Success story despite: Institutional Action, Low GPA, Average MCAT

[RumDMC]

Just wanted to post some encouragement out there for anyone on the admissions trail right now. I got a lot of advice from SDN during my time as an applicant but also got came across some rather discouraging posts, so here's to trying to even that out a bit.

Stats:
cGPA - 3.4
sGPA - 3.8
graduate GPA - 3.3
MCAT - 508

Little bit of background, I am a pharmacist (graduated PharmD in 2018), applied and was accepted to 2 different MD schools, started in Fall of 2019. I got accepted on my first application cycle (applied to 7 schools). I had 2 publications in pharmaceutical journals when I applied. My extracurriculars were solid, had plenty of volunteering (taught medication information classes to inpatient psych ward), a lot of shadowing hours, a solid LOR from a doctor that I shadowed/volunteered at their hospital.

As for my Institutional Action, this was a doozy. In Spring of 2016 I had a proctor report me for cheating during an in class exam. LONG story short, I didn't do it, but ultimately it was put in my file that I did. When I decided I wanted to become an MD a year and a half later, I came to SDN and everything I read made it seem like I didn't stand a chance because of the IA. I can give advice as to how I handled it on my application if anyone wants to know, but a big reason why I am making this post is to let people know that an IA isn't the end of their chances. I still got in 2 different schools, and that's with average scores.

Ask me for any anecdotal advice if you want, I'd be more than happy to try to help out. Keep fighting the fight out there, I hope that it all works out for you in the end!

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[deleted1066534]

I appreciate this so much, thank you for sharing!

 

[Goro]

Just wanted to post some encouragement out there for anyone on the admissions trail right now. I got a lot of advice from SDN during my time as an applicant but also got came across some rather discouraging posts, so here's to trying to even that out a bit.

Stats:
cGPA - 3.4
sGPA - 3.8
graduate GPA - 3.3
MCAT - 508

Little bit of background, I am a pharmacist (graduated PharmD in 2018), applied and was accepted to 2 different MD schools, started in Fall of 2019. I got accepted on my first application cycle (applied to 7 schools). I had 2 publications in pharmaceutical journals when I applied. My extracurriculars were solid, had plenty of volunteering (taught medication information classes to inpatient psych ward), a lot of shadowing hours, a solid LOR from a doctor that I shadowed/volunteered at their hospital.

As for my Institutional Action, this was a doozy. In Spring of 2016 I had a proctor report me for cheating during an in class exam. LONG story short, I didn't do it, but ultimately it was put in my file that I did. When I decided I wanted to become an MD a year and a half later, I came to SDN and everything I read made it seem like I didn't stand a chance because of the IA. I can give advice as to how I handled it on my application if anyone wants to know, but a big reason why I am making this post is to let people know that an IA isn't the end of their chances. I still got in 2 different schools, and that's with average scores.

Ask me for any anecdotal advice if you want, I'd be more than happy to try to help out. Keep fighting the fight out there, I hope that it all works out for you in the end!

What were your saving graces??

 

[RumDMC]

What were your saving graces??

I feel like I had a couple of things going for me, mainly to do with the extracurriculars. Everything I wrote about had to do with medicine, and I was sure to keep it inpatient / on the floor rather than talk about my time spent behind a pharmacy counter. The doctor who wrote my LOR wrote a really strong one, and she was friends with an adcom member at one of the schools. At the other school I interviewed really well, there's a lot to be said for practicing the hard questions before hand.

As for the IA, I asked one of my LOR writers who knew me during the affair to address it directly in their letter. I like to think that helped, I had worked for them for many years and they vouched for my character giving examples of how cheating isn't something I'd ever do. Beyond that, and the paragraph explaining it on the application, I tried to not bring attention to it.

Also I'm in a smaller state that has 3 medical schools. The 2 out of 7 that interviewed me were in-state with a high / moderate preference towards residents.

 

[RumDMC]

Yikes. At my school, they put TAs in too much power. They let us proctor exams in private rooms with the pandemic. We could have easily just accused anyone of cheating and the instructor in charge would have taken our word for it. It's sad that we had that power this semester to even scratch someone's career aspirations as undergrads ourselves!

