Got a DUI when I was 17, its sealed now. How will this impact Med Apps

[IronManDr99]

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I got a DUI when I was 17. I was on probation for a year and didn't get in trouble so I got my record sealed and was allowed to withdraw my guilty plea. Haven't been in any trouble since. I am wondering if I should mention this in my apps. I learned a lot from it and it was a serious personal struggle for me and it gave me new insight with how I should conduct myself.

Should I mention this in my apps if asked about a personal struggle? Would that be a bad idea? I am asking because its been over 4 years now and I've grown a lot. Its still on my driving record tho.

 

[zorcandpals]

From a disclosure standpoint you dont have to mention it except for secondaries that explicitly ask for it.

I would probably say you shouldnt use it as a personal struggle example though. It just opens a whole can of worms where the benefits are not outweighed by the risks

 

[IronManDr99]

From a disclosure standpoint you dont have to mention it except for secondaries that explicitly ask for it.

I would probably say you shouldnt use it as a personal struggle example though. It just opens a whole can of worms where the benefits are not outweighed by the risks

do you think I could mention aspects of it without explicitly referring to it? like not having a car and not having mobility during most of college, having to rely on parents because they wouldn't let me drive for quite some time etc etc

 

[zorcandpals]

do you think I could mention aspects of it without explicitly referring to it? like not having a car and not having mobility during most of college, having to rely on parents because they wouldn't let me drive for quite some time etc etc

You would have to flesh that out more but based on that description it sounds very much like a first world problem. I think many/most college students dont really have cars, alot of people dont have the means to own cars etc

 

[IronManDr99]

From a disclosure standpoint you dont have to mention it except for secondaries that explicitly ask for it.

I would probably say you shouldnt use it as a personal struggle example though. It just opens a whole can of worms where the benefits are not outweighed by the risks

also what risks are you referring to? because people I have talked about this to have given me varied responses on this, with some supporting because it was a defining moment for me

 

[Doctoscope]

Don't draw attention to a glaring negative... also, it will be very difficult to actually spin a DUI into a "personal struggle." It sounds very, very entitled. Having limited mobility because you drove drunk/having parents refuse to drive you because of it is the very definition of a first world problem. I would avoid talking about this.

 

[Goro]

I got a DUI when I was 17. I was on probation for a year and didn't get in trouble so I got my record sealed and was allowed to withdraw my guilty plea. Haven't been in any trouble since. I am wondering if I should mention this in my apps. I learned a lot from it and it was a serious personal struggle for me and it gave me new insight with how I should conduct myself.

Should I mention this in my apps if asked about a personal struggle? Would that be a bad idea? I am asking because its been over 4 years now and I've grown a lot. Its still on my driving record tho.

A big nothingburger, except at maybe Loma Linda and LUCOM.

We were young and stupid once too.

 

[IronManDr99]

A big nothingburger, except at maybe Loma Linda and LUCOM.

We were young and stupid once too.

do you think it would be a bad idea to talk about it in like a secondary for personal struggle

 

[Goro]

do you think it would be a bad idea to talk about it in like a secondary for personal struggle

Never draw attention to a negative

 

[Flareicus]

I don't think anyone in this thread has laid it out explicitly why referencing a DUI is a terrible idea, so I'll stress it here. You were incredibly lucky that your DUI occurred when you were a minor and that you had sufficient legal representation to limit the damage it would have on your record. If you were 18+. received the same charges, and it got on your record, you would have to spend years distancing yourself from the conviction before application. Even after that, your application would likely have been dead on arrival to a good proportion of schools (why should they take a chance on you when they can admit 50 other applicants without a DUI on record?). The fact that you are able to apply without that potential DUI is incredibly fortuitous; you should never bring it up in any part of your primary, secondaries, or interviews. And just one more time for emphasis: A DUI is a charge that would significantly harm any application regardless of how amazing the rest of the application is. You are lucky that yours occurred in a context which would allow you to not report it, and you should never offer this information up voluntarily to an admissions committee.

Secondly, while you definitely may have learned a lot from the experience, the reasons you have offered here to include in a potential adversity prompt would reek of entitlement when read by an AdCom member. A few examples of the essays that would come in for adversity prompts include food insecurity, homelessness, discrimination, and other such problems. If you write about not having a car or relying on your parents to help you with basic transportation needs, it would come off at best as a privileged applicant who is out of touch with problems that their future patients would face and be viewed worse if the AdComs' imaginations start running wild (DUI, reckless driving habits, overdependence on parents, etc.).

Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where something that may be important for your growth and development does not function well in a med school application. You need to go into your application with the mindset that you should never reference this incident and think of alternative topics to bring up for your essays.

 

[Lasofloxabuterol]

A big nothingburger, except at maybe Loma Linda and LUCOM.

We were young and stupid once too.

Hello Goro, is it really "nothing" if something like this has to be disclosed on some secondary applications though, even if it is a juvenile offense?? Just curious!

 

[Banco]

Don't bring attention to it unless necessary. Find other things to write about in your essays.

If secondaries ask the question specifically, you'll have to specify - in cases for such schools, have a response ready if you get an interview. But again, I think you'll be shown lenience due to your age and otherwise clean record.

But again, do not bring attention to it if it isn't necessary.

 

[Goro]

Don't bring attention to it unless necessary. Find other things to write about in your essays.

If secondaries ask the question specifically, you'll have to specify - in cases for such schools, have a response ready if you get an interview. But again, I think you'll be shown lenience due to your age and otherwise clean record.

But again, do not bring attention to it if it isn't necessary.

This.

 

[LizzyM]

Schools conduct criminal background checks (CBC) just before matriculation. A school is scrolling through 100+ of these reports and a clerical worker can compare the application to the CBC and confirm that they match. Very easy. If they don't match, then there is a problem that has to be kicked to a higher level (e.g. dean of admissions). Asking applicants to report everything streamlines the process of checking CBCs for completeness.

 

[IronManDr99]

I don't think anyone in this thread has laid it out explicitly why referencing a DUI is a terrible idea, so I'll stress it here. You were incredibly lucky that your DUI occurred when you were a minor and that you had sufficient legal representation to limit the damage it would have on your record. If you were 18+. received the same charges, and it got on your record, you would have to spend years distancing yourself from the conviction before application. Even after that, your application would likely have been dead on arrival to a good proportion of schools (why should they take a chance on you when they can admit 50 other applicants without a DUI on record?). The fact that you are able to apply without that potential DUI is incredibly fortuitous; you should never bring it up in any part of your primary, secondaries, or interviews. And just one more time for emphasis: A DUI is a charge that would significantly harm any application regardless of how amazing the rest of the application is. You are lucky that yours occurred in a context which would allow you to not report it, and you should never offer this information up voluntarily to an admissions committee.

Secondly, while you definitely may have learned a lot from the experience, the reasons you have offered here to include in a potential adversity prompt would reek of entitlement when read by an AdCom member. A few examples of the essays that would come in for adversity prompts include food insecurity, homelessness, discrimination, and other such problems. If you write about not having a car or relying on your parents to help you with basic transportation needs, it would come off at best as a privileged applicant who is out of touch with problems that their future patients would face and be viewed worse if the AdComs' imaginations start running wild (DUI, reckless driving habits, overdependence on parents, etc.).

Unfortunately, this is one of those cases where something that may be important for your growth and development does not function well in a med school application. You need to go into your application with the mindset that you should never reference this incident and think of alternative topics to bring up for your essays.

thanks for clarifying yeah I see your point

 

[IronManDr99]

Schools conduct criminal background checks (CBC) just before matriculation. A school is scrolling through 100+ of these reports and a clerical worker can compare the application to the CBC and confirm that they match. Very easy. If they don't match, then there is a problem that has to be kicked to a higher level (e.g. dean of admissions). Asking applicants to report everything streamlines the process of checking CBCs for completeness.

but I got to withdraw my guilty plea and had my record sealed so I thin im good to not disclose it right? and even if they do specifically ask for it I guess I can talk briefly bc nothing happened since and it was when I was a minor

 

[LizzyM]

but I got to withdraw my guilty plea and had my record sealed so I thin im good to not disclose it right? and even if they do specifically ask for it I guess I can talk briefly bc nothing happened since and it was when I was a minor

Read what each school asks you to disclose and report accurately what you are asked to disclose. Also read the instructions in the AMCAS application as what you are required to disclose in AMCAS varies depending on your state residence (some state laws prohibit asking certain questions).