Misdemeanor Class A.

[JaydenL]

Hey everyone,

I have just joined to find some advice on my situation.

Here is my story. I first attended University back in 2008, while got into partying and hang around with friends that were committing crimes. One day in 2009, my friend stole a credit card from a vehicle and I was stupid enough to make a visit to a gas station nearby to fill up a tank in my car with stolen credit, in an exact amount of $15. Things got backfired when my friends came over one night when I was asleep and my girlfriend let them in, they used my access card, since I was living in a dorm, to go around the parking lot and vandalizing vehicles and stole a bunch of radios and such. Cops showed up next day when my friends left my apartments already, while cops also happen to find a credit card that was stolen from a few nights back. I went to the police station the same day, and I wrote a statement honestly in detail what had exactly happened. One of officer assures me that as long as I cooperated and help find two suspects, I wouldn't be charged with a crime. Since then, I have helped the officer with name and location of both suspects and I have even gone with him multiple times to give him the location of where they were.

Long story short, I have moved on with my life and I have focused my self in school until 2011 when cops arrived at my door and showed warrant against me. I was arrested then spent a day in jail until I was bonded. I hired an attorney which wasn't particularly excellent at that time, I was a student and I was very scared to even let my parents know about the situation so I hired one that I could afford at that time. I found out that I was charged with a felony with credit/debit card abuse and I was devasted. I have spent months going to court trying to drop my charges explaining what happened, but as the final result, I was charged with Misdemeanor Class A, credit/debit card abuse (THEFT >=$ 500; <$1500). I have pleaded guilty and received deferred adjudication which I was on probation for a year which I completed successfully. Now that I think about it, I really wasn't too sure why I have pleaded guilty since I did not steal more than $500, but my attorney did not explain that to me clearly and he has told me that as long as the felony was dropped with the misdemeanor, I should be fine.

2013, I finally graduated with BS in software engineering and started working for a company. As time goes by, I did not enjoy what I was doing and I really wanted to find something that I wanted to do for rest of my life. So I stumbled upon one of my friend practice one day and saw a potential as a dentist myself as it fits perfectly with my personality. I started watching many youtube videos on lots of procedures, researching through what they do and their responsibilities and decided that I have to see it myself so I started to shadow few different dentist around my area for over 200 hours to make sure this is what I wanted to do.

So started from 2017, I have taken every class from pre-requisites, and also planning to take more upper-level science classes in up-coming fall and apply for a dental school next cycle.

But with having a criminal record that happened 9 years ago, pleaded guilty 7 years ago, how would they affect me with getting acceptance to dental school? I know this was a very long story but I wanted to put every detail possible to explain the situation.

Thanks everyone in advance!

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[predent2151]

Probably best to ask schools about this. Kind of wondering why didn’t ask before actually taking all the classes. Regardless it definitely would vary on school to school basis. If they’re deciding whether to invite you or someone with the same exact stats and qualifications then obviously they would prefer the one with no criminal history. However if your open about it they’ll probably just view it as one negative meaning with high GPA high DAT it can be overcome. Still, you should ask each school you plan on applying to. Some will probably automatically reject you so you need to find out which schools would do that.

 

[JaydenL]

Probably best to ask schools about this. Kind of wondering why didn’t ask before actually taking all the classes. Regardless it definitely would vary on school to school basis. If they’re deciding whether to invite you or someone with the same exact stats and qualifications then obviously they would prefer the one with no criminal history. However if your open about it they’ll probably just view it as one negative meaning with high GPA high DAT it can be overcome. Still, you should ask each school you plan on applying to. Some will probably automatically reject you so you need to find out which schools would do that.

That was definitely on my part as I did not check, I just felt I had no problem finding a job and passes through all the background check for big companies so I felt confident that I should have no problem getting into dental school but after reading through many posts through here, I figured that wasn’t the case .

 

[Big Time Hoosier]

Schools have more than enough qualified applicants without criminal histories to choose from. So, you’ll definitely have to wow them elsewhere.

Big Hoss

 

[oralcare123]

First of all you need to consult a lawyer and licensing authorities on possibility of licensing as a dentist. Schools might not even know and just say no

 

[Overwatch]

Can you get your record sealed?

