Institutional action- unqiue scenario, what to report?

[ml01]

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My sophomore year of college, I did something very foolish. There was no arrest, but I was charged with the offense (shoplifting 30$ worth). I went thru a pretrial diversion program, and the misdemeanor was removed from my record. I had to report to the student ethics office and write them an essay regarding what I learned from the experience.

I thought that the offense was totally off my record, but when I applied for a job at my school, it showed up as a 'conditional dismissal of a misdemeanor' in which I had to answer to.

Obiviously, the AMCAS question about institutional action is very confusing for me. I'm not sure what would constitute saying yes to this question since it was dismissed, however I did have to answer to student ethics.



Thanks for any help.

-M.
Medical schools require you to answer this question accurately and provide all relevant information. Medical schools understand that many individuals learn from the past and emerge stronger as a result. Full disclosure will enable the Medical schools to more effectively evaluate this information within the context of your credentials.
You must answer Yes to this question if you were ever the recipient of any institutional action resulting from unacceptable academic performance or a conduct violation, even if such action did not interrupt your enrollment or require you to withdraw. You must answer Yes even if the action does not appear on or has been deleted from your official transcripts due to institutional policy or personal petition.
If you are not certain whether or not you have been the subject of an institutional action, contact the registrar, student affairs officer, or other appropriate party at the institution for confirmation of your record.
Applicants who become the subject of an institutional action after certifying and submitting the AMCAS application must inform their designated medical schools that an action has occurred.
If you answer Yes, you may use the provided space beneath the question to explain; this space is 1325 characters or approximately one-quarter of a page in length. You will receive an error message if you exceed the allotted space.
Failure to provide accurate information in answering this question or, if applicable, in completing the form provided by the school, will result in an investigation.

 

[Compass]

Writing an essay for your ethics group is institutional action.

 

[ml01]

I also need any info on what to answer to this question as well, TIA


Have you ever been convicted of, or pleaded guilty or no contest to, a Misdemeanor crime, excluding 1) any offense for which you were adjudicated as a juvenile, 2) any convictions which have been expunged or sealed by a court, or 3) any misdemeanor convictions for which any probation has been completed and the case dismissed by the court (in states where applicable)?
You need NOT disclose any instance where you:

• were arrested, but not charged;
• were arrested and charged, but the charges were dropped;
• were arrested and charged, but found not guilty by a judge or jury;
• were arrested and found guilty by a judge or jury, but the conviction was overturned on appeal; or
• received an executive pardon.

 

[ml01]

Writing an essay for your ethics group is institutional action.

Should I indicate that the offense was retail fraud and there was no convinction due to a conditional dismissal or just write that there is a conditional dismissal of a misdeamor?

I feel like it's going to destroy my chances of getting in. It's not a reflection at all of who I am but was due to extreme financial pressure, though not any sort of excuse obviously. I just have no idea what to say to put this in the best light possible...

 

[venacontracta]

I also need any info on what to answer to this question as well, TIA


Have you ever been convicted of, or pleaded guilty or no contest to, a Misdemeanor crime, excluding 1) any offense for which you were adjudicated as a juvenile, 2) any convictions which have been expunged or sealed by a court, or 3) any misdemeanor convictions for which any probation has been completed and the case dismissed by the court (in states where applicable)?
You need NOT disclose any instance where you:

• were arrested, but not charged;
• were arrested and charged, but the charges were dropped;
• were arrested and charged, but found not guilty by a judge or jury;
• were arrested and found guilty by a judge or jury, but the conviction was overturned on appeal; or
• received an executive pardon.

1) With regard to the criminal justice (legal) system, not to your school did you plead guilty or no contest to any charges related to this incident? This may have been a condition of entering the pretrial diversion program. If you admitted guilt to your school in an essay but did not formally plead guilty/no contest to a court, the answer to this question is still no.

2) Were you convicted of any charge related to this incident? The fact that you may have avoided punishment through a special program does not matter.

If NO to #1 and #2 - then you do not have to disclose anything in response to the quoted question
If YES to either or both - see #3
If unsure of the answer to either question, contact a lawyer or review court papers you may have

3) As a benefit of participating in the pretrial diversion program, were records from the incident sealed/expunged with regard to the legal system, not your school?

If NO to #3 - then you need to disclose the incident in response to the quoted question
If YES to #3 - then you do not need to disclose the incident in response to the quoted question
If unsure of the answer to #3, contact a lawyer, or perhaps the court clerk's office of the relevant court would confirm for you whether your records are sealed or expunged.

I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.

 

[BerlinDude]

So if the institution does not mention their action on the transcript due to administrative policy, how would anyone know about that? Why does AMCAS ask you to report something that is harmful to you if the institution will not say anything?

 

[ThaliaNox]

So if the institution does not mention their action on the transcript due to administrative policy, how would anyone know about that? Why does AMCAS ask you to report something that is harmful to you if the institution will not say anything?

Some schools remove things and others don't. Why should someone who went to a more lenient school get off scott free? Anyway, things are never REALLY off your record, as the OP learned.

As for how schools will know if it really isn't on the transcript, there are med schools which require a letter from the dean upon matriculation. This letter is instructed to indicate if university action had EVER been taken. Not all schools do this, but enough.

 

[siliso]

I would do exactly as AMCAS instructs: contact the Dean of Students and inquire as to whether anything classified as "institutional action" was ever taken against you, and if so, what was that action. Then you won't have any doubts as to what to specify in your app.

If it was a pretrial diversion program where the charges were dropped after you completed certain requirements, then it would fall under the "charges dropped - don't disclose" instruction. If you were convicted or plead guilty/no contest, then disclose.

 

[pennstate4life]

Go to agent Bauer for an executive pardon. He has connections.