How strongly does this disciplinary action affect my chances?

[GrizzleSauce]

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As an undergrad at my first university i did not do strongly in many of my classes. I spent most of the time drinking and partying with friends with little to no thought of how it would affect my future and what opportunities i was ruining for myself.

In the summer after my Sophomore year i was contacted by my school's judicial committee. When i appeared i was told that i had been accused of raping a fellow student in the fall semester of my Sophomore year and that it had just been reported with an investigation to soon be following. The end result was that i was first expelled, and after an appeal, suspended by the university. The incident centered around a night where the other student and I had much too much to drink and thus was deemed non consensual. After this event i realized how i had foolishly been living and changed how i lived my life. This incident opened my eyes to my foolish and reckless behavior toward alcohol and school.

After this experience i spent a year in the work force and soon returned to school at another university. At my new university i have performed exceptionally well, receiving A's in all my science courses over 2 years except for 1 class, am a president of the biochemistry society, have been awarded as the most outstanding biochemistry senior student, and have worked in a research lab with a professor for close to 2 years now. I have an MCAT score that is a 29Q, a science GPA that is 3.7+, an overall GPA that is 3.63 ( an average of my transfer GPA and new Uni GPA) and should have no problem receiving multiple letters of recommendation from many of my professors.

Even with all these achievements i am worried that my past academic disciplinary action will prevent me from receiving any offers from medical schools. I am looking for advice on how to report this academic disciplinary action on my AMCAS in a way that would somehow show the adcoms that i have changed as a person and that what happened is not who i am, but a horrible mistake that occured due to reckless behavior that i have corrected in the way i live my life.

 

[Goro]

while I'm a firm beleiver int he power of redemption, I am afraid that with this on your record, you're an automatic reject.

As an undergrad at my first university i did not do strongly in many of my classes. I spent most of the time drinking and partying with friends with little to no thought of how it would affect my future and what opportunities i was ruining for myself.

In the summer after my Sophomore year i was contacted by my school's judicial committee. When i appeared i was told that i had been accused of raping a fellow student in the fall semester of my Sophomore year and that it had just been reported with an investigation to soon be following. The end result was that i was first expelled, and after an appeal, suspended by the university. The incident centered around a night where the other student and I had much too much to drink and thus was deemed non consensual. After this event i realized how i had foolishly been living and changed how i lived my life. This incident opened my eyes to my foolish and reckless behavior toward alcohol and school.

After this experience i spent a year in the work force and soon returned to school at another university. At my new university i have performed exceptionally well, receiving A's in all my science courses over 2 years except for 1 class, am a president of the biochemistry society, have been awarded as the most outstanding biochemistry senior student, and have worked in a research lab with a professor for close to 2 years now. I have an MCAT score that is a 29Q, a science GPA that is 3.7+, an overall GPA that is 3.63 ( an average of my transfer GPA and new Uni GPA) and should have no problem receiving multiple letters of recommendation from many of my professors.

Even with all these achievements i am worried that my past academic disciplinary action will prevent me from receiving any offers from medical schools. I am looking for advice on how to report this academic disciplinary action on my AMCAS in a way that would somehow show the adcoms that i have changed as a person and that what happened is not who i am, but a horrible mistake that occured due to reckless behavior that i have corrected in the way i live my life.

 

[Gigantron]

Maybe if you write in your PS how you learned from this experience and show the adcoms that you've matured beyond raping people, you might have a shot.





/sarcasm

 

[V5RED]

Maybe if you write in your PS how you learned from this experience and show the adcoms that you've matured beyond raping people, you might have a shot.





/sarcasm

A girl claiming she was raped does not mean there was a rape. Based solely on OP's post, two people got drunk and had sex, and the girl regretted it after. Maybe she had a boyfriend and had to give herself some reason to not feel guilty about what she did.

What pisses me off, assuming OP's story is true, is that both were drunk, but since he is male he is penalized for something that they both did. In other words, he raped her just as much as she raped him if her drunkenness is the reason it was considered rape.

 

[tryp]

A girl claiming she was raped does not mean there was a rape. Based solely on OP's post, two people got drunk and had sex, and the girl regretted it after. Maybe she had a boyfriend and had to give herself some reason to not feel guilty about what she did.

