Need help, How will my past affect me?

[mikep]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I desperately need some advice. I have always wanted to be a doctor. I have maintained a high gpa and scored very well on my mcat. I have also done much volunteer work with charities and medical establishments. I feel that I am really prepared to attend med school. But unfortunately I have a dismissed felony for possession of marijuana. Although the felony was eventually dismissed after completion of deferred adjudication probation, I plead guilty. I plead guilty because I did not want to take the chance of loosing the case and getting a conviction. So should I disregard med school altogether and not apply? How will this affect my chances of getting in? And if I get in, will I even be able to get licensed? Your advice is greatly appreciated. Thank You.

 

[shawty ya'head]

no sweat man, you should be fine.

it happens all the time to people, they will understand. if they do not, you probably don't want to go to that school anyway.

g'luck

 

[nicholonious]

I desperately need some advice. I have always wanted to be a doctor. I have maintained a high gpa and scored very well on my mcat. I have also done much volunteer work with charities and medical establishments. I feel that I am really prepared to attend med school. But unfortunately I have a dismissed felony for possession of marijuana. Although the felony was eventually dismissed after completion of deferred adjudication probation, I plead guilty. I plead guilty because I did not want to take the chance of loosing the case and getting a conviction. So should I disregard med school altogether and not apply? How will this affect my chances of getting in? And if I get in, will I even be able to get licensed? Your advice is greatly appreciated. Thank You.

Hi Mike,

When you say dismissed felony, do you mean that it will not show up on your record? Is there a probationary period where you have a year or so and you must stay clear of the law and afterward they will drop any history of that felony? If it is stricken from your record, you should be fine when applying with AMCAS.

My friend had a felony for an unfortunate occurance (something that shouldn't necessarily determine whether or not he should be a doctor) and he had a probationary period where he had to stay out of trouble, he proved that he wasn't that type of person and later the felony record was dropped. Good news is he did in fact get to med school and is a MS-1 right now. 😀

 

[Psycho Doctor]

how old were you when you got it? Generally some charges are not regarded too strictly and chalked up to immaturity and a learning experience. Just be honest about it; don't try to cover it up.

 

[Newman8r]

I could easily be wrong, but I was talking to a doctor the other day, and I was told that if you have even a misdemeanor on your record, you will have trouble getting licenced to practice. And if you lie about it, then you're really screwed.

I don't mean to be discouraging, but I think you should talk to some people who can give you definitive answers. A felony is a pretty big deal, and the fact that it is related to illegal drugs doesn't help either - unfortunately our society isn't always big on second chances.

There's always a way though, and if you want it bad enough, I'm sure you'll end up practicing medicine somewhere.


*EDIT* I agree with one of the earlier posts, if it's not on your record, that makes things easier. But if you were actually convicted, I think you have to state that on a number of things (again, I could be wrong here)

 

[TheDudeabides]

I desperately need some advice. I have always wanted to be a doctor. I have maintained a high gpa and scored very well on my mcat. I have also done much volunteer work with charities and medical establishments. I feel that I am really prepared to attend med school. But unfortunately I have a dismissed felony for possession of marijuana. Although the felony was eventually dismissed after completion of deferred adjudication probation, I plead guilty. I plead guilty because I did not want to take the chance of loosing the case and getting a conviction. So should I disregard med school altogether and not apply? How will this affect my chances of getting in? And if I get in, will I even be able to get licensed? Your advice is greatly appreciated. Thank You.

Felony? That must have been a lot of pot. Were you selling it? If so i would think you might have to prove yourself for a couple of years, ie stay out of trouble and do something medically related. Sorry if thats not what you want to hear, but why would a school want to take a chance on someone who may get expelled from school or worse yet arrested while in school when there are plenty more equally or more qualified applicants to take

 

[PookieGirl]

Why not do some pot-related research??? That way, you could pass it off as you were carrying pot around for work purposes.

 

[nicholonious]

Why not do some pot-related research??? That way, you could pass it off as you were carrying pot around for work purposes.

the word glaucoma is coming to mind right now =D

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Why not do some pot-related research??? That way, you could pass it off as you were carrying pot around for work purposes.

that would be lying and would make him even more screwed!

 

[X.O.]

You should find out if the drug felony will prevent you from obtaining financial aid. Theres no point in applying to medical school if you cant finance it.