big time and was gifted a huge reprieve, beyond what was expected or owed.

 

[SitraAchra]

Who is to say if OP was tested immediately again the results wouldn't have shown 0.079 rather than 0.081? You people on your high horses probably get off to watching Nancy Grace. Good thing there are reasonable people in charge.

 

[Lyoness]

Very happy for you. We make mistakes and we learn from them, and honesty is key.

 

[mehc012]

Who is to say if OP was tested immediately again the results wouldn't have shown 0.079 rather than 0.081? You people on your high horses probably get off to watching Nancy Grace. Good thing there are reasonable people in charge.

0.08 isn't some magical boundary after which you are suddenly 'too drunk to drive'. It's a convenient marker where most people are too intoxicated to be driving. They don't need you to be 0.08 to bring you in for a DUI (or to convict you)...it just makes the court case much, much easier. You can be arrested for and charged with a DUI even if you blow, say, a 0.06, as long as the officer testifies that you were acting too intoxicated to be hind the wheel (slurred speech, swerving, etc.)

Even if OP reblew a 0.079, they were acting intoxicated. They made an illegal turn, and their appearance/behavior on the scene was altered enough that the officer arrested them and brought them to the station for intoxicated driving before the BAC came back. In short, they were drunk, and they were driving drunk, and it wasn't because of one or two ticks on the breathalyzer, it was because they were impaired.

It's not that frakking difficult to avoid driving drunk...you should never be behind the wheel if there's a chance you are close to the legal limit (even if your tolerance is high - it's just not worth it), never mind if you are impaired enough to be brought in for behavior alone.

 

[DokterMom]

I'm glad things worked out well for you OP -- And for what it's worth, I think your proactive honesty went a long way toward assuring that the school acted the way it did. Thanks for posting here --

 

[GrapesofRath]

I'm glad things worked out well for you OP -- And for what it's worth, I think your proactive honesty went a long way toward assuring that the school acted the way it did. Thanks for posting here --

That's all this is a case of. Proactive honesty. It's why every ADCOM on here tells you to list every little past charge you've had if it is something a question asks for/about. If the OP hadn't been so upfront and proactive about this, the outcome would likely have been far different.

Past a certain point, character is what gets the acceptance letters. No Admissions committee will ever sign off on accepting someone who's character isn't something they are sold on. That could never be highlighted more than through here. The OP got a gift, maybe one some on here might argue they didn't deserve. But it's what you make of good fortune not having good fortune itself that matters. Good luck, and a great story.

 

[Goro]

Don't F up again because if you were my student, I'd personally kick your butt out of the classroom and all the way to the sidewalk.

Guys like you kill families like mine.

Hi guys, I just wanted to share my experience of overcoming a DUI right after medical school acceptance. Hopefully others can also share their positive stories here or ask questions. I was accepted to 3 of the 6 medical schools I applied to and NO my stats were not very stellar. I had a 3.42 undergrad gpa, 4.0 grad gpa, 30 MCAT and decent extracurricular activities . Hence, I was extremely excited about my acceptances. My first acceptance came in mid November and unfortunately in late November I got a DUI. I was pulled over for making a wrong left turn and ended up getting arrested for suspicion of dui because the officer thought that my eyes looked glassy and red . At the police station, my BAC came back as 0.081 and the limit is 0.08. Hence, I got charged with DUI. This was the beginning of the most stressful, embarrassing and regretful period of my life. I cried the whole night in the cell, thinking that my medical career might be over. As soon as I came back home, I went on studentdoctor forums trying to find people who had been in similar situation. Most of the posts in the forums here were very negative and the members who posted never actually were in this situation themselves. Many of my friends advised me against telling the admission's committee anything since I was only charged and not convicted. However, after researching online here on studentdoctor and also other resources I decided that telling admission's committee everything would be the best option. Hence, I wrote down and sent an apology letter to all the three schools within a week of the incident. I also personally went and met dean of admissions of one of the school that was very close to my house. I was pleasantly surprised at my meeting when the dean asked me to relax and not be nervous since they deal with such situations quite often and the process is very student friendly. Since, I had already written and sent my disclosure letter about the incident, he told me that all I had to do now is wait and the school will contact me when they get my CBC results. He told me that my CBC result will be reviewed by the committee which will decide whether or not the incident is serious enough to result in rescinding of the acceptance. Other two schools also contacted me via email stating more or less the same thing - committee will tell me about the next steps after receiving the CBC results. I finished my AMCAS CBC in January and again to my surprise it came out to be absolutely clear. My guess is that an AMCAS CBC only looks for convictions and hence charges don't show up. None of the schools contacted me since my CBC was clear. However, the story doesn't end here. The school that I decided to attend ( not the one whose dean I met) does FBI fingerprinting of all the accepted students and my FBI background check showed the arrest and dui charge. Two weeks after I sent my FBI background check results( mid May) , the director of admissions of the school emailed me and asked me to send them the court records and letter from my lawyer stating the possible outcome of the case. To update you guys about my case - My lawyer and I decided to complete a pretrial diversion program called ARD program. Basically, after completion of this program my arrest records would be expunged without any conviction. So, I sent in all the required stuff and then again waited for a reply. Yesterday on 24th July, I recieved an email stating that the committee has reviewed the reported incident and decided that it WILL NOT affect my matriculation. I CAN'T WAIT FOR MED SCHOOL TO START.
MY ADVISE TO PEOPLE IN THE SAME SITUATION: 1)Be honest with the admissions committee and tell them of such incidents as soon as they occur. 2)FBI background check will show up all the charges(except expunged ones) even if you are not convicted yet so again tell the committee before hand.3) The review process is very lengthy but student friendly so be patient and do not bombard the school with useless emails. NEVER EVER EVER DRINK AND DRIVE AGAIN...NOT EVEN ONE DRINK.