Yeah it was rough. It amazed me how once accused, I was guilty in everyone's eyes. The harder I fought it, the more admin said it proved I was guilty (as in if I were innocent then I wouldn't be concerned). Not sure how that works but it made quite a lot of ups and downs for the next few years.

 

[meh123]

So I recently was in a similar situation and I’d really appreciate some advice. My math professor falsely accused me of cheating on an exam and has given me an F on the course. I’m confident that I can come back from this, GPA-wise, but I’m really nervous that a false accusation will ruin my chances on getting into medical school since I’m going to report this as an IA. What should I write on my application and do I have any chances of getting into MD schools anymore?

 

[Stride]

So I recently was in a similar situation and I’d really appreciate some advice. My math professor falsely accused me of cheating on an exam and has given me an F on the course. I’m confident that I can come back from this, GPA-wise, but I’m really nervous that a false accusation will ruin my chances on getting into medical school since I’m going to report this as an IA. What should I write on my application and do I have any chances of getting into MD schools anymore?

Most schools have appeal committees that review challenges to IAs. If you didn't do it, then you should be able to make a compelling case against the claim.

 

[meh123]

Most schools have appeal committees that review challenges to IAs. If you didn't do it, then you should be able to make a compelling case against the claim.

The problem is that the professor that accused me included in his email that if I appeal and can’t prove my innocence, I will experience worse consequences. Right now, I just received a warning and will have to sign a form but if I’m found guilty after the appeal, I could be suspended and it would go on my record even after graduation, something I’m super anxious about. Is it worth it to just sign the form and explain on the medical application that I was falsely accused or will they just think I’m lying?

 

[meh123]

I also don’t know how to tangibly prove my innocence. It was an online exam and the professor forgot to record the zoom video so I have no proof that I didn’t cheat. All I have are my words and my notebook that shows the work I didn’t include on the exam, something that I don’t think they’ll believe to be too compelling on the exam.

 

[Stride]

I also don’t know how to tangibly prove my innocence. It was an online exam and the professor forgot to record the zoom video so I have no proof that I didn’t cheat. All I have are my words and my notebook that shows the work I didn’t include on the exam, something that I don’t think they’ll believe to be too compelling on the exam.

I am so sorry about this situation. Honestly, this is beyond my expertise. I think you should seek legal counsel. While some people fair alright in admissions with integrity violations, the OP's story is more of an anomaly than a norm. Having an IA on your record is a serious detriment to your chances of getting into a U.S. medical school.

If it were me, I would be exhausting every resource I had available to prove my innocence. It is not ethical for a professor to report a student without proof of cheating. It sounds like the proof here is more than circumstantial and could be successfully challenged.

Good luck!

 

[deleted889094]

I also don’t know how to tangibly prove my innocence. It was an online exam and the professor forgot to record the zoom video so I have no proof that I didn’t cheat. All I have are my words and my notebook that shows the work I didn’t include on the exam, something that I don’t think they’ll believe to be too compelling on the exam.

I would absolutely talk to a lawyer

 

[RumDMC]

I also don’t know how to tangibly prove my innocence. It was an online exam and the professor forgot to record the zoom video so I have no proof that I didn’t cheat. All I have are my words and my notebook that shows the work I didn’t include on the exam, something that I don’t think they’ll believe to be too compelling on the exam.

So you were describing exactly what I went through. I was offered the option to sign a form acknowledging that there was questions about the integrity of the test but not enough proof to quote unquote convict me, or I could take it to a panel and plead my case. I spoke with a faculty member that I trusted, and they said if they were in my shoes and knew they hadn't cheated it would be very difficult for them to sign that form. I think for me personally, now that I am a medical student, I'm glad I didn't sign it. However I absolutely would have signed it if that's what it took for me to get into med school. The way my school presented the two options made it seem like if I had signed that form I wouldn't have a formal IA against me, and therefore would not have had to report it on my application. It sucks because you'll get the f in the class, but if you can rebound GPA wise that may be the better route to go. People are saying to get legal counsel, which isn't a bad idea, but the other girl in my case spent six grand for a lawyer and still came out with a guilty result. Just something to think about

