[updated] admissions committee question

[nikemed]

[updated] How do admissions view a violation of dorm room rules?

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[Stratego]

It will depend on whether it will appear on your transcript that you had an institutional action. It may also depend on how many years passed since the incident and how old you were. It does depend on how you present the situation, what you say you learned, how you made restitution, taking responsibility for the mistake, and having some years of a perfect record to put that one incident in better perspective. Just because it isn't handled by the judicial system doesn't mean it can't hurt you.

 

[atomi]

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[LizzyM]

If your institution (school) took action toward you, whatever you did has to be reported (even if it isn't on your transcript).

Deliberate vandalism isn't going to be taken lightly. An accident or "goofing around" that resulted in being written up and required to replace damaged property might be considered less aggregious.

We've also seen things like "illegal coffeepot", placing items on the fire escape, and those other violations of the dorm rules.

Explain what happened, what the consequences were and what has happened since then ("no other institutional action") and/or what you learned from the experience.

 

[skijumpbump]

What about tax evasion and illegally domesticating exotic animals?

I don't know why but this is hands down the funniest post I have ever read on SDN. Please tell me what exotic animals you were illegally domesticating.

 

[cpants]

If your institution (school) took action toward you, whatever you did has to be reported (even if it isn't on your transcript).

Deliberate vandalism isn't going to be taken lightly. An accident or "goofing around" that resulted in being written up and required to replace damaged property might be considered less aggregious.

We've also seen things like "illegal coffeepot", placing items on the fire escape, and those other violations of the dorm rules.

Explain what happened, what the consequences were and what has happened since then ("no other institutional action") and/or what you learned from the experience.

Wow I can't believe a college would actually put illegal coffeepot on a student's permanent record. I feel a charge like that should increase your admissions chances.

 

[Aggro]

To LizzyM:

How important do adcoms consider an institutional action regarding possession of a fake ID? I'm kind of confused because my school almost treated it like it wasn't that important (a tiny fine, no probation, scholarship still stayed etc.), but at the same time, I realize that had I tried to use it at a real bar instead of a campus bar, I could have ended up with a felony record instead of a judicial record.

 

[LizzyM]

Wow I can't believe a college would actually put illegal coffeepot on a student's permanent record. I feel a charge like that should increase your admissions chances.

Remember: you must report all institutional action. Whether it appears on your permanent record is irrelevant for the purposes of the AMCAS application.

The adcom can be very forgiving of some campus foibles.

Fake ID is up there with underage drinking -- in fact, why would you have a fake ID except for that purpose? There is a good reason why so many college presidents favor lowering the drinking age -- it is a law that doesn't make much sense. It is also very unfair that some schools are very strict (I saw an applicant who was written up because her roommates had booze in the room during a semester when she was not even in the country!) while others treat it as a medical problem (drunks sleep it off in the infirmary) with no institutional action of any kind. I wouldn't worry to much about the effect of "fake id" on the AMCAS... I doubt that (many) med schools would reject an applicant for that.

 

[ChairmanMao]

Remember: you must report all institutional action. Whether it appears on your permanent record is irrelevant for the purposes of the AMCAS application.

The adcom can be very forgiving of some campus foibles.

Fake ID is up there with underage drinking -- in fact, why would you have a fake ID except for that purpose? There is a good reason why so many college presidents favor lowering the drinking age -- it is a law that doesn't make much sense. It is also very unfair that some schools are very strict (I saw an applicant who was written up because her roommates had booze in the room during a semester when she was not even in the country!) while others treat it as a medical problem (drunks sleep it off in the infirmary) with no institutional action of any kind. I wouldn't worry to much about the effect of "fake id" on the AMCAS... I doubt that (many) med schools would reject an applicant for that.

What about traffic violations like turning right on red and being 13 miles over the speed limit? A normal person would give someone a warning. Unfortunately, in the great state of Ohio these are viewed as viable sources of municipal income.

 

[Aggro]

Thank you for the quick response Lizzy.

To Mao: I'm pretty sure traffic violations don't need to be reported. Anything less than a misdemeanor doesn't count. One of my friends who was accepted into medical school last year received a citation for possession of marijuana, but because anything under an ounce isn't anything more than a ticket in Massachusetts, he didn't bother putting it on his application, and it wasn't a problem at all.