I Made a Mistake

[DOtobe1993]

I am a currently mid application to osteopathic schools. My freshman year of college I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was caught by an RA in a dorm room watching a football game with a group of friends drinking beer. I had to go to an RD hearing which was not productive, and my university found me guilty of violating their social conduct codes . The police were not involved and it was strictly through the school. They put me on social probation and made me pay $200 to take a 2 hour class on alcohol safety. I was only on "social probation" for the remainder of the semester, so a few months. I had no other conduct violations after this incident. Aside from this mistake I am an otherwise competitive candidate- I graduated Summa Cum Laude, was very involved in my community, worked in a research lab, have an average MCAT score, and have worked as a medical scribe and ED technician for the past two years.
I am concerned about how I should answer questions on applications for individual schools and on the AACOMA that ask if I have ever been disciplined by the university, and if disclosing this information will greatly harm my admission chances. I feel like I should disclose it and be honest but I do not want to put a red flag on my application if its not necessary...
Has anyone else been in a similar situation? If so how did you phrase your explanation so that it did not seem like getting written up for alcohol is a huge issue? Thank you in advance!
- Worried DO hopeful

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[gamieg]

is this on your permanent record? as in, did your school document it as an official institutional action (IA), or was it an informal disciplinary measure?

 

[Goro]

Just own this, don't make excuses, and you'll be fine. A lot of us were young and stupid once.

 

[radian313]

I am a currently mid application to osteopathic schools. My freshman year of college I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and was caught by an RA in a dorm room watching a football game with a group of friends drinking beer. I had to go to an RD hearing which was not productive, and my university found me guilty of violating their social conduct codes . The police were not involved and it was strictly through the school. They put me on social probation and made me pay $200 to take a 2 hour class on alcohol safety. I was only on "social probation" for the remainder of the semester, so a few months. I had no other conduct violations after this incident. Aside from this mistake I am an otherwise competitive candidate- I graduated Summa Cum Laude, was very involved in my community, worked in a research lab, have an average MCAT score, and have worked as a medical scribe and ED technician for the past two years.
I am concerned about how I should answer questions on applications for individual schools and on the AACOMA that ask if I have ever been disciplined by the university, and if disclosing this information will greatly harm my admission chances. I feel like I should disclose it and be honest but I do not want to put a red flag on my application if its not necessary...
Has anyone else been in a similar situation? If so how did you phrase your explanation so that it did not seem like getting written up for alcohol is a huge issue? Thank you in advance!
- Worried DO hopeful

Stupid? You bet ya, but good news is, we all have been stupid. That said, you HAVE to disclose it. How you do it, you need to ensure and show what you learned from it and be accountable for your actions. Don't make up BS, ad coms will see through it. Be genuine.

 

[austintr]

Haven't been in your position, but the common wisdom is that you'll likely be better off acknowleding and explaining it on secondaries. I think pretty much every school gives a field to explain the situation, what you learned, etc if you answer yes to the discipline section. They probably would never know if it isn't on your transcript, but I highly doubt any school is going to throw your app out based only on something that happened several years ago, provided you explain it well. Better safe than sorry, as they say.

 

[BoroPreMed92]

Yes, definitely own it. Big thing here is to not make excuses or blame others when given the chance to explain the situation if it comes up in an interview or on a secondary app.

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[Mad Jack]

Own it, because there's a very good chance it's a part of your file. Won't hurt you much at all.

 

[pseud0]

America is great. Can't drink a beer at age 18 but you can go die defending oilfields in Iraq at 18. Makes sense.