 

[doctorgtx]

0.08 is a very important number, most of the cases get thrown away if the the BAC level is less than 0.08. Until 2005, that limit was limit was 0.10 . So, yaaa you might get charged which also is extremely unlikely unless you have been very disrespectful towards the officer or done something stupid but will never be convicted for sure since officer's testimony does not hold enough weight to find someone guilty beyond reasonable doubt and can be easily fought by the lawyers( a lot of times prosecutors offer a lesser charge in such cases like reckless driving to settle the case). If my BAC was 0.008, then too it would be easy for my lawyer to fight the case since the margin of error of the BAC machines is 0.001 . However, since my BAC was 0.081 it was a high risk for me to take it to trial since through ARD program my charges would get expunged without any conviction anyways. Thats why I didn't fight it. So, technically 0.001 did make a huge difference in the way my case played out.
I am not here to defend drunk driving , I am here to spread awareness so that no pre med who gets accepted or is trying to get accepted goes through the stress that I went through. I didn't want to talk too much about how unlucky I was that night but I was really not out to kill people as Mehc012 is trying to portray. Actually, I was stopped by college police that night. I had 3 officers near the window, 1 was a cop and 2 younger ones were new recruits. I guess he was teaching them how to test for a DUI. He asked me when was my last drink and I honestly told him that I had exactly 2 beers over an hour ago while watching the game(honesty was not the best policy in this case). As soon as I told him this , his eyes kind of lit up and he asked the other two cops to pay close attention. Then he said that my eyes look glassy and red so he wants me to do a soberiety test. I passed the soberiety test but he still arrested me for suspicion of DUI. After the BAC results came back, he literally came out and said that I was extremely unlucky and he felt sorry for me. On his report he recommended ARD program and no license suspension. Drinking 2 beers does not transform a human into a rutheless killing monster, if I had a BAC monitor in the car and it showed me that my alcohol level was 0.081 , I would have never driven that night. The fact is that I did not feel intoxicated at all and that is the only reason I volunteered to drop my friend off to his house. Now, will I do that ever again, NO NEVER IN MY LIFE EVEN IF I HAVE A SIP OF ALCOHOL.But you can't judge every DUI as people being out to kill others, thats just ignorant and rediculous. There is a reason why their are different teirs of DUI since every case is different. Admission's committe know this and thats why they asked me for court documents and lawyer's letter. Please dont think admission's committee members as snobby, evil people who are waiting for you to make a mistake so that they can kick you out or " throw your application in the garbage" as people here like to mention. They are more like a court jury who have to be fair to every candidate and follow the policies set by the school. So whether it be a DUI in your application or low gpa or low MCAT, everything would be weighed in fairly so never loose hope. Many people try to put others down here so that there is less competition for them and thats the only reason I started this thread to give people who are in troubled situation some real advice through my experience and let them know that medical application review process is actually a lot more student friendly than people here portray.

 

[doctorgtx]

Don't F up again because if you were my student, I'd personally kick your butt out of the classroom and all the way to the sidewalk.

Guys like you kill families like mine.

