Medical What can I do after being caught cheating second semester Junior year?

[Goro]

So in the middle of all the stress of online school and studying for my MCAT, I cheated on a relatively small quiz for one of my classes. I fully accepted my punishment and was told that it would not appear on my transcripts but it would still be considered a violation. According to the AMCAS, this must be reported. I was wondering if I am screwed? I think I am a semi-competitive applicant, with a 3.59 GPA and hoping for between a 508-510 MCAT. Does anyone have any suggestions? I know it was probably the biggest mistake I made in my life and I am trying to convince myself it is going to be ok, but things don't look so good. Additionally, I plan on asking the instructor that caught me for a LoR because he can attest that this was completely out of character as he has known me for almost two years now.

First, the Bad Cop news:

"all the stress of online school and studying for my MCAT"

What do you think med school is going to be like??? As a JR, you're not in the same place as an immature FR or SO, You should have known better.

Good Cop time: Getting a LOR from the prof will go a long way to ameliorate this.

But you you damn well better own this and stay out of trouble from now on. Any repeats of any sort of trouble will make Adcoms think that you don't learn your lessons.

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[GoSpursGo]

If your plan was to submit in 2 months, I'm sorry to put this so bluntly but personally I think you're screwed for this application cycle. If you were otherwise a rockstar, maybe you would stand a shot with the LOR, but I think you will need at least a year to put time between this and your application to prove that this isn't you.

If you are otherwise ready to apply, and it's financially feasible to do so, then I suppose there's no reason to not try. But I would start considering your gap year options to be safe.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Thanks for being blunt lol, I think that I would not be doing myself any favors by not applying this semester. I think it is feasible for me to do so, but perhaps I don't apply to as many schools as I originally planned on. I have already considered a gap year and now it looks more like that is what I will have to do. Because I am a biomedical engineer, do you think it would be better to do a gap year as something like a scribe where I will be in the hospital daily? Or find an engineering job somewhere in some corporate office?

It just depends on how badly you need extra clinical experience hours. If you aren't hurting for them, then you're not gonna be wrong to get a well paying job.

 

[Goro]

Well I know med school will be stressful, however, it will be doing something I enjoy. I am currently majoring in biomedical engineering and I hate the engineering side of things, the math, and the fluid dynamics are just brutal. And I know I should have known better, if it makes it any better they caught 1/5 of the class cheating. But I know that I am only responsible for my actions and I know I messed up. I already owned up to the situation in front of Purdue's Office of the Dean of Students, and now I just hope that they can see that this was not representative of my character. I did learn my lesson though and I can guarantee you that I will never cheat again.

Bad Cop time again. You've never taken med school classes, so the bolded is actually an unknown.

Just a heads up as to what you're facing. Adcoms will have two mindsets:

1) Is this the type of student we want in our Class
2) Why accept this candidate when we have so many others who didn't cheat.

So always have a Plan B.

 

[GoSpursGo]

2) Why accept this candidate when we have so many others who didn't cheat.

To be clear, this is my concern, OP. It's not that I think you're a terrible, unredeemable person, it's just that when your app is just average, having something that makes your app stand out in a bad way unfortunately is a very easy way for you to get passed over.

Again, I wish you all the best. But be prepared for possibly the worst.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

"So in the middle of all the stress of online school and studying for my MCAT, I cheated on a relatively small quiz for one of my classes." This really seems like you are trying to downplay what you did. Step one is to own what you did. Who cares if this is a "small quiz" or licensing boards...you cheated, period.

I would take a year off to do community service and kinda put some time in between this incident and your application cycle. Also, like you said, a LOR from this professor would go a long way.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Absolutely not trying to downplay what I did, it was the stupidest mistake I have ever made and I have been lower than rock bottom since, I was more saying that to highlight my stupidity. Appreciate the input though. I've got a lot to figure out in the next month and not a lot of time to do so.

Cool. I would like to see you do volunteer work instead of a Masters.

 

[Goro]

So Plan B meaning finding a gap year?

Right now, this. The more time you put between the incident and applying, the better.

Or plan B as in I will never get into med school?

60% of all applicants never get in, so you always need a Plan B

If the gap year option, do you think it would be better to find something like a masters of public health where I can show that I can take classes with integrity? Or just find a job and work for a year or two?

Engage in service to others less fortunate than yourself.

An MPH never does anything for an app, in my book.