What pisses me off, assuming OP's story is true, is that both were drunk, but since he is male he is penalized for something that they both did. In other words, he raped her just as much as she raped him if her drunkenness is the reason it was considered rape.

Going through disciplinary proceedings after a rape isn't something that people do lightly. I am a crisis worker at a sexual assault centre and I have to tell you that women's experiences going through the process of reporting are horrific. I have had some clients tell me that the process is as if they were being raped again.

In my work, I have met so many women who have been accused of lying about their rape and the damage is unimaginable.

 

[V5RED]

Going through disciplinary proceedings after a rape isn't something that people do lightly. I am a crisis worker at a sexual assault centre and I have to tell you that women's experiences going through the process of reporting are horrific. I have had some clients tell me that the process is as if they were being raped again.

In my work, I have met so many women who have been accused of lying about their rape and the damage is unimaginable.

Whether or not women who were actually raped have a rough time when reporting it has nothing to do with what I said.

edit: I did not make light of rape as a serious offense. I do not doubt that it is a horrible experience. I was simply stating that nothing in OP's story makes it sound like a rape occurred.

 

[tryp]

I'm just saying I don't think someone would go through the whole reporting rigmarole just because they felt guilty about having slept with someone while drunk.

I'm sure we haven't heard the whole story either way. I guess what really happened is beside the point.

 

[FattySlug]

Maybe if you write in your PS how you learned from this experience and show the adcoms that you've matured beyond raping people, you might have a shot.





/sarcasm

This is really uncalled for. You don't even have all the facts and you already think OP is a rapist. His story is not something wildly unimaginable. 2 ppl got drunk, had sex and the next morning the girl decided to report that she was raped. OP could have done the same thing and said that he was raped even though ppl would have laughed at him; it's funny how the world works. Sure OP could have raped the girl but how are you so sure that he did it?

What exactly is the court disposition of the incident? What does it say on your transcript? Police report? Background check?

Edit: Maybe she didn't report it because she felt guilty but she genuinely believed she was raped. Does her believing in it make it true? No.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

I dunno, seems like you are going to have a hard time getting in due to it BEING on your record. Whether you are granted an interview and you have a good explanation is that point that you need to consider.

 

[GrizzleSauce]

Well she waited almost a full year to report the incident to the University and only when they reversed their decision from an expulsion to a suspension did she actually take it to court.

When we both showed up at court, her attorney and mine met and agreed that no more action was needed so it was dismissed with prejudice, basically meaning that it was dismissed without the possibility of being brought up again.

The university's official response to me was that since alcohol was involved it could not be consensual.

To be honest, the behavior she claimed is nowhere near my normal behavior. Everyone i know at the university was shocked and claimed that it couldn't be true and many people i have told about the incident have told me that i must be joking because i'm the least aggressive person they know.

 

[GrizzleSauce]

This experience taught me to be responsible about my actions and to be an adult. The experiences i have gone through have altered my life in ways that are unimaginable, for both her and my life.

I fear that my involvement in even the accusation of an offense of this caliber has forever ruined my chances at attending a medical school.

 

[FattySlug]

If it was dismissed then there is technically nothing on your record other than the arrest, if there was one.

Now you have to worry about the suspension that the school gave you. Talk to the dean, whoever has the power to take care of this about your situation. Try your best to convince him/her to purge it from your record. That's the best way to take care of this. If that is impossible then you just have to explain it really well in the primary and hope for the best.

But if you have to answer yes to that disciplinary action in the primary your chances are not very bright. Sorry to say that.

 

[GrizzleSauce]

Now you have to worry about the suspension that the school gave you. Talk to the dean, whoever has the power to take care of this about your situation. Try your best to convince him/her to purge it from your record. That's the best way to take care of this. If that is impossible then you just have to explain it really well in the primary and hope for the best.

Is this even possible? I don't even know how i would begin to ask them to do that for me...

 

[FattySlug]

Is this even possible? I don't even know how i would begin to ask them to do that for me...

It is definitely hard, and may not even be possible but what do you have to lose? Make a list of things you have done recently that would speak for your characters like volunteer works, etc. Include references and ask to speak to whoever in charge of the disciplinary committee. Try your best to convince that person that it was just an honest mistake. Try to show them that by erasing this black mark on your record they are allowing you to go on and benefit other people. This is the best solution to this whole mess. The minute you have to answer yes to that question in the primary I think your app will go to the bottom of the pile, or so I heard.

