Institutional action

[rose403]

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During my freshman year I violated the alcohol policy on campus, but was covered under an "amnesty" policy. I had to complete an alcohol edu course. When I called the student conduct office, they said it did not constitute formal institutional action and that it was not a reportable offense. Am I better off still reporting it on amcas?

and is this ok: During the fall of my freshman year (insert month and year), I violated the alcohol policy and was written up by an RA. I completed an alcohol edu course following the incident. I didn't prioritize building my study habits, which I knew were weak, during that first semester, and my grades reflected that. Since this incident I have seen a upward increase in my academic performance as it helped me refocus on my goals.

 

[deleted980662]

is it necessary to report it? probably not.

is it worth the risk of schools finding out that you failed to report it? probably not.

your statement could use a little bit of improvement, if you do decide to report. was there a connection between your poor study habits and the policy violation? the writing seems to suggest so, but if that's the case, maybe it should be stated explicitly. you might also want to add something self-flagellatory about how you exercised poor judgment and have learned from this mistake, et cetera.

 

[WalSlave]

When I called the student conduct office, they said it did not constitute formal institutional action and that it was not a reportable offense

This answer from your school couldn’t be more clear. Don’t waste even one more moment worrying about this. You don’t have an IA to report. Also I’m sorry but that statement you wrote is really bizarre. I wouldn’t include that anywhere in your app unless you wanna raise some eyebrows.

 

[Robin-jay]

Some undergraduate schools don't know to classify their own violations LOL.

If they said its not a formal institutional action, does that mean its an "in"formal institutional action?

You should ask your undergraduate school:

1.) If its an "informal" institutional action.

2.) If a medical school contacted them, would they disclose you had this "punishment"?

If the answer is yes to any of those two questions, I would have a hard time believing its not an institutional action.

 

[LizzyM]

It sounds to me like the school is trying to make this formative rather than punitive and by having "amnesty" they are providing a way for transgressions early in one's academic career to be overlooked for the sake of the student's future with AMCAS and similar applications.

Be thankful the school doesn't give alcohol IAs to newly arrived freshmen. Don't report it. In particular, don't ever tie something like this into poor grades and study habits and use it as an opportunity to explain that!