Minor Conduct Violation - Please Help

[Vman07]

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Hey guys. I know there have been a lot of "minor conduct violation" threads, but please bear with me on this one (I haven't found a similar one yet). My violation is non-academic and does not involve alcohol.

I've already submitted my AMCAS application, and I checked "No" under the conduct violation section. However, I just got an email from Emory saying that they must report a previous sanction to the medical schools I am applying to. The incident they are referring to occurred during my sophomore year (2.5 years ago). I lived in a fraternity house at the time, and one night I accidentally made a hole in the wall of a common area. I was brought in by student conduct for "Destroying, Damaging, or Vandalizing Property" (because Emory owns all Greek housing). That sounds really bad when it's put that way. But it was just an accident while I was wrestling a friend, and it was a very small hole. The ONLY "sanction" against me was that I had to pay for its repair (which was barely over $100).

This was a minor, insignificant incident that looks bad when they say I was "destroying/vandalizing property." The problem is I already submitted my AMCAS app and I said "No" to any conduct violations. I was completely unaware that this tiny and pretty much fully financial issue was going to come back 3 years later and bite me in the @$$. And I was especially unprepared for my own school trying to screw me over for something so inane.

So what do I do? Should I simply try to explain the situation in my secondary apps? I don't want med schools to think I was trying to hide something when Emory itself is trying to send out a report of my "conduct violation." Should I specifically mention that I was unaware that this counted as a real conduct violation? I am currently trying to work out an appeal or any way to remove this violation from my Emory record, but who knows if that'll actually happen. Anyone have any experience with this sort of problem? Any advice? Thanks in advance, guys.

 

[MedAdComMD]

Hey guys. I know there have been a lot of "minor conduct violation" threads, but please bear with me on this one (I haven't found a similar one yet). My violation is non-academic and does not involve alcohol.

I've already submitted my AMCAS application, and I checked "No" under the conduct violation section. However, I just got an email from Emory saying that they must report a previous sanction to the medical schools I am applying to. The incident they are referring to occurred during my sophomore year (2.5 years ago). I lived in a fraternity house at the time, and one night I accidentally made a hole in the wall of a common area. I was brought in by student conduct for "Destroying, Damaging, or Vandalizing Property" (because Emory owns all Greek housing). That sounds really bad when it's put that way. But it was just an accident while I was wrestling a friend, and it was a very small hole. The ONLY "sanction" against me was that I had to pay for its repair (which was barely over $100).

This was a minor, insignificant incident that looks bad when they say I was "destroying/vandalizing property." The problem is I already submitted my AMCAS app and I said "No" to any conduct violations. I was completely unaware that this tiny and pretty much fully financial issue was going to come back 3 years later and bite me in the @$$. And I was especially unprepared for my own school trying to screw me over for something so inane.

So what do I do? Should I simply try to explain the situation in my secondary apps? I don't want med schools to think I was trying to hide something when Emory itself is trying to send out a report of my "conduct violation." Should I specifically mention that I was unaware that this counted as a real conduct violation? I am currently trying to work out an appeal or any way to remove this violation from my Emory record, but who knows if that'll actually happen. Anyone have any experience with this sort of problem? Any advice? Thanks in advance, guys.

There is no way for medical school to know what actually happened, it is your words against Emory's. This conflict and discrepancy might just be enough to sink your application - we take any hint of "failure to report" IAs very seriously and almost always result in interview rejection.

Why did you not fight this IA when you were originally charged?

 

[autotroph]

Hey guys. I know there have been a lot of "minor conduct violation" threads, but please bear with me on this one (I haven't found a similar one yet). My violation is non-academic and does not involve alcohol.

I've already submitted my AMCAS application, and I checked "No" under the conduct violation section. However, I just got an email from Emory saying that they must report a previous sanction to the medical schools I am applying to. The incident they are referring to occurred during my sophomore year (2.5 years ago). I lived in a fraternity house at the time, and one night I accidentally made a hole in the wall of a common area. I was brought in by student conduct for "Destroying, Damaging, or Vandalizing Property" (because Emory owns all Greek housing). That sounds really bad when it's put that way. But it was just an accident while I was wrestling a friend, and it was a very small hole. The ONLY "sanction" against me was that I had to pay for its repair (which was barely over $100).

This was a minor, insignificant incident that looks bad when they say I was "destroying/vandalizing property." The problem is I already submitted my AMCAS app and I said "No" to any conduct violations. I was completely unaware that this tiny and pretty much fully financial issue was going to come back 3 years later and bite me in the @$$. And I was especially unprepared for my own school trying to screw me over for something so inane.

So what do I do? Should I simply try to explain the situation in my secondary apps? I don't want med schools to think I was trying to hide something when Emory itself is trying to send out a report of my "conduct violation." Should I specifically mention that I was unaware that this counted as a real conduct violation? I am currently trying to work out an appeal or any way to remove this violation from my Emory record, but who knows if that'll actually happen. Anyone have any experience with this sort of problem? Any advice? Thanks in advance, guys.

You're in quite a tough situation having already submitted your application. While the violation itself is minor, the omission is not. Your best bet is probably to go for the appeal. Emory will still probably report you to the other medical schools regardless, but if you have an active appeal, there might be some lenience. I can't really tell you for sure, but leaving out IA only works if you don't get caught. You may have very well voided your chances at acceptance.

Good luck, I hope an otherwise forgivable action doesn't make you a casualty.

Why did you not fight this IA when you were originally charged?

I can't say this is the case, but I had IA taken against me for something that happened in my apartment while I was literally 500+ miles away at an event (with pictures to validate my alibi). I never appealed it because at that point of my life, I had no firm plans for my future and honestly had no idea that a blemish like that could kill an application.