 

[meh123]

So you were describing exactly what I went through. I was offered the option to sign a form acknowledging that there was questions about the integrity of the test but not enough proof to quote unquote convict me, or I could take it to a panel and plead my case. I spoke with a faculty member that I trusted, and they said if they were in my shoes and knew they hadn't cheated it would be very difficult for them to sign that form. I think for me personally, now that I am a medical student, I'm glad I didn't sign it. However I absolutely would have signed it if that's what it took for me to get into med school. The way my school presented the two options made it seem like if I had signed that form I wouldn't have a formal IA against me, and therefore would not have had to report it on my application. It sucks because you'll get the f in the class, but if you can rebound GPA wise that may be the better route to go. People are saying to get legal counsel, which isn't a bad idea, but the other girl in my case spent six grand for a lawyer and still came out with a guilty result. Just something to think about

Thank you for your response. I’m so grateful to get advice from someone who went through a similar situation. Did you take your case to a hearing or something of that sort? Is that how you were able to clear your name? I’m just so frustrated with this whole situation and it’s starting to seem impossible to clear my name of something I most definitely did not do.

 

[Goro]

The problem is that the professor that accused me included in his email that if I appeal and can’t prove my innocence, I will experience worse consequences. Right now, I just received a warning and will have to sign a form but if I’m found guilty after the appeal, I could be suspended and it would go on my record even after graduation, something I’m super anxious about. Is it worth it to just sign the form and explain on the medical application that I was falsely accused or will they just think I’m lying?

This sounds very punitive, and so you need to double-check your University's policies on appeals.

You will need to get other letter writers to vouch on your behalf to help ameliorate the situation

 

[el799]

I also don’t know how to tangibly prove my innocence. It was an online exam and the professor forgot to record the zoom video so I have no proof that I didn’t cheat. All I have are my words and my notebook that shows the work I didn’t include on the exam, something that I don’t think they’ll believe to be too compelling on the exam.

Hire a lawyer. A friend of mine was accused of a bogus IA in a similar way. Lawyer brought a negligence suit to the uni... uni backed down real fast.... they dont want to spend the $$$ on an hearsay IA.

 

[meh123]

So an update: my advisors told me to take the route of signing the form, as that will prevent my case from being a formal institutional action. I recently signed the warning form and was told that it will not be released to any outside sources like grad schools or med schools. Does anyone have any advice on whether I should still report this as an IA? I just want to be sure that I wouldn’t be unintentionally dishonest if I say that I don’t have any IAs on my applications.

 

[JimKimSlim]

So an update: my advisors told me to take the route of signing the form, as that will prevent my case from being a formal institutional action. I recently signed the warning form and was told that it will not be released to any outside sources like grad schools or med schools. Does anyone have any advice on whether I should still report this as an IA? I just want to be sure that I wouldn’t be unintentionally dishonest if I say that I don’t have any IAs on my applications.

Don’t mention it. Otherwise, is it dishonest by not mentioning the traffic ticket you got when you were 17? On a more serious note, my alma matter also had something similar, called deferred probation, which is not formal and cannot be disclosed to any outside organization who asks your academic/disciplinary record. Looks like you’re in luck and won’t have to worry about IA, but make sure to double check with your honor council or its equivalent.

Also, i don’t know why you signed that form because you should’ve pursued legal action if you truly believed you were innocent. I guess you didn’t know the proper legal steps, but justice always prevails...on the court...

 

[meh123]

Don’t mention it. Otherwise, is it dishonest by not mentioning the traffic ticket you got when you were 17? On a more serious note, my alma matter also had something similar, called deferred probation, which is not formal and cannot be disclosed to any outside organization who asks your academic/disciplinary record. Looks like you’re in luck and won’t have to worry about IA, but make sure to double check with your honor council or its equivalent.

Also, i don’t know why you signed that form because you should’ve pursued legal action if you truly believed you were innocent. I guess you didn’t know the proper legal steps, but justice always prevails...on the court...

