need the honest truth

[dokta]

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I recently got a misdemeanor for public disturbance right before I was set to send my primaries. I have basically done nothing wrong in my 21 years before this mistake. I am a solid applicant but I am now extremely worried about my chances of getting into a medical school since I know secondaries ask about your criminal record. I have heard they use the question to weed out applicants.

I was wondering if any of you who have any familiarity with the admissions process or are involved with the admissions committee and can give an honest recommendation of whether I should spend $2-3000 on applying to medical school if I have no chance of being accepted. I have called schools and they have told me that I should just explain my record and that they dont necessarily disqualify you from admission, but I am very skeptical. I have read other threads on this topic but I need more advice.

Thanks for your help

 

[bigdan]

I don't remember seeing anything on my secondaries about misdemeanors...only felonies. And not all secondaries ask. You may be worried about a non-issue. If it does come up, be honest about it. I simply cannot believe that you are the only one that this has ever happened to.

Too bad. But I think there's hope. Go for it.

dc

 

[ds401]

I recently got a misdemeanor for public disturbance right before I was set to send my primaries. I have basically done nothing wrong in my 21 years before this mistake. I am a solid applicant but I am now extremely worried about my chances of getting into a medical school since I know secondaries ask about your criminal record. I have heard they use the question to weed out applicants.

I was wondering if any of you who have any familiarity with the admissions process or are involved with the admissions committee and can give an honest recommendation of whether I should spend $2-3000 on applying to medical school if I have no chance of being accepted. I have called schools and they have told me that I should just explain my record and that they dont necessarily disqualify you from admission, but I am very skeptical. I have read other threads on this topic but I need more advice.

Thanks for your help

what was the misdemeanor for public disturbance?
what does 'basically nothing wrong' mean?

 

[pillowhead]

I recently got a misdemeanor for public disturbance right before I was set to send my primaries. I have basically done nothing wrong in my 21 years before this mistake. I am a solid applicant but I am now extremely worried about my chances of getting into a medical school since I know secondaries ask about your criminal record. I have heard they use the question to weed out applicants.

I was wondering if any of you who have any familiarity with the admissions process or are involved with the admissions committee and can give an honest recommendation of whether I should spend $2-3000 on applying to medical school if I have no chance of being accepted. I have called schools and they have told me that I should just explain my record and that they dont necessarily disqualify you from admission, but I am very skeptical. I have read other threads on this topic but I need more advice.

Thanks for your help

If you do some searching, you will see that plenty of people have gotten into medical school with minor offenses like this. It's not drugs, it's not violence, it's not some massive white collar crime showing you have no ethics. If your secondaries ask about misdemeanors, be upfront. If they don't, you have no need to mention it. If this is one isolated event in the face of an otherwise very solid application, I wouldn't lose too much sleep about it. You could always call up a school you're not applying to and ask them about it.

Do realize that almost anyone giving you advice here is not a lawyer though!

 

[aragonh]

This should go in the pre-allo forum . . . . You hear enough about these stories there.

 

[SpiritiualDuck]

drop it. It's minor. It's nothing. Misdemeanor, come on, you don't have to even mention it. Even a felony charge doesn't count, just felony convictions.

So, you're fine. Forget about it and move on with your life, you bad kid.

 

[dokta]

what i meant by basically nothing wrong is that i have a clean record other than this one charge that i was convicted for and served community service for.

I realize that people here are not lawyers but I have a lawyer. I have asked medical schools about my situation, but they will not tell the truth because that would be discrimination. I put this thread in the allopathic forum because I wanted to see if any medical students who are privy to a admissions committee have come upon such a situation and seen how they treat such a student. One doctor I know that served on such committees told me that they simply get rid of applications where people have been convicted of a crime even if it is a small one because they have others that have enough applicants that have never done a crime. This is what im worried about.

To the last post, are you suggesting that I should lie when they ask if I have ever been convicted or charged with a crime?

