Medical School + alcohol violation = ?

Started by snorlaz
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So how bad does a minor in possession of alcohol misdemeanor look on a med school application if GPA, MCAT, extracurricular activities, etc. are all competitive?

If this offense is dismissed after a year, is it worth waiting a year to apply in order to legally not have to disclose the offense?

Perhaps some of you have applied with similar things on your record, or know people who have. If so, what happened at interviews, how much of an impact did it have, etc.

Thank you.

I got a drinking my frosh year
I don't know what the legal term is, but I was on court supervision for a year then it was supposed to get "removed" from my record.

If med schools only let in kids that don't drink, your gunna get a lot of sorry sacks without any interpersonal skills. And before anyone complains, no I did not mean that ALL kids who don't drink have no interpersonal skills.
 
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My friend has 2 and I believe he just got an MD acceptance. He had a strong MCAT and GPA. I think what you do after the offense has a lot of influence.
 
I had one... wasn't an issue. ADCOMs realize that you other things than just school 24/7. Undergrad is really not all that tough, and of course you go out occasionally. Getting caught doing something stupid is normal in your late teens/early 20s. Just admit it, explain why you think it was stupid...you'll be fine.
 
I've had a Minor in Possession and Transporting an Open Container and neither were an issue or even brought up.
 
I recieved a violation similiar to yours. The charge was dismissed after one year. After talking to a lawyer, I found that the charge and arrest record will still show up on background checks, but they will indicate that the charge was dismissed. Also, I learned that when I am asked if I have been convicted of a misdemeanor, I can say no; if asked if I have ever been arrested, I should say yes. Expungement would make it so nothing showed on your record. From what I've heard (Thanks to LizzyM in other posts), it is really not a big deal.
I'm not particularly sure as what questions are asked on the AMCAS background check section; can anyone enlighten me?
 
You should be fine.

If they really give you problems over that, it is a bit ridiculous.

I would much rather have someone as my doctor who along with being smart and responsible, also wasn't a complete stiff and knew when to have fun/be laid back and when to be serious.
 
I had an underage drinking violation.... it wasn't anything serious, and it was only an "institutional action." But I had to put it on my AMCAS app, and I still got in... I hope most schools would look beyond something like that.
 
Have not had one, but I don't think it should stop you or cause any problems. If they bring it up, its because they have nothing better to ask you.
 
Was it REALLY an alcohol violation? I think you were just performing an organic chemistry lab experiment with ethyl alcohol..in fact, put organic chemistry research as an EC bud 😀

Honestly though..it won't help you but I think you can make it through this and get into several schools. After all..its alcohol
 
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One reason why adcoms are so unconcerned about minor alcohol violations is because a hard line on them would discriminate against kids at some schools and give a free pass to kids at other schools where the enforcement of the law is lax (one school tends to send drunk kids to the infirmary to "sleep it off" while another will write you up).
 
hmm apparently people here equate being "fun and laid back" with "alcohol violation." :lame:

I am speaking from personal experience where my girlfriend, the girl who NEVER drinks, went on a camping trip with her friends after graduating from high school. She got the exact violation from the one time she did drink to celebrate her graduation. I was just saying that just because someone got the violation does not mean they are some raging alcoholic that is always drunk.

And the people in this thread going on about how bad alcohol is...

It is a huge part of almost every culture in the world. My own family has wine every Sunday before and during dinner. Not a big deal.
 
It is a huge part of almost every culture in the world. My own family has wine every Sunday before and during dinner. Not a big deal.


:laugh: I think that's a bit of an overgeneralization...culturally alcohol is very frowned upon in a lot of countries...especially Muslim countries and I believe the count is to 1.3 billion Muslims worldwide. The only reason alcohol is looked at as okay and things like marijuana aren't is because culturally alcohol comes from Europe whereas other drugs and what not come from places where non-whites live. But that's an argument for another time.
 
I had an alcohol violation that stayed on my record and was sent to the medical schools I applied too. I just explained what happened on my "violation" section of the amcas and wrote about what I learned from it. The only school that really seemed to care was BU, the dean emailed me to have me explain what happened in detail, I did and BAM I was rejected the next day lol . I still received several interview offers from med schools and received an acceptance with a scholarship so I don't think it matters that much as long as you are honest and tell them what your learned from it.

They did ask about it during interview though. I was just honest and they just shrugged it off. I think you'll be fine. Just don't try to hide it.
 