I have learnt my lesson and would never F up again but you would definitely loose your job if you tried to do that so I would advice you against doing that as well

 

[GrapesofRath]

0.08 is a very important number, most of the cases get thrown away if the the BAC level is less than 0.08. Until 2005, that limit was limit was 0.10 . So, yaaa you might get charged which also is extremely unlikely unless you have been very disrespectful towards the officer or done something stupid but will never be convicted for sure since officer's testimony does not hold enough weight to find someone guilty beyond reasonable doubt and can be easily fought by the lawyers( a lot of times prosecutors offer a lesser charge in such cases like reckless driving to settle the case). If my BAC was 0.008, then too it would be easy for my lawyer to fight the case since the margin of error of the BAC machines is 0.001 . However, since my BAC was 0.081 it was a high risk for me to take it to trial since through ARD program my charges would get expunged without any conviction anyways. Thats why I didn't fight it. So, technically 0.001 did make a huge difference in the way my case played out.
I am not here to defend drunk driving , I am here to spread awareness so that no pre med who gets accepted or is trying to get accepted goes through the stress that I went through. I didn't want to talk too much about how unlucky I was that night but I was really not out to kill people as Mehc012 is trying to portray. Actually, I was stopped by college police that night. I had 3 officers near the window, 1 was a cop and 2 younger ones were new recruits. I guess he was teaching them how to test for a DUI. He asked me when was my last drink and I honestly told him that I had exactly 2 beers over an hour ago while watching the game(honesty was not the best policy in this case). As soon as I told him this , his eyes kind of lit up and he asked the other two cops to pay close attention. Then he said that my eyes look glassy and red so he wants me to do a soberiety test. I passed the soberiety test but he still arrested me for suspicion of DUI. After the BAC results came back, he literally came out and said that I was extremely unlucky and he felt sorry for me. On his report he recommended ARD program and no license suspension. Drinking 2 beers does not transform a human into a rutheless killing monster, if I had a BAC monitor in the car and it showed me that my alcohol level was 0.081 , I would have never driven that night. The fact is that I did not feel intoxicated at all and that is the only reason I volunteered to drop my friend off to his house. Now, will I do that ever again, NO NEVER IN MY LIFE EVEN IF I HAVE A SIP OF ALCOHOL.But you can't judge every DUI as people being out to kill others, thats just ignorant and rediculous. There is a reason why their are different teirs of DUI since every case is different. Admission's committe know this and thats why they asked me for court documents and lawyer's letter. Please dont think admission's committee members as snobby, evil people who are waiting for you to make a mistake so that they can kick you out or " throw your application in the garbage" as people here like to mention. They are more like a court jury who have to be fair to every candidate and follow the policies set by the school. So whether it be a DUI in your application or low gpa or low MCAT, everything would be weighed in fairly so never loose hope. Many people try to put others down here so that there is less competition for them and thats the only reason I started this thread to give people who are in troubled situation some real advice through my experience and let them know that medical application review process is actually a lot more student friendly than people here portray.

Only thing I'll say is defending yourself for this isn't going to do much for you other than make you sound rather childish and lacking of perspective. There are many people in this world who have thought processes similar to Goro and sb247. The fact that you got a DUI and drank while driving no matter what is enough to disgust them and think that you shouldn't have been allowed to attend med school. There mind isn't changing on that. While I don't necessarily agree to the extent they said what they said it is certainly a valid view point. You just have to live with the fact there are people who are always going to look at that as a major mistake or mark on you. Move on. Never screw up like this again. That's all really there is to say.

 

[doctorgtx]

Only thing I'll say is defending yourself for this isn't going to do much for you other than make you sound rather childish and lacking of perspective. There are many people in this world who have thought processes similar to Goro and sb247. The fact that you got a DUI and drank while driving no matter what is enough to disgust them and think that you shouldn't have been allowed to attend med school. There mind isn't changing on that. While I don't necessarily agree to the extent they said what they said it is certainly a valid view point. You just have to live with the fact there are people who are always going to look at that as a major mistake or mark on you. Move on. Never screw up like this again. That's all really there is to say.

I agree with you but I am not defending drinking and driving, I am defending myself being compared to murderers which is just stupid.

 

[7331poas]

I went on studentdoctor forums trying to find people who had been in similar situation. Most of the posts in the forums here were very negative and the members who posted never actually were in this situation themselves.

Maybe the responses were negative because you intentionally put the lives of others in danger by driving drunk.

Personally you sound like a scumbag who skirts the law. It isn't about what the letter of the law is and what you can legally get away with. Its my family's safety that you seem to not care about (or at least 100% less than an a rescinded acceptance).