 

[sector9]

It is definitely hard, and may not even be possible but what do you have to lose? Make a list of things you have done recently that would speak for your characters like volunteer works, etc. Include references and ask to speak to whoever in charge of the disciplinary committee. Try your best to convince that person that it was just an honest mistake. Try to show them that by erasing this black mark on your record they are allowing you to go on and benefit other people. This is the best solution to this whole mess. The minute you have to answer yes to that question in the primary I think your app will go to the bottom of the pile, or so I heard.

Unfortunately the OP will still have to answer yes to the question. The institutional action question tells you to answer yes and explain even if the action is removed from your record.

 

[theseeker4]

I'm just saying I don't think someone would go through the whole reporting rigmarole just because they felt guilty about having slept with someone while drunk.

I'm sure we haven't heard the whole story either way. I guess what really happened is beside the point.

Sorry, but there are a LOT of reasons for someone to lie, even if it looks like the lie is more work and pain than not lying. No one knows what happened in this case, obviously, but to say a woman wouldn't accuse someone of rape unless there was an actual rape is as false as saying any woman who is raped was asking for it and secretly wanted it. Both comments are complete garbage.

 

[GrizzleSauce]

When i answer the question on my AMCAS i am just going to be honest about how it was an offense that i couldn't defend myself against, was a product of an immature relationship with alcohol, and is not indicative of my character.

But i was just wondering what med schools are looking for in general for the disciplinary action section? Like... any certain characteristics to the explanation?

 

[StoicJosher]

When i answer the question on my AMCAS i am just going to be honest about how it was an offense that i couldn't defend myself against, was a product of an immature relationship with alcohol, and is not indicative of my character.

But i was just wondering what med schools are looking for in general for the disciplinary action section? Like... any certain characteristics to the explanation?

Admissions committees are basically going to look for honest and mature handling of the situation, what you learned from it, how you turned it around and how it reflects on your character and integrity currently.

Going back to a previous posters point - Yes, you will have to report it even if it has been expunged from your records. But since there is not going to be any record of it, medical schools will not be able to verify it and it is going to be a matter of your personal conscience. So reporting it after it being expunged is probably going to help a little with the integrity and character aspect but I have no idea how much it will help. Maybe Catalystik or LizzyM can chime in?

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

 

[LizzyM]

You will need to report that you were suspended for the rape of a fellow student. You can report that the mitigating circumstances were that you were drunk.


Now pretend that you are a Dean of Admissions for a medical school or a faculty member charged with the review of applications that are tagged as having an Institutional Action. What would your response be to an application that reports suspension for rape of a fellow student while drunk? How would you justify your action?

 

[flodhi1]

OP I consider myself an optimist but it's almost impossible to recover from something like this on your record. You might be a victim of society and it's customs but I guess you live life every day to learn. You should have hired an attorney to fight this in your school not just court. Either way I wish you the beat of luck.

 

[smarts1]

Going through disciplinary proceedings after a rape isn't something that people do lightly. I am a crisis worker at a sexual assault centre and I have to tell you that women's experiences going through the process of reporting are horrific. I have had some clients tell me that the process is as if they were being raped again.

In my work, I have met so many women who have been accused of lying about their rape and the damage is unimaginable.

From what I have heard (and you can correct me if I'm wrong), but aren't there no statute of limitations on things like this?

 

[dartmed]

As an undergrad at my first university i did not do strongly in many of my classes. I spent most of the time drinking and partying with friends with little to no thought of how it would affect my future and what opportunities i was ruining for myself.

In the summer after my Sophomore year i was contacted by my school's judicial committee. When i appeared i was told that i had been accused of raping a fellow student in the fall semester of my Sophomore year and that it had just been reported with an investigation to soon be following. The end result was that i was first expelled, and after an appeal, suspended by the university. The incident centered around a night where the other student and I had much too much to drink and thus was deemed non consensual. After this event i realized how i had foolishly been living and changed how i lived my life. This incident opened my eyes to my foolish and reckless behavior toward alcohol and school.

After this experience i spent a year in the work force and soon returned to school at another university. At my new university i have performed exceptionally well, receiving A's in all my science courses over 2 years except for 1 class, am a president of the biochemistry society, have been awarded as the most outstanding biochemistry senior student, and have worked in a research lab with a professor for close to 2 years now. I have an MCAT score that is a 29Q, a science GPA that is 3.7+, an overall GPA that is 3.63 ( an average of my transfer GPA and new Uni GPA) and should have no problem receiving multiple letters of recommendation from many of my professors.