Edit: The person responsible for bringing the IA against me was shortly after "encouraged to go" after being challenged for his egregious use of this "guilt by lease" philosophy.

 

[help2]

I agree. Put up one hell of a fight against Emory. Make a good argument, and persuade them that there is NO reason they should put something so minor on a permanent record. Sorry you're having to deal with this now 🙁

 

[LifeTake2]

There is no way for medical school to know what actually happened, it is your words against Emory's. This conflict and discrepancy might just be enough to sink your application - we take any hint of "failure to report" IAs very seriously and almost always result in interview rejection.

Why did you not fight this IA when you were originally charged?

Why did you lie on your application?

What happened at Emory was not a big deal and still isn't. But lying on your application may have just torpedoed you chances.

I'd start thinking about how to explain and hope that adcoms where you apply are willing to overlook.

 

[Vman07]

There is no way for medical school to know what actually happened, it is your words against Emory's. This conflict and discrepancy might just be enough to sink your application - we take any hint of "failure to report" IAs very seriously and almost always result in interview rejection.

Why did you not fight this IA when you were originally charged?

To be completely honest, I never knew it was going to go on my permanent school record. I was told that once the financials were settled, the case would be closed. Maybe I didn't investigate enough, and that's my fault, but I never thought a small incident like this would stay on my record. Also, when I met with the conduct officer, she was very understanding that it was an accident and told me that it would be no big deal. So I just put the issue to rest.

Do you really think that an explanation in a secondary app would not be enough to "save" my application? This really is not a major infraction. No cheating, no alcohol, no nothing. I have a pretty good GPA, a great MCAT score, and tons of solid extracurriculars/volunteering.

 

[MedAdComMD]

I am assuming here that the OP has already sent in his secondaries - and Emory is responding based on Dean's certification form?

 

[Vman07]

To be clear, I did not intentionally "lie" on my application. As I said, I thought the matter was resolved simply by paying for the repair. There were no real sanctions/consequences/punishments. I had no idea this would come up, and to be honest, after all this time I had completely forgotten about this issue altogether.

 

[SeminoleVesicle]

I agree with your decision not report it, but unfortunately you've fallen upon some bad luck.

I would be busting my ass to put together update letters that could be sent out on Monday to try and get the issue resolved. Frame it in a positive way.

 

[MedAdComMD]

To be completely honest, I never knew it was going to go on my permanent school record. I was told that once the financials were settled, the case would be closed. Maybe I didn't investigate enough, and that's my fault, but I never thought a small incident like this would stay on my record. Also, when I met with the conduct officer, she was very understanding that it was an accident and told me that it would be no big deal. So I just put the issue to rest.

Do you really think that an explanation in a secondary app would not be enough to "save" my application? This really is not a major infraction. No cheating, no alcohol, no nothing. I have a pretty good GPA, a great MCAT score, and tons of solid extracurriculars/volunteering.

The problem is we don't know what happened in this incident.

You claim it was an accident while "playing" with your friend

Emory claims that it was intentional vandalism on your part that resulted in a formal IA.

Guess who is taken more seriously?

At this point, you need to first get Emory to write a letter to all the schools stating that this IA has been expunged. Then, you write to all the schools explaining your oversight. To be honest, omissions of formal IAs are hard to overlook, and playing dumb that you never knew about it never flies.

 

[MedAdComMD]

To be clear, I did not intentionally "lie" on my application. As I said, I thought the matter was resolved simply by paying for the repair. There were no real sanctions/consequences/punishments. I had no idea this would come up, and to be honest, after all this time I had completely forgotten about this issue altogether.

You were called in to a student conduct committee, and they must have given you a paper that clearly state the offense that you were found guilty of - correct?

If not, then you may have a good chance to have Emory expunge this.

 

[autotroph]

OP, I would definitely get on the horn with your conduct office and see if you can have them write you a letter stating the details of your incident, find out if it is on your record anywhere. Get your facts straight, and then draft a humble update to schools that you're applying to. I agree with our helpful adcom (FWIW) that you need to at this point be backed up by Emory if any apology of yours is going to bear weight.

 

[Vman07]

The problem is we don't know what happened in this incident.

You claim it was an accident while "playing" with your friend

Emory claims that it was intentional vandalism on your part that resulted in a formal IA.

Guess who is taken more seriously?

At this point, you need to first get Emory to write a letter to all the schools stating that this IA has been expunged. Then, you write to all the schools explaining your oversight. To be honest, omissions of formal IAs are hard to overlook, and playing dumb that you never knew about it never flies.

Another clarification - Emory has NOT yet sent out a report of this incident. They sent me an email asking me if I want them to continue processing my credentials file request (to release my letters of evaluation). So as of now, none of the med schools I applied to know about this. I guess I need to put all my effort into trying to get Emory to expunge this incident.

Also, the incident was labeled under "destroying, damaging, or vandalizing property" because that's the only category under which it could fit. As I said, the one conduct officer that I spoke to acknowledged that it was an accident and not a big deal. In no way did she lead me to believe that Emory was accusing me of any malicious intent. They just had to close the case, and I was "convicted" of this of course because I wasn't denying that I caused the damage.

I'm starting to freak out about this, are medical schools really not able to look past a misunderstanding such as this? I did NOT intentionally lie or withhold information. Can I not contact the each school individually to provide information on my IA in the case that Emory doesn't expunge this incident?

 

[macsta]

Can I not contact the each school individually to provide information on my IA in the case that Emory doesn't expunge this incident?

Yes, you can. I would call each school and see what the best option is (email or snail mail). This whole situation sucks and you should have disclosed it in your primary. However, people make mistakes. Some adcoms will look at you as deceiving, but others will be like whatever.