I would say much more if this site was less moderated.

 

[GrapesofRath]

I agree with you but I am not defending drinking and driving, I am defending myself being compared to murderers which is just stupid.

Still don't get it.

 

[You're My Boy Blue]

I agree with you but I am not defending drinking and driving, I am defending myself being compared to murderers which is just stupid.

OP I know that you've learned you lesson. I'm sure admitting you mistake to people who could ruin your future career was the hardest thing you've ever done. Many would have tried to cover it up and for that I respect you

Now let's familiarize ourselves with a concept called "moral luck".

Situation 1: A drunk driver rapidly veers off the road and onto the shoulder. Quickly correcting the mistake, no one was harmed.
Situation 2: A drunk diver rapidly veers off the road and onto the shoulder. However, this time, a biker is riding there and is hit and killed instantly.

Both situations involved the same exact actions by the driver. And yet one is perceived to be worse judgement than the other.
@Goro @7331poas @sb247 are not being clouded by moral luck. They are correctly seeing the actions between you, a driver who didn't kill anyone, and the driver who did as equal. You (and the potential victim) were simply lucky. That is the harsh truth

 

[cooldriver]

Maybe the responses were negative because you intentionally put the lives of others in danger by driving drunk.

Personally you sound like a scumbag who skirts the law. It isn't about what the letter of the law is and what you can legally get away with. Its my family's safety that you seem to not care about (or at least 100% less than an a rescinded acceptance).

I would say much more if this site was less moderated.

Personally, You sound like the biggest doucheee whose right now high on some weird drug. I would never put my family's safety in the hands of a scumbag like you so hope you remain a pre med cause with an attitude like that you aren't surviving a day in med school. OP got out of a tough situation, learned his lesson and had the balls to share his experience so that pre meds like you don't make the same mistake. Instead of appreciating that fact you have the audacity of pointing finger at him, well guess what he is already in and might actually be operating on your family someday. You on the other hand don't seem to even survive past an interview at this point.

 

[timsk]

It's not entirely clear to me what exactly they did to cause the cop to pull them over and/or the extent of their intoxication. I'm glad the OP was able to keep their acceptance and will be matriculating. Drunk driving is bad, we can all agree. Determining when one is impaired is not always so clear cut. I personally wished cops did more on the scene behavioral tests.

Here is some food for thought for all of us...http://distracteddriveraccidents.com/texting-driving-dangerous-drunk-driving/

 

[doctorgtx]

OP I know that you've learned you lesson. I'm sure admitting you mistake to people who could ruin your future career was the hardest thing you've ever done. Many would have tried to cover it up and for that I respect you

Now let's familiarize ourselves with a concept called "moral luck".

Situation 1: A drunk driver rapidly veers off the road and onto the shoulder. Quickly correcting the mistake, no one was harmed.
Situation 2: A drunk diver rapidly veers off the road and onto the shoulder. However, this time, a biker is riding there and is hit and killed instantly.

Both situations involved the same exact actions by the driver. And yet one is perceived to be worse judgement than the other.
@Goro @7331poas @sb247 are not being clouded by moral luck. They are correctly seeing the actions between you, a driver who didn't kill anyone, and the driver who did as equal. You (and the potential victim) were simply lucky. That is the harsh truth

Very good point. If I was involved in any accident then ofcourse I agree the outcome of the adcom might have differ. But I wasn't and thats the reason I got another chance and I will make sure that I never repeat my mistake. However, the fact that someone is willing to end a person's career because of victims that didn't exist is just crazy and portraying their family as potential victims is even more ridiculous.

 

[doctorgtx]

It's not entirely clear to me what exactly they did to cause the cop to pull them over and/or the extent of their intoxication. I'm glad the OP was able to keep their acceptance and will be matriculating. Drunk driving is bad, we can all agree. Determining when one is impaired is not always so clear cut. I personally wished cops did more on the scene behavioral tests.

Here is some food for thought for all of us...http://distracteddriveraccidents.com/texting-driving-dangerous-drunk-driving/

great post.