Even with all these achievements i am worried that my past academic disciplinary action will prevent me from receiving any offers from medical schools. I am looking for advice on how to report this academic disciplinary action on my AMCAS in a way that would somehow show the adcoms that i have changed as a person and that what happened is not who i am, but a horrible mistake that occured due to reckless behavior that i have corrected in the way i live my life.

I am sincerely so sorry. I wish medical schools would really look at how much you grew since the disciplinary action. Unfortunately, we live in a world where rape is really frowned upon, and never forgiven.

Try contacting the admissions committee at a couple of medical schools, and see what they think you should do. Best of luck! Keep us updated.

 

[thlaxer]

Sorry, but there are a LOT of reasons for someone to lie, even if it looks like the lie is more work and pain than not lying. No one knows what happened in this case, obviously, but to say a woman wouldn't accuse someone of rape unless there was an actual rape is as false as saying any woman who is raped was asking for it and secretly wanted it. Both comments are complete garbage.

👍

Unfortunately, people accused of rape really aren't given the benefit of the doubt.. A friend was in a similar (but less severe) situation but still has an IA on his record even though his case was allegedly dismissed within a minute of the hearing. Sorry to hear about this OP, hope things work out for you.

 

[LizzyM]

👍

Unfortunately, people accused of rape really aren't given the benefit of the doubt.. A friend was in a similar (but less severe) situation but still has an IA on his record even though his case was allegedly dismissed within a minute of the hearing. Sorry to hear about this OP, hope things work out for you.

If his case was dismissed by the University then there was no "institutional action" that needs to be reported.

 

[gdfernan]

Would the OP have a chance at Carib schools?

If yes, would this issue come up again during rotations/residency/licensing?

 

[DucktorQuack]

.

 

[ShockDoctrine]

I don't have rape on my record, but I do have a suspension on my record. I'm powering through and have made a complete turn around with my life. If you want to be a doctor, then work for it. Make sure all the correct pieces are in place and then in the end you'll have only one red flag, which can be explained well. Get some good recommendations and write a good personal statement. That is the best you can do. You could also apply to a ton of MD schools because some might not like this, but there might be some that will give you a chance. Best of luck

 

[TriagePreMed]

The incident centered around a night where the other student and I had much too much to drink and thus was deemed non consensual. After this event i realized how i had foolishly been living and changed how i lived my life. This incident opened my eyes to my foolish and reckless behavior toward alcohol and school.

How can they know you or her were too drunk? Sounds like a witch hunt from your school. If you really didn't rape her, that sucks horribly.

But I have to agree that you'll be an automatic reject. That's simply too heavy to give the benefit of the doubt to.

 

[merlepan]

If what you say is true, then shame on whoever put you through this. Your dreams and original career plans are now ruined because society enables women to falsely accuse others without consequences, even though rape shield laws are meant to encourage true victims to come out. I have seen many academically capable people brought down by sexual assault allegations because the accuser may have regretted it afterwards, for other reasons, or because there really may have been misconduct.

I also commend you for speaking up and continuing to fight. I am sure many of those who have been falsely accused do not speak up and testify to their experience at the fear of being labelled a liar because once accused, there is little to nothing you can do to regain your credibility, especially when certain very opinionated people are involved.

Many people may claim that the risk of false accusation is worth taking in order to make sure that all offenders are brought to justice, but these people have never really understood how damaging an allegation itself can be, even if there is no conviction. The stress and fear one feels when facing 15 years (even when one is truly innocent) renders you incapable of focusing on anything else. And once the ordeal has passed, you may still get nightmares, knowing that any girl can accuse you without consequences. And you start to wonder, maybe it's too risky having consensual sex with a woman because she can turn around and accuse you afterwards. Maybe buy a tape recorder and ask her for consent explicitly.

Sometimes there just is no way to discern who's side of the story was the truth. But, a crying girl is hard to turn away and a crying man is ugly. It's time for people to change some of the practices our politically correct nation uses. False accusers should be held accountable again.