 

[SpiritiualDuck]

I don't remember them saying crime on any application. I think it said Felony conviction.

So, what qualifies as a crime? Get clarity on that issue. Less is always more. Don't volunteer information that is not necessary that might hurt you.

Hey, it's your neck. What do I care? If you want to tell them about it, even if they're not require it, that's your deal.

 

[dokta]

most schools now ask if you have been charged for a misdemeanor or felony charge in their secondary applications.

 

[dokta]

anyone??

most schools now ask if you have been charged for a misdemeanor or felony charge in their secondary applications.

 

[PoorMD]

anyone??

D

 

[SpiritiualDuck]

I thought only convictions count. Wrongfully accused crap should be dropped.

And I didn't know that even be charged they want to know about. I thought they ask for convictions. So, things have changed then.

Good luck

 

[Dire Straits]

even if you get accepted to med school with a misdemeanor or felony, it could potentially still follow you through your career.

don't you have to report any misdemeanors or felonies when applying to match for a residency?

and i've heard applications to get a medical license ask about misdemeanors or felonies and the state medical licensing board does thorough background checks before granting you a license. couldn't they deny you a license based on that, basically meaning you've completed med school, passed all the USMLE Steps, and completed a residency but can't practice medicine because you can't get a license to do so?

 

[Thanatos]

If i recall nothing I filled out asked about misdemeanors....just felony convictions.......I would apply because I don't think it will ever come up, that being said you should never lie about it either or you'll be toast for sure!

I've always heard that you can pass off small misdemeanors as just stupid things you did in the "wild and unfettered days of your youth" and that most people in the professional world will understand. I think just about everyone has been in situations that could have easily gone from bad to worse in the presence of law enforcement........

 

[PoorMD]

even if you get accepted to med school with a misdemeanor or felony, it could potentially still follow you through your career.

don't you have to report any misdemeanors or felonies when applying to match for a residency?

and i've heard applications to get a medical license ask about misdemeanors or felonies and the state medical licensing board does thorough background checks before granting you a license. couldn't they deny you a license based on that, basically meaning you've completed med school, passed all the USMLE Steps, and completed a residency but can't practice medicine because you can't get a license to do so?

Sounds like ridiculous propaganda to me. A misdemeanor in undergraduate that's been expunged due to the 7 year rule would be enough to withhold my liscensure? Right.. Dude smoke a J

 

[ddmo]

Sounds like ridiculous propaganda to me. A misdemeanor in undergraduate that's been expunged due to the 7 year rule would be enough to withhold my liscensure? Right.. Dude smoke a J

Exactly.

Misdemeanors are just that. They don't follow you like a felony does. Become a felon and you're pretty much screwed though.

 

[Dire Straits]

Sounds like ridiculous propaganda to me. A misdemeanor in undergraduate that's been expunged due to the 7 year rule would be enough to withhold my liscensure? Right.. Dude smoke a J

well i've heard people being denied licensing in some states for what you'd think were trivial things. i read on another website of a doctor who was finishing residency being denied a license because of letters written about him to the hospital Human Resources Department by a few nurses because of his abrasive attitude. apparently for some state licensing applications you have to disclose any official negative reports about you from your medical school years onwards. well according to what he said he disclosed these letters written about him by the nurses, as well as a letter written by a resident from when he was a medical student that also complained of his attitude. in both instances he was allowed to continue on with med school and residency despite these reports. but when it got time to apply for an unrestricted license, that state medical board apparently denied him a license because of a "history of unprofessional conduct" based on those letters.

so if a few negative letters can keep you from getting a license, there's no telling what a criminal record could do, as state licensing boards consider things on a case-by-case basis when deciding to grant a license. they do thorough background checks, and most state applications asks you to disclose any criminal charges AND/OR convictions. so even if you were charged but not convicted you have to diclose it, even if it was expunged from your record.

and if you fail to disclose it then that that constitutes perjury. and you don't want to go there with licensing boards because that could result in denial of licensure or revoking a license you obtained through nondisclosure. not to mention they will report it to the FSMB and so all other state licensing boards will know, which will make it that much harder for you to get a license in another state.