 

[deleted480308]

0.08 is a very important number, most of the cases get thrown away if the the BAC level is less than 0.08. Until 2005, that limit was limit was 0.10 . So, yaaa you might get charged which also is extremely unlikely unless you have been very disrespectful towards the officer or done something stupid but will never be convicted for sure since officer's testimony does not hold enough weight to find someone guilty beyond reasonable doubt and can be easily fought by the lawyers( a lot of times prosecutors offer a lesser charge in such cases like reckless driving to settle the case). If my BAC was 0.008, then too it would be easy for my lawyer to fight the case since the margin of error of the BAC machines is 0.001 . However, since my BAC was 0.081 it was a high risk for me to take it to trial since through ARD program my charges would get expunged without any conviction anyways. Thats why I didn't fight it. So, technically 0.001 did make a huge difference in the way my case played out.
I am not here to defend drunk driving , I am here to spread awareness so that no pre med who gets accepted or is trying to get accepted goes through the stress that I went through. I didn't want to talk too much about how unlucky I was that night but I was really not out to kill people as Mehc012 is trying to portray. Actually, I was stopped by college police that night. I had 3 officers near the window, 1 was a cop and 2 younger ones were new recruits. I guess he was teaching them how to test for a DUI. He asked me when was my last drink and I honestly told him that I had exactly 2 beers over an hour ago while watching the game(honesty was not the best policy in this case). As soon as I told him this , his eyes kind of lit up and he asked the other two cops to pay close attention. Then he said that my eyes look glassy and red so he wants me to do a soberiety test. I passed the soberiety test but he still arrested me for suspicion of DUI. After the BAC results came back, he literally came out and said that I was extremely unlucky and he felt sorry for me. On his report he recommended ARD program and no license suspension. Drinking 2 beers does not transform a human into a rutheless killing monster, if I had a BAC monitor in the car and it showed me that my alcohol level was 0.081 , I would have never driven that night. The fact is that I did not feel intoxicated at all and that is the only reason I volunteered to drop my friend off to his house. Now, will I do that ever again, NO NEVER IN MY LIFE EVEN IF I HAVE A SIP OF ALCOHOL.But you can't judge every DUI as people being out to kill others, thats just ignorant and rediculous. There is a reason why their are different teirs of DUI since every case is different. Admission's committe know this and thats why they asked me for court documents and lawyer's letter. Please dont think admission's committee members as snobby, evil people who are waiting for you to make a mistake so that they can kick you out or " throw your application in the garbage" as people here like to mention. They are more like a court jury who have to be fair to every candidate and follow the policies set by the school. So whether it be a DUI in your application or low gpa or low MCAT, everything would be weighed in fairly so never loose hope. Many people try to put others down here so that there is less competition for them and thats the only reason I started this thread to give people who are in troubled situation some real advice through my experience and let them know that medical application review process is actually a lot more student friendly than people here portray.

You weren't unlucky, you were a drunk driver risking the lives of everyone on your path. You were amazingly lucky...and I don't believe you are sorry. I think you are sorry you got caught.

 

[deleted480308]

Very good point. If I was involved in any accident then ofcourse I agree the outcome of the adcom might have differ. But I wasn't and thats the reason I got another chance and I will make sure that I never repeat my mistake. However, the fact that someone is willing to end a person's career because of victims that didn't exist is just crazy and portraying their family as potential victims is even more ridiculous.

I've carried the casket...don't pretend those victims are imaginary when you did nothing different than their killer but draw a lucky straw

 

[EParker37]

Very good point. If I was involved in any accident then ofcourse I agree the outcome of the adcom might have differ. But I wasn't and thats the reason I got another chance and I will make sure that I never repeat my mistake. However, the fact that someone is willing to end a person's career because of victims that didn't exist is just crazy and portraying their family as potential victims is even more ridiculous.

I am just going to say that you are lucky to have received such leniency, but to say that you didn't deserve any punishment because of "potential" victims is naive and immature at best. But let me share some experience, after 10 years in fire/ems, I have been to far too many fatality car accidents caused by drinking and driving. Everyone here seems to be arguing the semantics of BAC, it honestly doesn't mean anything. You can also be charged with a DUI if the police officer feels that your behavior was in line with what they are trained to look for, hence they have special DUI officers conduct the field sobriety tests, because they can testify as an expert in court. ANY driving after drinking, or in some states consuming THC, leads to some form of impairment, even if you are just "buzzed". When I have to sit down with a mother and explain that their child is dead because of someones mistake, that they felt they were "ok" to drive, it breaks my heart every time, that someone is now a vegetable for the rest of their life because of someone else's actions, makes me upset. Holding a young woman's hand as she dies in the back of my squad, while the drunk driver got only a few minor lacerations? How is that justice? I'm sorry, but @Goro is spot on, you absolutely put peoples lives at risk and got off easy. Also, from the sound of your story, you are saying that your actions were somehow justified because their were no victims and you got to go to medical school.