I really didn’t want to sign the form but it seemed like the better option, all things considered. I was also incredibly stressed as the professor gave me a timeline within which I had to sign the form, otherwise it would automatically go to a hearing and become a formal IA that could lead to suspension or worse, something I obviously did not want. I also discussed the matter with a lawyer who gave me a free consultation and he said that if the test given online was not recorded, there’s really no evidence to plead my case and that taking the option of the warning would be better because then at least my official record would not suffer. Honestly, I also do not have the money to spend on seriously pursuing legal action of some sort so I felt quite trapped and had to sign the form.

 

[Banco]

So an update: my advisors told me to take the route of signing the form, as that will prevent my case from being a formal institutional action. I recently signed the warning form and was told that it will not be released to any outside sources like grad schools or med schools. Does anyone have any advice on whether I should still report this as an IA? I just want to be sure that I wouldn’t be unintentionally dishonest if I say that I don’t have any IAs on my applications.

Then don't report it.

 

[JimKimSlim]

I really didn’t want to sign the form but it seemed like the better option, all things considered. I was also incredibly stressed as the professor gave me a timeline within which I had to sign the form, otherwise it would automatically go to a hearing and become a formal IA that could lead to suspension or worse, something I obviously did not want. I also discussed the matter with a lawyer who gave me a free consultation and he said that if the test given online was not recorded, there’s really no evidence to plead my case and that taking the option of the warning would be better because then at least my official record would not suffer. Honestly, I also do not have the money to spend on seriously pursuing legal action of some sort so I felt quite trapped and had to sign the form.

Just based off of what you said, the professor also doesn’t have a strong evidence to accuse you of cheating. I’m certain with a good lawyer, you have a shot at winning this at the court (not the honor council or any university-affiliated office) by arguing your professor had insufficient evidence to accuse you of cheating. I would also look at the professor’s history with disciplinary actions and student reviews... But then, hiring an attorney can be expensive, and you already signed the form.

As a professional conduct activist, I hate their tactic to admitting you into guilt. While this won’t likely affect your medical admissions, I would feel extremely uncomfortable knowing that some professors can get away with ruining their student’s life by ”mistake.” I wish you the best of luck in your pre-med journey!

 

[RumDMC]

So an update: my advisors told me to take the route of signing the form, as that will prevent my case from being a formal institutional action. I recently signed the warning form and was told that it will not be released to any outside sources like grad schools or med schools. Does anyone have any advice on whether I should still report this as an IA? I just want to be sure that I wouldn’t be unintentionally dishonest if I say that I don’t have any IAs on my applications.

This was the safest route to go. I would not list this as an IA on the application. I chose the other route (hearing with a school appointed board) and it turned out being the worst outcome possible. Unfortunately, without recordings, its he said she said, and they don't give a damn what a student says.

Rest easy, you made the right choice and you don't have to acknowledge this as an IA on your application. DM me if you want to talk more about it, I'm not on SDN often and I'll give you my email. But otherwise, take a breath and put this God awful situation in the past. Go become the best doctor you can be.

 

[RumDMC]

This sounds very punitive, and so you need to double-check your University's policies on appeals.

You will need to get other letter writers to vouch on your behalf to help ameliorate the situation

Just wanted to throw my experience out there, I provided a multiple letters vouching for me, from a school donor to my employer to recent grads, and my dean told me that it just proved I was guilty because I was so worried about it. I was told to never do something like that in the real world. As for the university's honor committee, they did not allow students to present character references in any form, whether in person or writing.

Students have it rough in these situations, there's just no way to clear your name, and anything we do is viewed as more proof of guilt. Lousy system.

 

[meh123]

This was the safest route to go. I would not list this as an IA on the application. I chose the other route (hearing with a school appointed board) and it turned out being the worst outcome possible. Unfortunately, without recordings, its he said she said, and they don't give a damn what a student says.

Rest easy, you made the right choice and you don't have to acknowledge this as an IA on your application. DM me if you want to talk more about it, I'm not on SDN often and I'll give you my email. But otherwise, take a breath and put this God awful situation in the past. Go become the best doctor you can be.

Thank you so much for your response. I’m glad to have received some sort of validation that I may have chosen the best option in this awful situation. I really appreciate it.