 

[Paws]

To the OP, do you feel comfortable sharing with us what you did, even in a general way? It's hard to know if something may be harmful if we don't know what you did.

Hey poormd, I might think about moving and keeping different company. Your drug related experiences might not be a good thing. Licensing boards do take these situations very seriously. That's why I asked about more details for the OP. Some things a licensing board may overlook, but other issues they might not. Hard to know ...

 

[dokta]

well i am very embarassed about what I did and I know it was idiotic and ******ed. I was charged with a misdemeanor for shoplifting but that charge is being reduced to a misdemeanor for public disturbance. So that is all that will be shown on my record. Ive seen that alot of schools dont ask about criminal histories so I will definitely apply to those schools. But Im not sure about the ones that ask, I dont know if its worth it to apply if they are just going to throw away my app.

 

[hed164]

While I was in college, I received two citations for disorderly conduct. I was open about this in all of my applications. In the end, I received four acceptances (2 MD and 2 DO). The best advice I can give you is that you shouldn't make excuses for the behavior. Just be open about your conviction and hope for the best.

 

[Paws]

Hey Dokta,

Sounds like you have learned from your experience which is about what all can expect from our lives. I got caught shoplifiting when I was a kid, and since the store owner was a neighbor over our back fence, I felt really stupid and embarrassed. He was pretty straight with me, and that made a big difference for me. At my school, they do a background check and I admit I was nervous. I haven't really done anything, but still it felt really serious (which it was). First steps in medicine.

Take it one step at a time and one application at a time. Be straight and honest, and see where things take you. A misdemeanor is not a felony so you just never know ...

Good luck -

 

[josh's dad]

Take it one step at a time and one application at a time. Be straight and honest, and see where things take you.

This is awesome advice, not just for secondary applications but also for clinical findings as a med student.

For example, when asked by your resident or attending what you heard when auscultating, say what you actually could hear, nothing more or less. Once during M3 I examined a patient whom the admission H&P and several days of notes described as having a III/VI murmur. I didn't hear any murmur and, when asked, said as much to the attending. The attending's reply? "You're right, he doesn't have any murmur".

 

[bigfrank]

I recently got a misdemeanor for public disturbance right before I was set to send my primaries. I have basically done nothing wrong in my 21 years before this mistake. I am a solid applicant but I am now extremely worried about my chances of getting into a medical school since I know secondaries ask about your criminal record. I have heard they use the question to weed out applicants.

I was wondering if any of you who have any familiarity with the admissions process or are involved with the admissions committee and can give an honest recommendation of whether I should spend $2-3000 on applying to medical school if I have no chance of being accepted. I have called schools and they have told me that I should just explain my record and that they dont necessarily disqualify you from admission, but I am very skeptical. I have read other threads on this topic but I need more advice.

Thanks for your help

First off, when you called the schools, I hope to GOD you were anonymous.

On ALL my secondary applications, and I applied to some huge-name schools, there was never ANY question about misdemeanors. Only about felonies. Therefore, don't worry about it! I'm sure you'll get in somewhere if your grades & MCAT are good. Don't worry about this stupid incident, but don't let it happen again!

 

[njbmd]

Hi there,
Most medical schools and most residencies are only interested in felony convictions. Most residency programs will do a police background check so they find out about your misdemeanors anyway. Generally, unless you have a felony conviction, I would not worry and I would tell the truth on any application materials, but only if asked.
njbmd 🙂

 

[flashMD]

Know that whether you decide to report the misdemeanor during the application process or not...you may HAVE to report it before matriculation depending on your school's honor code. Our honor code SPECIFICALLY states that you MUST report any criminal activity that may have occurred between application and matriculation. It also states that if you report yourself (rather than them finding out another way), your honor code "punishment" will be much less severe.