Need advice for stupid mistakes

[kirby28]

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Hi guys, this is my first post, but i've trolled these forums a lot and i have gained valuable information and I want to thank everyone.

Now I have a major problem which I've seen coming, but just don't know how to deal with it. When i was 19-20, i had the worst year of my life. I don't know what went wrong and I regret it. I was convicted with a dui in november of 2007, not long after, I was arrested and charged with two counts of burglary (felony) which I was fortunate enough to get on diversion for. The burglary was my fault because i chose to be with the wrong friends at the wrong time and did not do the right thing.

Both events have impacted me greatly and since then I have been on the right road and actively think about my every decision, (even small things such as not speeding) I have taken my mcat on june 17. my gpa is 3.89, with sgpa very close to that. I volunteered at hospital, I am in Tri beta, and other ecs. My question is should i even bother with medical field, and pursue a different career? I am graduating with a bs in biology and i'm not sure what else i can do with the degree.

Thank you for any help.

 

[dumbbell]

if you ask me, you will make it.
but do talk to some community leaders, professors, med school deans, adcom members.

 

[kirby28]

thanks dumbbell. When you say "talk", do you mean discuss my situation with them?

 

[hopki099]

Hi guys, this is my first post, but i've trolled these forums a lot and i have gained valuable information and I want to thank everyone.

Now I have a major problem which I've seen coming, but just don't know how to deal with it. When i was 19-20, i had the worst year of my life. I don't know what went wrong and I regret it. I was convicted with a dui in november of 2007, not long after, I was arrested and charged with two counts of burglary (felony) which I was fortunate enough to get on diversion for. The burglary was my fault because i chose to be with the wrong friends at the wrong time and did not do the right thing.

Both events have impacted me greatly and since then I have been on the right road and actively think about my every decision, (even small things such as not speeding) I have taken my mcat on june 17. my gpa is 3.89, with sgpa very close to that. I volunteered at hospital, I am in Tri beta, and other ecs. My question is should i even bother with medical field, and pursue a different career? I am graduating with a bs in biology and i'm not sure what else i can do with the degree.

Thank you for any help.

With three felonies, you have an uphill battle. As far as health care goes, they don't want to take any risks by hiring people who could end up being a liability around patients. Even though you have stayed out of trouble since then, it has only been three years, which does not seem like a very long time for someone in your situation. You need to go above and beyond other applicants to make yourself an invaluable asset to your future health care profession.

Admissions committees need to see maturity and growth. It sounds like you have already proven yourself academically, so your next step would be to make up for your past. The DUI would be less of an issue, but the robberies are of most concern. To show a 180 degree turn around, you should take a year or two (assuming that you're done with school) and work at a juvenile correctional facility in an urban setting or something to that effect

After some time, you will have demonstrated that you are in fact remorseful. Explain in your personal statement how much you regret your lapses in judgment, how your lifestyle has changed, and how you have been working towards improving the lives of younger people who have also had legal troubles. Reaffirm your commitment to health care through weekly clinical and non-clinical volunteer activities, and take it from there.

It will be a long process, but hopefully ADCOMs will be forgiving. Best of luck with everything! 👍

 

[auburnO5]

With three felonies, you have an uphill battle. As far as health care goes, they don't want to take any risks by hiring people who could end up being a liability around patients. Even though you have stayed out of trouble since then, it has only been three years, which does not seem like a very long time for someone in your situation. You need to go above and beyond other applicants to make yourself an invaluable asset to your future health care profession.

Admissions committees need to see maturity and growth. It sounds like you have already proven yourself academically, so your next step would be to make up for your past. The DUI would be less of an issue, but the robberies are of most concern. To show a 180 degree turn around, you should take a year or two (assuming that you're done with school) and work at a juvenile correctional facility in an urban setting or something to that effect

After some time, you will have demonstrated that you are in fact remorseful. Explain in your personal statement how much you regret your lapses in judgment, how your lifestyle has changed, and how you have been working towards improving the lives of younger people who have also had legal troubles. Reaffirm your commitment to health care through weekly clinical and non-clinical volunteer activities, and take it from there.

It will be a long process, but hopefully ADCOMs will be forgiving. Best of luck with everything! 👍

DUI (in most all circumstances) is not a felony. And he was not convicted of the other 2 charges.

So the OP has zero felonies, not three.

 

[kirby28]

That's correct auburn, i have a dui conviction (misdemeanor) and two charges that were dismissed after completing diversion. I don't believe the burglary (not robbery) would show up on a background check, but if required, i will fully explain everything in the application process. Given that, should I still do what you said?

 

[hopki099]

DUI (in most all circumstances) is not a felony. And he was not convicted of the other 2 charges.

So the OP has zero felonies, not three.