 

[doctorgtx]

@EParker37 I am not saying that my actions were justified and I got punished for my actions too in the court. What I am saying is that this incident doesn't warrant my career to be ended and I am glad it didn't. DRINKING AND DRIVING CAN HAVE DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES, I KNOW THAT, I MADE MISTAKE I KNOW THAT, I WILL NOT DO IT AGAIN.

 

[ZedsDed]

@EParker37 I am not saying that my actions were justified and I got punished for my actions too in the court. What I am saying is that this incident doesn't warrant my career to be ended and I am glad it didn't. DRINKING AND DRIVING CAN HAVE DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES, I KNOW THAT, I MADE MISTAKE I KNOW THAT, I WILL NOT DO IT AGAIN.

I'm not sure what you expected. The vast majority of the population is not going to sympathize with you, and you're luck you found a faculty member who did.

 

[doctorgtx]

I'm not sure what you expected. The vast majority of the population is not going to sympathize with you, and you're luck you found a faculty member who did.

Decision is not made by a fuculty member its a committee of 15 people

 

[22031 Alum]

@EParker37 I am not saying that my actions were justified and I got punished for my actions too in the court. What I am saying is that this incident doesn't warrant my career to be ended and I am glad it didn't. DRINKING AND DRIVING CAN HAVE DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCES, I KNOW THAT, I MADE MISTAKE I KNOW THAT, I WILL NOT DO IT AGAIN.

I was a lot more on your side before this started. What most of us are saying is that the incident absolutely did warrant an end to your career. The fact that it didn't is exceedingly lucky for you- a gift. It's sad that you don't realize that.

You didn't keep your acceptance because of any merits on your part. Not a single one. You happened to luck out and be on the receiving end of a merciful administration. It could have very easily gone the other way. So your story is worth sharing, but the lesson you took from it- "Thank goodness the school realized I still deserve my acceptance" is the absolute wrong one. Any statement you make that isn't "If I'd lost my acceptance it would've been totally deserved, I lucked out," is going to rub people the wrong way.

 

[doctorgtx]

I've carried the casket...don't pretend those victims are imaginary when you did nothing different than their killer but draw a lucky straw

I have carried a casket too. My dad died because some medical student put the feeding tube in the his wind pipe instead of food pipe. And my dad wasn't even in the ER, he was in stable condition in regular ward. The fact is mistakes happen, and we need to learn from them. I learned a big lesson and thank god that nobody was injured. I will never ever do it again.

 

[deleted480308]

I have carried a casket too. My dad died because some medical student put the feeding tube in the his wind pipe instead of food pipe. And my dad wasn't even in the ER, he was in stable condition in regular ward. The fact is mistakes happen, and we need to learn from them. I learned a big lesson and thank god that nobody was injured. I will never ever do it again.

Driving drunk is an intentional choice not a mistake...don't compare yourself to that student

 

[ZedsDed]

Decision is not made by a fuculty member its a committee of 15 people

Then you are lucky that there were people in that committee who sympathized with you.

 

[doctorgtx]

Driving drunk is an intentional choice not a mistake...don't compare yourself to that student

Yaa..thats true...I am sorry guys if I have offended anyone, that was not my intention.

 

[ZedsDed]

Yaa..thats true...I am sorry guys if I have offended anyone, that was not my intention.

I do have to ask what you hoped to accomplish here. I'm not trying to grill you, I'm genuinely curious.

 

[doctorgtx]

I do have to ask what you hoped to accomplish here. I'm not trying to grill you, I'm genuinely curious.

very good question. When this happened to me , I prayed to find a thread where there was someone in similar situation who shared their journey through the process. Unfortunately, while their were many thread regarding the issue nobody actually shared as to what the process is , guys would just condemn the OP and that was the end of it. I then decided that once this process is over, I would start a thread where I would share my experience through the process and provide them hope if there is any. And after talking to the dean of admissions, I found out that there is a lot of hope, but realizing your mistake and never repeating it is the key

 

[Banco]

You have been very lucky - don't do something like that again.

I do have to ask what you hoped to accomplish here. I'm not trying to grill you, I'm genuinely curious.

It's pretty clear in the OP

 

[Goro]

You deliberately chose to get into a 2 ton missile while impaired. That makes you a potential murderer.

I agree with you but I am not defending drinking and driving, I am defending myself being compared to murderers which is just stupid.

 

[doctorgtx]

You have been very lucky - don't do something like that again.



It's pretty clear in the OP

I know...I will never repeat it ever and always advice anyone I come in contact with against it also