Institutional Action???

[Softballgal96]

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Hey,

I'm filling out my AMCAS right now, and was confused when I read about the institutional action page. During my freshman year, I got written up in my dorm for running in the halls during quiet hours. I got an email saying it was a warning, and there were no charges or punishments. Worried, I went to Student Conduct about this and they assured me it was just housing, was not on my transcript, dean's certificate, or any other external disciplinary record. They also agreed with me that since no action was taken, its not considered institutional action.

Since they said it's fine I am leaning towards pushing "no" on the question. However, I am highly paranoid about the committee letter including it in my letter since there is a record of it. I'm a little confused as to what to do about this? Advice?

 

[gannicus89]

Oh dear. Neuroticism at its finest. That is definitely NOT an IA.

Click No.

 

[SSSMDt]

I got written up for throwing a house party that prompted a swat team, a police helicopter and a local news helicopter to break it up. I clicked no for IA.

 

[Womb Raider]

LOL, and I thought I wouldn't see a better one than "I got an IA for having sex."

(B+ troll attempt)

 

[LilKangaroo]

No, no, no. You are fine.

 

[ChrisMack390]

So...you asked your institution if it was an action...and they said no?

 

[Softballgal96]

So...you asked your institution if it was an action...and they said no?

Yes, but there is still a record of it. I know record =/= IA but still the AMCAS wording is very ambiguous. I'm just worried about the Prehealth Committee requesting the Records of all applicants and attaching it to every letter. Apparently that kind of thing happens. IMO, AMCAS should do a better job of making IA be something more serious such as plagiarism/cheating, violence, suspensions/expulsions. I'd wager that 95% of IAs are kids drinking or doing something stupid in their dorm.

 

[LilKangaroo]

FWIW, generally "University Housing" and the "University" don't have much cross talk unless it's reallllllllly bad.

 

[Softballgal96]

FWIW, generally "University Housing" and the "University" don't have much cross talk unless it's reallllllllly bad.

Student Conduct has access to both, but yes at my school housing and disciplinary records are separate. And my incident is not on my "external disciplinary record."

 

[Hurdlebeast]

I'm a Resident Assistant and do these write ups all the time. These incidents stay internal to the school housing, which is often times a different bureaucratic entity than the actual academic school. Therefore, a lot of times these write ups don't leave housing and just affect conduct within the housing department, not the school itself. The only way it would be at the academic university level is if the Dean of Students Office got involved, or a higher up in housing, such as a Resident Director -- and for that to happen it normally takes a large violation or multiple offenses. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it. You would know if the incident was pushed higher up. If you're still freaking out, contact your Dean of Students and they'll let you know.

tldr: It's probably just an internal thing that the RA and housing can see, not the university. However, take it with a grain of salt because my school might run differently than yours.

 

[enchantediris]

I'm a Resident Assistant and do these write ups all the time. These incidents stay internal to the school housing, which is often times a different bureaucratic entity than the actual academic school. Therefore, a lot of times these write ups don't leave housing and just affect conduct within the housing department, not the school itself. The only way it would be at the academic university level is if the Dean of Students Office got involved, or a higher up in housing, such as a Resident Director -- and for that to happen it normally takes a large violation or multiple offenses. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it. You would know if the incident was pushed higher up. If you're still freaking out, contact your Dean of Students and they'll let you know.

tldr: It's probably just an internal thing that the RA and housing can see, not the university. However, take it with a grain of salt because my school might run differently than yours.

It's probably a YMMV thing because at my university, students have to meet with the RD and student conduct board for any incident reported by RAs (noise, alcohol, etc.). Even if the committee chooses to put this on your committee letter, I don't think it will really raise eyebrows. If adcoms don't think twice about alcohol infractions, they probably really don't care about running in the hallway.

 

[Softballgal96]

It's probably a YMMV thing because at my university, students have to meet with the RD and student conduct board for any incident reported by RAs (noise, alcohol, etc.). Even if the committee chooses to put this on your committee letter, I don't think it will really raise eyebrows. If adcoms don't think twice about alcohol infractions, they probably really don't care about running in the hallway.

I did not have to meet anyone and there was no action taken against me. If the committee DID put it in however, there would be duplicity in my App as I am planning on marking 'No' for IA. That is where my issue lies.

 

[Goro]

Running is the halls is a worse offence to us than running with scissors upside down, swimming right after eating, not eating your fruits and vegetables, staying up after your bedtime, leaving your used dishes on the table, teasing the dog or not putting the crayons away.

C'mon OP, chill out. This is almost as bad as a Batman thread.

Hey,

I'm filling out my AMCAS right now, and was confused when I read about the institutional action page. During my freshman year, I got written up in my dorm for running in the halls during quiet hours. I got an email saying it was a warning, and there were no charges or punishments. Worried, I went to Student Conduct about this and they assured me it was just housing, was not on my transcript, dean's certificate, or any other external disciplinary record. They also agreed with me that since no action was taken, its not considered institutional action.

Since they said it's fine I am leaning towards pushing "no" on the question. However, I am highly paranoid about the committee letter including it in my letter since there is a record of it. I'm a little confused as to what to do about this? Advice?

 

[enchantediris]

I did not have to meet anyone and there was no action taken against me. If the committee DID put it in however, there would be duplicity in my App as I am planning on marking 'No' for IA. That is where my issue lies.

You can always ask your university to say (in writing) that they don't consider the event an institutional action. Then, if it ever comes up, you have proof of your side of the story. Or, you can mark that you had an IA on your application and explain (it was for running in the halls, no action taken, etc.) to cover your bases, and the adcom reading your application will likely respond like Goro did above. In any case I don't think it's that big of a deal.