Okay, I misunderstood what he was saying. In any event, the primary application will ask you if you've been convicted of misdemeanors or felonies (answer yes for the DUI). Some secondaries ask if you've had anything but a speeding ticket, but others, like Rush, might say "Have you ever been convicted of a crime, or pleaded guilty and been placed on probation, court supervision or another preconviction program?" It really depends on the wording about whether or not you have to disclose the robberies, so I would apply to schools whose secondaries do not address the issue.

Don't mention the burglary if you don't have to. Also after submitting the primary application, you can pay about $50 for the Certiphi background check that the AAMC and ADCOMs use to see what you should and should not mention.

As for the DUI, you can still try to explain it away, since it happens often enough, and it's not all that relevant to handling patients. Some schools' secondaries give you an essay or blank space to describe any obstacles you have overcome on your journey to pursue medicine. Again, say you had a lapse in judgment and treat it as a learning experience.

 

[KTownGT]

I actually just had a good chat with an ADCOM at a local medical school. He mentioned that, "Everyone does stupid stuff" then went on about how it doesn't look good, but can be redeemed if the applicant has made a complete 360 when applying.

I'd guess:
- Make sure grades are GREAT.
- Get some good volunteering in. Maybe talking to kids about the dangers of driving drunk?
- See if you can get the DUI/robberies expunged?

 

[Holy Frans]

I feel like you have a shot. Try to add a weekly nonmedical volunteer position to your resume, such as read to kids or soup kitchen. You need to sell yourself as a humble individual who grew dramatically.

 

[kirby28]

thanks, so should i even bother applying this cycle? I was going to wait and see how well my mcats were. Also i was required to do community service for disciplinary actions from our student life center due to the felony charge. Does this count as institutional action against me that I must explain on the primaries?

 

[hopki099]

thanks, so should i even bother applying this cycle? I was going to wait and see how well my mcats were. Also i was required to do community service for disciplinary actions from our student life center due to the felony charge. Does this count as institutional action against me that I must explain on the primaries?

You have to take a lot of factors into consideration when deciding whether to apply, but ultimately the decision is up to you. I think a lot of it depends on if you can show that you have redeemed yourself since your DUI. Did you take classes? Go in for rehab? Do a lot of community service and clinical volunteering?

If you have a high GPA, MCAT score, letters of rec, and the whole package of ECs, as well as the ability to explain to actions, then I would say go for it. Just be wary of schools who want you to disclose all charges, even those expunged and dropped.

Hopefully someone else who has been in your situation before can help you interpret what is "institutional action."

 

[dumbbell]

thanks dumbbell. When you say "talk", do you mean discuss my situation with them?

sit down with them, tell them your story. At least that's what I would do. set up an appointment with the dean from your undergrad med school/hometown med school, show them what you have done since those mistakes. Also You will need a Tony Dungy type of mentor. like the people who have responded here, I believe that you are on the right track. Don't let your past hold you down.
does it make sense? good luck to you.

 

[CarlATHF]

There was a thread (I think in the non-Trad forum? Maybe?) that dealt with people who were applying with a bad "history" such as yourself. Do a search and see if you can find it.

Best of luck to you.

 

[addo]

Okay, I misunderstood what he was saying. In any event, the primary application will ask you if you've been convicted of misdemeanors or felonies (answer yes for the DUI). Some secondaries ask if you've had anything but a speeding ticket, but others, like Rush, might say "Have you ever been convicted of a crime, or pleaded guilty and been placed on probation, court supervision or another preconviction program?" It really depends on the wording about whether or not you have to disclose the robberies, so I would apply to schools whose secondaries do not address the issue.

Don't mention the burglary if you don't have to. Also after submitting the primary application, you can pay about $50 for the Certiphi background check that the AAMC and ADCOMs use to see what you should and should not mention.

As for the DUI, you can still try to explain it away, since it happens often enough, and it's not all that relevant to handling patients. Some schools' secondaries give you an essay or blank space to describe any obstacles you have overcome on your journey to pursue medicine. Again, say you had a lapse in judgment and treat it as a learning experience.

Thats pretty good advice. Even looks like a game plan.

 

[kirby28]

thank you all for the reply. i have gone to a MADD seminar and also attended alcohol education class for my dui. I also gone through many classes in diversion and performed 60 hours of community service. I will probably tried to set something else up as well.

I just found out from my registrar that I did have institutional action against me due to the burglary charge ( I was ordered to 30 hours on top of 60 hours). Now that I have to put this down, how should I explain it? do I clearly put I was charge with two counts of burglary and the school made me do community service hours? I think I may be on conduct probation.

Because I must state it, does this basically eliminates me from even receiving secondaries? It would be very unfortunate to not even have a chance to explain myself.