 

[meh123]

I’ve seen some great insights on the topic of institution actions from @Goro and @LizzyM. I’d really appreciate your perspectives on the matter of whether I should report this as an IA.

 

[Goro]

So an update: my advisors told me to take the route of signing the form, as that will prevent my case from being a formal institutional action. I recently signed the warning form and was told that it will not be released to any outside sources like grad schools or med schools. Does anyone have any advice on whether I should still report this as an IA? I just want to be sure that I wouldn’t be unintentionally dishonest if I say that I don’t have any IAs on my applications.

What I'm worried about is you being outed by an LOR writer ("Meh has grown so much from the incident") if you don't report it. But as long as you report it and there really is no record of this, AND you have LOR writers supporting your side of the story, I think that you'll end up looking bullet-proof.

 

[meh123]

What I'm worried about is you being outed by an LOR writer ("Meh has grown so much from the incident") if you don't report it. But as long as you report it and there really is no record of this, AND you have LOR writers supporting your side of the story, I think that you'll end up looking bullet-proof.

Thank you for your advice. I was leaning towards reporting it too but my pre-health advisor strongly recommends that I do not report this as an IA since it does not count as one. The way that this warning works in my institution is that other professors also do not know so my LOR writers would not be able to mention it. I also checked with my student of conduct records and it states that there is nothing to report. Therefore, at this point, the only reason I am thinking of reporting it would be so that I'm completely transparent with my potential schools, which my advisors think is me making a mistake since some school automatically reject with any hints of academic dishonesty related IAs, once again putting me in a really strange position. Do you think that me not reporting it as an IA but discussing it honestly in interviews, if I'm fortunate enough to receive them, is a good option? I just really don't want to be dishonest in my application or anything of that sort but I'd rather not report it as an IA if it is not one.

 

[proudofmykids]

Hire a Private Investigater to investigate the professor... Then negotiate any dirt they find to 'refute' the he said she said.

More seriously, I'd typically not report what isn't necessary, but if you got an F for the course, it will require some explanation anyway.

 

[KnightDoc]

Thank you for your advice. I was leaning towards reporting it too but my pre-health advisor strongly recommends that I do not report this as an IA since it does not count as one. The way that this warning works in my institution is that other professors also do not know so my LOR writers would not be able to mention it. I also checked with my student of conduct records and it states that there is nothing to report. Therefore, at this point, the only reason I am thinking of reporting it would be so that I'm completely transparent with my potential schools, which my advisors think is me making a mistake since some school automatically reject with any hints of academic dishonesty related IAs, once again putting me in a really strange position. Do you think that me not reporting it as an IA but discussing it honestly in interviews, if I'm fortunate enough to receive them, is a good option? I just really don't want to be dishonest in my application or anything of that sort but I'd rather not report it as an IA if it is not one.

Check out this thread:

Need clarifications about cheating/hard plaigarism and how it affects chances in med/grad schools

[Long post warning] So this doesn't apply to me, but there's a lot of rumours about how this affects chances of higher education. Basically, at at my college (UC Davis), a lot of students got busted cheating online in all sorts of classes, and I mean A LOT. It has gotten to the point where...

forums.studentdoctor.net

You're really between a rock and a hard place. I totally get why you wouldn't want to report something that isn't reflected in your school's official records, and why your school is giving you the guidance that it is giving, particularly because they strong armed you into this position with the promise that there would be no consequence to you outside the school.

Unfortunately, that was BS, because your F is apparently going to stick out in what is presumably an otherwise excellent academic record. When you are asked about it (and, if you receive IIs, you almost certainly will be), most experienced adcoms' BS detectors will go off if you lie. If you tell the truth, you now have a reportable IA, no matter what you were told to coerce you into signing your form. Rock and hard place. No good answer.

I'm honestly not sure what I'd do in this situation. I can understand maybe not disclosing on your primary and praying that you are not asked about the F. If you're asked, don't lie, and explain that you weren't trying to hide anything, but was advised by your school that it was not a formal,disclosable IA due to the agreement they offered in order to get you to waive your due process and accept their resolution. Good luck.