Institutional Action

[cardio685]

Hi! I am fairly new to sdn, and would like some advice on my issue here. I've looked at a lot institutional action threads but couldn't find one exactly like mine.

I wanted to talk about how and if I should disclose my "institutional action" and how badly you think this would affect my chances of getting into med school. During my Freshman semester of college, I wrote an essay for my writing class. In a six page paper, I unintentionally added in ONE line from an online source and unknowingly cited it as another source I used for the paper. This was truly an honest mistake. I gave credit to using the source, just not the correct source. I could blame this on other things such as carelessness, but it is a sincere mistake.

Going further, my professor accused me of plagiarism, and reported the issue to the Dean. I met with the Dean. My professor assigned me a penalty grade, with no mark on my Official Transcript. I got a 0 for the paper, and still received a B in the class. The issue is in my undergraduate record at my institution (internal record), and is no way noted on my transcript that is sent out to medical schools. My question is, do you have advice on applying to medical schools with this incident on my application? Would I have to report this? How badly is this incident going to affect my chances at your medical school?


ALSO, no action was taken except the note of it on my internal record within the university that is deleted from the computer as soon as I graduate.

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[xstetsonx]

Yes. You WILL have to report it. You definitely won't have much luck in the Top 20 MD school. Just apply broadly and early. If you have a secondary that asks if there is anything you would like them to know, you can explain your IA on that. Otherwise, you will have to either do that on your primary or at the interview.

 

[cardio685]

Will it stop me from a lot of places due to this?

 

[VagabondKing]

You do have to report any and all IA's - Failure to report them can and will result in an instant rejection. IA's tend to be a kiss of death but there have been people on the forum that have worked past them (after years of grad school, professional growth, etc). I would personally report it (since you have to and school's do serious detective work on applicants) and then explain the situation and how you've grown from it. Definitely apply broadly, I wouldn't bet on an acceptance at a top 20 MD school.

Someone like @Goro who's an actual administrator at a school might be of better assistance as well.

Good luck in your future endeavors!

 

[VagabondKing]

Will it stop me from a lot of places due to this?

To put it bluntly, yes. Medical school is ultra competitive and due to the amount of applicants:slots open, adcoms use anything they can to trim their respective applicant pools.

 

[cardio685]

Even as something as minor as this can be this bad?

 

[cardio685]

How many schools would you suggest I apply to?

 

[whatever5]

I'm very surprised you got reported to the Dean and received an IA for messing up a citation. It doesn't sound like that big of a deal to me, and the fact that you just failed the paper and not the course means it may have been dealt with internally and you weren't sanctioned for it otherwise. Meet with your office of student conduct or whoever deals with that sort of thing at your school and ask them what they have on your record to see.

If you have to report it, be candid in your explanation and I don't see it hurting you that much, however I do get the sense there is more to this story.

 

[xstetsonx]

Even as something as minor as this can be this bad?

Yes. Why would adcom risk on someone with IA when they have so many other applicants who are just as qualified as you??

 

[cardio685]

I'm very surprised you got reported to the Dean and received an IA for messing up a citation. It doesn't sound like that big of a deal to me, and the fact that you just failed the paper and not the course means it may have been dealt with internally and you weren't sanctioned for it otherwise. Meet with your office of student conduct or whoever deals with that sort of thing at your school and ask them what they have on your record to see.

If you have to report it, be candid in your explanation and I don't see it hurting you that much, however I do get the sense there is more to this story.

No that was the real and true story. I cited the sentence as another source that I used in the paper, and due to me being careless, my professor wrote me up for it. When I talked to the Dean, he said it is only on an internal record that is deleted upon graduation. I ordered an official transcript and no word of this is on it. What should I do?!

 

[Goro]

I've been in contact with Op and feel that his IA is not as serious as others. His is a pretty common one.

You do have to report any and all IA's - Failure to report them can and will result in an instant rejection. IA's tend to be a kiss of death but there have been people on the forum that have worked past them (after years of grad school, professional growth, etc). I would personally report it (since you have to and school's do serious detective work on applicants) and then explain the situation and how you've grown from it. Definitely apply broadly, I wouldn't bet on an acceptance at a top 20 MD school.

Someone like @Goro who's an actual administrator at a school might be of better assistance as well.

Good luck in your future endeavors!