I also feel for those that have been sexually assaulted and raped, and I am sorry to those that have been in that situation. I must also tell you that you would not be in this situation if other men did not rape women. Rape and false accusations are a terrible things that should never occur, But it is a vicious cycle. If a woman falsely accuses she hurts the credibility of all other women, thus true rape victims suffer. If one rapes, he hurts the credibility of all other men, thus allowing accusations (regardless of truth) to be more believable. This is why society should crack down harshly on both false accusers and rapists.

Society currently punishes rapists very harshly. Maybe you wouldn't have been falsely accused if society cracked down on false accusers.

If you truly want to become a physician and to do nothing else then look for options abroad. Provided you have enough funding, Ireland and Poland have good relationships with USA students.

 

[red doctober]

nice necrobump

 

[aspiring20]

As an undergrad at my first university i did not do strongly in many of my classes. I spent most of the time drinking and partying with friends with little to no thought of how it would affect my future and what opportunities i was ruining for myself.

In the summer after my Sophomore year i was contacted by my school's judicial committee. When i appeared i was told that i had been accused of raping a fellow student in the fall semester of my Sophomore year and that it had just been reported with an investigation to soon be following. The end result was that i was first expelled, and after an appeal, suspended by the university. The incident centered around a night where the other student and I had much too much to drink and thus was deemed non consensual. After this event i realized how i had foolishly been living and changed how i lived my life. This incident opened my eyes to my foolish and reckless behavior toward alcohol and school.

After this experience i spent a year in the work force and soon returned to school at another university. At my new university i have performed exceptionally well, receiving A's in all my science courses over 2 years except for 1 class, am a president of the biochemistry society, have been awarded as the most outstanding biochemistry senior student, and have worked in a research lab with a professor for close to 2 years now. I have an MCAT score that is a 29Q, a science GPA that is 3.7+, an overall GPA that is 3.63 ( an average of my transfer GPA and new Uni GPA) and should have no problem receiving multiple letters of recommendation from many of my professors.

Even with all these achievements i am worried that my past academic disciplinary action will prevent me from receiving any offers from medical schools. I am looking for advice on how to report this academic disciplinary action on my AMCAS in a way that would somehow show the adcoms that i have changed as a person and that what happened is not who i am, but a horrible mistake that occured due to reckless behavior that i have corrected in the way i live my life.

First, I am terribly sorry that you had to go through all this. Even though you made a mistake engaging in sexual activity under the influence of alcohol (consensual or otherwise), it is the sort of dumb/foolish move that many college students make but only a few get caught and suffer the consequences. Of course, this doesn't justify the action, but I am confident that adcoms will mostly view this as an extremely foolish/immature mistake rather than a serious deficiency in moral character.

Now, what did the school classify this violation as? What specific policy of the university did you violate? Did you violate the sexual assault policy, or the alcohol policy?

During your explanation on AMCAS, be sure to clearly describe the situation. From what you described of the situation, consider an explanation along the lines of:

"After a female friend and I consumed alcohol, the two of us engaged in a sexual activity. Because she cannot voluntarily give consent under the influence of alcohol, I was accused of violating university policy X (state which policy you violated). I accepted responsibility, and I was put on suspension for X amount of time. I made a foolish and reckless mistake, but I have made a tremendous effort improving myself and my behavior via X, Y, and Z (describe what you have learned and how you have improved). This incident happened many years ago, and it is not representative of my character at present."

Do I think you still have a shot at a MD acceptance? Yes, I do. But will it be noticeably harder for you? Unfortunately, yes.

It would be wise to put some distance (at least 3 years) between the date of the incident and the date of your application.

Good luck and don't give up.

 

[Mako555]

Unfortunately, we live in a world where rape is really frowned upon

um what.


anyways, now that it is on your record, i don't think you'll ever be a doctor. Were you ever charged with a crime, like in court, not just at school? If not, you still have plenty of career options. and if not, its strange how they can punish you with their own ruling, without a real court.

 

[aspiring20]

um what.


anyways, now that it is on your record, i don't think you'll ever be a doctor. Were you ever charged with a crime, like in court, not just at school? If not, you still have plenty of career options. and if not, its strange how they can punish you with their own ruling, without a real court.

the university disciplinary system is completely separate from the criminal justice system. when you commit a violation of university policy (i.e. cheating, alcohol violations etc.), then the university can carry disciplinary action against your violation. It has nothing, I repeat, nothing, to do with the criminal system/courts.