:laugh: I think that's a bit of an overgeneralization...culturally alcohol is very frowned upon in a lot of countries...especially Muslim countries and I believe the count is to 1.3 billion Muslims worldwide. The only reason alcohol is looked at as okay and things like marijuana aren't is because culturally alcohol comes from Europe whereas other drugs and what not come from places where non-whites live. But that's an argument for another time.

I think the big thing here is that alcohol is not an illegal drug...

Now if he got caught popping opiates or some prescription thats entirely different since it would imply he could abuse his power as a doc. But who the hell doesn't have a drink once in awhile? MUCH bigger deal when getting caught abusing prescription pharmaceuticals
 
I received a Minor in Possession ticket 2 years ago while at the lake. The ticket will be expunged once I turn 21 at the end of the month, in which case I would not need to put it on my application.
I am debating on submitting my application by the end of the week and explaining my ticket on the TMDSAS application. I have a 3.67 gpa from UT Austin and 34 MCAT. Do you guys think this will affect my application? Should I not even list the misdemeanor on there since it will be expunged in less than a month?
 
I received a Minor in Possession ticket 2 years ago while at the lake. The ticket will be expunged once I turn 21 at the end of the month, in which case I would not need to put it on my application.
I am debating on submitting my application by the end of the week and explaining my ticket on the TMDSAS application. I have a 3.67 gpa from UT Austin and 34 MCAT. Do you guys think this will affect my application? Should I not even list the misdemeanor on there since it will be expunged in less than a month?

I say go for it and apply early, as long as you can articulate how you grew from it and have matured since then. I had an alcohol related IA on my AMCAS; I applied last year and was accepted to a MD program.
 
It depends on the school
Some schools require criminal records some schools dont
You should check that in MSAR
 
I think the big thing here is that alcohol is not an illegal drug...

Now if he got caught popping opiates or some prescription thats entirely different since it would imply he could abuse his power as a doc. But who the hell doesn't have a drink once in awhile? MUCH bigger deal when getting caught abusing prescription pharmaceuticals

Illegal drug, no? Obviously illegal if you get caught drinking underage so it isn't THAT much different. Some would argue that many drugs are natural and shouldn't have steep penalties for personal use. Stupid potheads at a party cause less problems for others than a middle class worker that drives drunk. And the previous poster is correct in that alcohol being so freely used is mostly an American and European thing. Alcohol abuse is frowned upon in many cultures. In many places, an alcoholic beverage is part of a meal and it ends there. We're one of the few countries where large amounts of people sit on the couch and drink beer.
 
It depends on the school
Some schools require criminal records some schools dont
You should check that in MSAR

Almost all will check nowadays if you're accepted but that isn't the issue. He's wondering if it will matter. The schools will almost certainly see it. Like someone said, even "expunged" records show up on deep background checks, the police record is just "gone". For the most part it won't matter. I live in one of the few states where parking tickets show up on your background check. The school already warned people to not panic when you get your report back and notice a "criminal" background because the school doesn't care about most of it unless you committed a serious crime.
 
I often think about this as, "If you did this as a medical student, would the school suspend you, put you on probation, or expel you?" You could also ask yourself, "If I was caught doing this as a licensed physician, would the state licensing board revoke my licence, put me on probation, or require me to have random drug testing? Would my hospital revoke my privleges?"

If they would be unlikely to do any of those things, then in all likelihood it won't interfer with your consideration as a applicant.
 
I often think about this as, "If you did this as a medical student, would the school suspend you, put you on probation, or expel you?" You could also ask yourself, "If I was caught doing this as a licensed physician, would the state licensing board revoke my licence, put me on probation, or require me to have random drug testing? Would my hospital revoke my privleges?"

If they would be unlikely to do any of those things, then in all likelihood it won't interfer with your consideration as a applicant.

Getting an underage as a physician would be impressive. Just kidding, I follow you. Although I'd say doctors get away with and have more power than a pre-med kid that is applying. Applying to med schools can be one of the most helpless situations where good kids get rejected all the time and don't know why. I've known a couple doctors with heavy suspicion of drug abuse and still have their pen and pad. And by suspicion I mean, the normal co-workers all know that he/she abuses prescription pills but administration would have a hard time proving it without a drug test which most doctors would just decline anyway and move along with no punishment if they are difficult to replace.
 
Have personal experience and experience helping others address this on their apps. Send me a PM if you have specific questions about how to note it, what needs to be reported...