Misdemeanor question

[jmkraemer15]

Hey everyone I'm just looking for some insight about my legal issue.

In December of my freshman year of college (2006) when I was 18, I was at home for Christmas break and having dinner with my family. At our meal the family shared a bottle of wine. I had one glass of wine with our meal (with my parents' permission). About an hour after dinner I was driving to my friend's house when I was pulled over by a police officer for an incomplete stop at a stopsign. I registered a .01% blood alcohol level (one eighth the legal limit) and was issued a "Not A Drop" underage drinking and driving misdemeanor citation.

What I am wondering is how much will this affect my chances at medical school? Will schools take this as a big deal or as something that a stupid 18 year old did almost 5 years ago? Also, does anyone know if a misdemeanor such as this comes off of your record in 5 years or if it needs to be expunged? I have heard many differing opinions on this one. Thanks

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[mauberley]

Hey everyone I'm just looking for some insight about my legal issue.

In December of my freshman year of college (2006) when I was 18, I was at home for Christmas break and having dinner with my family. At our meal the family shared a bottle of wine. I had one glass of wine with our meal (with my parents' permission). About an hour after dinner I was driving to my friend's house when I was pulled over by a police officer for an incomplete stop at a stopsign. I registered a .01% blood alcohol level (one eighth the legal limit) and was issued a "Not A Drop" underage drinking and driving misdemeanor citation.

What I am wondering is how much will this affect my chances at medical school? Will schools take this as a big deal or as something that a stupid 18 year old did almost 5 years ago? Also, does anyone know if a misdemeanor such as this comes off of your record in 5 years or if it needs to be expunged? I have heard many differing opinions on this one. Thanks

Start with this:

http://www.google.com/search?q=alco...s=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

 

[generator]

i don't think it will be a deal breaker for med schools. they probably don't care. as for what shows up on your record - i have no idea.

 

[b05010445]

I don't know the exact answer to your question.
But I have heard of people who have written to the judge explaining the situation and that it was a long time ago, they are applying to medical school/being a productive member of society and request that it be expunged successfully. Something to keep in mind.
Good luck

 

[ScholarStud]

They won't care dude that was a long time ago. If they bring it up be sure to talk about how you learned from it and grew as a person.

 

[deleted307836]

I don't know the exact answer to your question.
But I have heard of people who have written to the judge explaining the situation and that it was a long time ago, they are applying to medical school/being a productive member of society and request that it be expunged successfully. Something to keep in mind.
Good luck

Definitely look into this OP.

 

[jmkraemer15]

Thanks for the quick responses everyone I appreciate the words of encouragement. As for the possibility of expungement, I have looked into this at the local courthourse and from what I have gathered it is a long and arduous process to get this expunged from my record in my state (Minnesota). Supposedly it can take up to six months to go through the legal channels and get a hearing from a judge to present my case. So for this cycle it seems as if I just need to bite the bullet and report it on AMCAS and make sure I do a great job explaining that this was just a lapse in judgment and that I have learned something from this.

 

[jmkraemer15]

Any other thoughts? opinions?

 

[NightGod]

Assuming solid ECs/GPA/MCAT, I wouldn't worry too much about this. Have a 'character building' positive spin reply prepared when/if you get asked about it on interviews and you shouldn't have too much to be concerned about.

 

[Etorphine]

Is there any tangible proof that it was .01 on some record? To an outsider, it looks like you're trying to cover up a legit DUI by saying you had a glass of wine with dinner. The story will look much more credible if you can find a report somewhere saying you blew a .01. Not saying this didn't happen, but that is my first thought that came to mind.

 

[ScholarStud]

Is there any tangible proof that it was .01 on some record? To an outsider, it looks like you're trying to cover up a legit DUI by saying you had a glass of wine with dinner. The story will look much more credible if you can find a report somewhere saying you blew a .01. Not saying this didn't happen, but that is my first thought that came to mind.

The "Not A Drop" charge equates an extremely low blood-alcohol level. The same title should show up as the charge on a background check. Minnesota is the only state (to my knowledge) that charges such a low % as a misdemeanor.. In the other states it is an infraction (e.g. in CA its labeled as a "zero tolerance" infraction). IMO a misdemeanor is way too harsh of a punishment. A misdemeanor can drastically affect anyone's application... medical school or not. Unfortunately this is just another example of politicians with not enough to do, so in order to impress constituents, they "crack down" on underage alcohol use. Not to mention .01 is essentially taking a few gulps of listerine and then blowing in the the PAS... There is really zero threat to anyone's safety with a driver operating the vehicle at a .01% blood alcohol level.

EDIT: I hope I didn't scare you by saying a misdemeanor can "drastically" affect your app. Your mishap was such a long time ago, and there are no repeated offenses. If your stats are solid there's no reason for anyone to think you would make an irresponsible doctor.

 

[CodeBlu]

Call a lawyer. Seriously. They went to school for this kind of thing... I don't have a JD, and unless Law2Doc comments... your best bet is getting some legal advice.

Also, you could call schools anonymously to see what they would think. But this has been beaten to death on here... pre-meds getting drunk is not a new thing.

 

[LizzyM]

You can get admitted to medical school with a misdemeanor on your record. The adcom uses its judgement to make a decision. So, you don't need "legal advice" so much as you need to see where this situation is likely to lead. IMO, your application is going to languish at the bottom of the pile until late in the season. Then, the adcom is going to look at your explanation and decide if it was an honest mistake of someone attempting to behave maturely and would not preclude admission to medical school or this is the behavior of someone we would not want to have in our midst. (My adcom would tend to go with the former rather than the latter.) Then your application will be reviewed in the usual manner with regard to grades, experiences, test scores, etc and an interview invitation will or won't be made.

Go ahead & report it. Be prepared for a long wait for interviews but I would not preclude the possibility of interviews based soley on the reports of this misdemeanor.

 

[medicalmuscle]

op --

it is good that you are thinking about it in a mature manner.
explain it in a "bad turned good" mentality.

i think that you are going to be okay.

good luck!

-- mm

 

[V5RED]

You can get admitted to medical school with a misdemeanor on your record. The adcom uses its judgement to make a decision. So, you don't need "legal advice" so much as you need to see where this situation is likely to lead. IMO, your application is going to languish at the bottom of the pile until late in the season. Then, the adcom is going to look at your explanation and decide if it was an honest mistake of someone attempting to behave maturely and would not preclude admission to medical school or this is the behavior of someone we would not want to have in our midst. (My adcom would tend to go with the former rather than the latter.) Then your application will be reviewed in the usual manner with regard to grades, experiences, test scores, etc and an interview invitation will or won't be made.

Go ahead & report it. Be prepared for a long wait for interviews but I would not preclude the possibility of interviews based soley on the reports of this misdemeanor.

Given that an application such as this would be seen late in the application cycle, would it be a wise choice to apply EDP somewhere? My reasoning is that the usual fear of being late if rejected is irrelevant since it is a given that the application will be late. At least this way you get one place to look at the application early in the cycle.

 

[SoundofSilver]

If you can, try to get it expunged/sealed even if it is an arduous process. Then it becomes a non-issue in terms of applying for med school, unless some random secondary asks about charges, but that's quite rare.

If expungement isn't a possibility, then just explain the circumstances behind the conviction (very low BAC, wine with family) and I'm sure any reasonable adcom member would be hard pressed to hold something like that against you.

Unfortunately, a misdemeanor conviction is going to follow you for the rest of your life. ERAS (the residency application) now asks about misdemeanors, and when you apply for a license you have to disclose everything (including dismissed charges and expunged convictions). It just means you'll have to go through more red tape than most people.

Best of luck OP.