 

[hopki099]

I just found out from my registrar that I did have institutional action against me due to the burglary charge ( I was ordered to 30 hours on top of 60 hours). Now that I have to put this down, how should I explain it? do I clearly put I was charge with two counts of burglary and the school made me do community service hours? I think I may be on conduct probation.

The institutional action disclosure that I mentioned was specifically what Rush was asking for. The primary application only asks if you've ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor. Use this to your advantage and only apply to schools whose secondaries don't require you to disclose the robberies (i.e. not Rush).

 

[Corpsman Up]

I think your toughest battle may not be getting into medical school, but obtaining a license to practice medicine. You need to check with the licensing boards as to what will disqualify you from being licensed. I know that if you have any felonies such as assault, you will be denied, but I am not sure about burglary. Check into it and good luck

 

[kirby28]

The institutional action disclosure that I mentioned was specifically what Rush was asking for. The primary application only asks if you've ever been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor. Use this to your advantage and only apply to schools whose secondaries don't require you to disclose the robberies (i.e. not Rush).

yes I understand that, but my school took actions against because of the burglary, so doesn't this mean i have to mention it in the explaination? in order to explain it, i would have to say why action was taken against me.


Corpsman- I think burglary is non violent, and also i was not convicted, it was dismissed so I don't think it will affect getting a license greatly.

 

[hopki099]

I think your toughest battle may not be getting into medical school, but obtaining a license to practice medicine. You need to check with the licensing boards as to what will disqualify you from being licensed. I know that if you have any felonies such as assault, you will be denied, but I am not sure about burglary. Check into it and good luck

Definitely important to take into consideration. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that residencies also do some sort of background check?

As far as physician licensing goes, I found this http://www.visalaw.com/IMG/physicianchart.pdf chart which has the websites for all states. I looked at the physician licensing application for my state (Wisconsin) and this is the most probing question on there:

"Have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony? If yes, attach a sheet providing detailsabout the crime, including date of conviction, penalty and a copy of the court documents."

That being said, I think that as long as you can avoid secondaries that ask you to disclose too much info. you can make it into medical school without any deception or worries about answering questions legally and correctly. By the time you finish med school and apply for residencies and eventually your physician license, these incidents will be so far in the past that any questions about your character will be unsubstantial.

 

[hopki099]

yes I understand that, but my school took actions against because of the burglary, so doesn't this mean i have to mention it in the explanation? in order to explain it, i would have to say why action was taken against me.

If the school was involved, then it becomes more complicated. I don't really know anything about institutional action by the school as far as the primary goes. Is it mentioned in your transcript somewhere? Do they ask for it in the primary?

 

[kirby28]

On the AMCAS application, it asks if you have ever had institutional action taken against you and to briefly explain it. i'm not sure if i should say i was ordered to do community service hours by my undergrad school due to conduct violation outside of school or just state that i had two felony charges and had action taken against me. there is not enough space to fully explain everything, it's only 1300 characters.

 

[hopki099]

On the AMCAS application, it asks if you have ever had institutional action taken against you and to briefly explain it. i'm not sure if i should say i was ordered to do community service hours by my undergrad school due to conduct violation outside of school or just state that i had two felony charges and had action taken against me. there is not enough space to fully explain everything, it's only 1300 characters.

In that case, you better mention it. I wouldn't go explaining the whole story to every school via the primary though, especially if there's not enough room. Save the full story for secondaries and/or interviews for schools who care enough to ask. I would be more vague on the primary like you described without using the words "two felony charges." Try to focus more on the results and community service. But that's just me.

 

[kirby28]

In that case, you better mention it. I wouldn't go explaining the whole story to every school via the primary though, especially if there's not enough room. Save the full story for secondaries and/or interviews for schools who care enough to ask. I would be more vague on the primary like you described without using the words "two felony charges." Try to focus more on the results and community service. But that's just me.

yes i am going to state it. I found from my student affairs that the official title of the action is campus judicial proceedings, in which they made me do 30 hours of community service for the on campus grounds crew.

Now i'm not sure whether if i should say "Action was taken against me due to off campus conduct violation. I was arrested and the charges were later dismissed." or "Action was taken against me due to off campus conduct violation and I was arrested for burglary and the charges were later dismissed." I don't want the adcom to think i'm beating around the bush, but I would also like to at least get a secondary/interview to explain further.

 

[hopki099]

yes i am going to state it. I found from my student affairs that the official title of the action is campus judicial proceedings, in which they made me do 30 hours of community service for the on campus grounds crew.

Now i'm not sure whether if i should say "Action was taken against me due to off campus conduct violation. I was arrested and the charges were later dismissed." or "Action was taken against me due to off campus conduct violation and I was arrested for burglary and the charges were later dismissed." I don't want the adcom to think i'm beating around the bush, but I would also like to at least get a secondary/interview to explain further.

I would definitely leave the words "burglary" and "felony" out of your primary.