 

[setdoc7]

Only a qualified attorney can answer your questions, and it might vary from state to state. You will need to consult an attorney who specializes in licensure issues. You can usually find ads for them in each state dental journal.
Since you have been found guilty, your record cannot be sealed or expunged. In any case, your arrest record will always follow. Even on the off chance that this case can be reopened and overturned, and even if it is removed from the state website, the private background check websites are not very diligent, and your history will be preserved on the internet. With all this said, there are plenty of dentists out there with criminal records who are licensed. Get a lawyer.

 

[weaselodeath]

Hey everyone,

I have just joined to find some advice on my situation.

Here is my story. I first attended University back in 2008, while got into partying and hang around with friends that were committing crimes. One day in 2009, my friend stole a credit card from a vehicle and I was stupid enough to make a visit to a gas station nearby to fill up a tank in my car with stolen credit, in an exact amount of $15. Things got backfired when my friends came over one night when I was asleep and my girlfriend let them in, they used my access card, since I was living in a dorm, to go around the parking lot and vandalizing vehicles and stole a bunch of radios and such. Cops showed up next day when my friends left my apartments already, while cops also happen to find a credit card that was stolen from a few nights back. I went to the police station the same day, and I wrote a statement honestly in detail what had exactly happened. One of officer assures me that as long as I cooperated and help find two suspects, I wouldn't be charged with a crime. Since then, I have helped the officer with name and location of both suspects and I have even gone with him multiple times to give him the location of where they were.

Long story short, I have moved on with my life and I have focused my self in school until 2011 when cops arrived at my door and showed warrant against me. I was arrested then spent a day in jail until I was bonded. I hired an attorney which wasn't particularly excellent at that time, I was a student and I was very scared to even let my parents know about the situation so I hired one that I could afford at that time. I found out that I was charged with a felony with credit/debit card abuse and I was devasted. I have spent months going to court trying to drop my charges explaining what happened, but as the final result, I was charged with Misdemeanor Class A, credit/debit card abuse (THEFT >=$ 500; <$1500). I have pleaded guilty and received deferred adjudication which I was on probation for a year which I completed successfully. Now that I think about it, I really wasn't too sure why I have pleaded guilty since I did not steal more than $500, but my attorney did not explain that to me clearly and he has told me that as long as the felony was dropped with the misdemeanor, I should be fine.

2013, I finally graduated with BS in software engineering and started working for a company. As time goes by, I did not enjoy what I was doing and I really wanted to find something that I wanted to do for rest of my life. So I stumbled upon one of my friend practice one day and saw a potential as a dentist myself as it fits perfectly with my personality. I started watching many youtube videos on lots of procedures, researching through what they do and their responsibilities and decided that I have to see it myself so I started to shadow few different dentist around my area for over 200 hours to make sure this is what I wanted to do.

So started from 2017, I have taken every class from pre-requisites, and also planning to take more upper-level science classes in up-coming fall and apply for a dental school next cycle.

But with having a criminal record that happened 9 years ago, pleaded guilty 7 years ago, how would they affect me with getting acceptance to dental school? I know this was a very long story but I wanted to put every detail possible to explain the situation.

Thanks everyone in advance!

You received deferred adjudication and completed it, so what was the final disposition? A deferred sentence is not a conviction in the eyes of the law, but you can receive a conviction for a lesser crime in the final shakeout.

I think I am hearing from this that you were charged with felony theft but the charge was dropped after completed probation and you were found guilty of misdemeanor theft. Is that accurate? If so, then you should be try to get it expunged. If it is possible to have it expunged, then you should do so and afterwards keep it to yourself unless directly asked. Some will find that to be unethical, but I do not see any ethical problem with the law working as intended in order to give people a second chance after committing a youthful indiscretion.

If you can't have it expunged then it will be two things on your application; a definite downside and a chance to show character. It sounds like you were going through a difficult situation and had a lot of bad influences in your life; if so, you should write honestly about it. Personal change is difficult and a person that doesn't respect that automatically gets less respect from me.

EDIT: obligatory I am not a lawyer

 

[Teeth4Life1234]

My friend had a misdemeanor on his record when he applied. Besides filling out the "Have you ever been convicted for a felony/misdemeanor" question on applications, he was never asked about it.

He is currently in dental school.

But again, like many mentioned before, it probably does depend on the school.

 

[JaydenL]

My friend had a misdemeanor on his record when he applied. Besides filling out the "Have you ever been convicted for a felony/misdemeanor" question on applications, he was never asked about it.

He is currently in dental school.

But again, like many mentioned before, it probably does depend on the school.

Thanks man, I emailed all the schools from my state actually and they all said it should be fine