A felony

[Throwaway3772]

Hello, first post here, long time lurker. I recently had a felony charge against me, although not convicted (withhold of adjudication), have to do probation for 9 months. The charge is grand theft of $500. Other than this, my record is completely clean, how does this change things for me when applying? Most importantly, the felony charge is one where I took the fall for someone important to me that was at risk of being deported if being charged herself. Even though in the eyes of the court, I cannot say this, how does this translate to disclosure in the medical school application. Can I speak the truth that I took the fall for that person even though legally it will not appear that way...meaning the charge is mine and under my name? I'm not sure what to do, I've always been by the book and now i'm scared of not becoming a doctor one day. Lastly, please don't lecture me on why I made the decision that I did, it's been made. Looking for constructive advice on how to move forward in terms of disclosure and also would like to know if this type of felony, which was non-violent, affects the background check for clinicals and automatically disqualifies me or not. Thanks in advance for all your replies.

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[814965]

Hello, first post here, long time lurker. I recently had a felony charge against me, although not convicted (withhold of adjudication), have to do probation for 9 months. The charge is grand theft of $500. Other than this, my record is completely clean, how does this change things for me when applying? Most importantly, the felony charge is one where I took the fall for someone important to me that was at risk of being deported if being charged herself. Even though in the eyes of the court, I cannot say this, how does this translate to disclosure in the medical school application. Can I speak the truth that I took the fall for that person even though legally it will not appear that way...meaning the charge is mine and under my name? I'm not sure what to do, I've always been by the book and now i'm scared of not becoming a doctor one day. Lastly, please don't lecture me on why I made the decision that I did, it's been made. Looking for constructive advice on how to move forward in terms of disclosure and also would like to know if this type of felony, which was non-violent, affects the background check for clinicals and automatically disqualifies me or not. Thanks in advance for all your replies.

No one on this website is qualified to assess your situation. Talk to a lawyer.

 

[Throwaway3772]

Thanks for the reply. I have spoken to my criminal defense attorney and he tells me that he can't give me advice regarding medical school. I don't know what to do.

 

[TakotsuboOkazaki]

No one on this website is qualified to assess your situation. Talk to a lawyer.

+1

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

Hello, first post here, long time lurker. I recently had a felony charge against me, although not convicted (withhold of adjudication), have to do probation for 9 months. The charge is grand theft of $500. Other than this, my record is completely clean, how does this change things for me when applying? Most importantly, the felony charge is one where I took the fall for someone important to me that was at risk of being deported if being charged herself. Even though in the eyes of the court, I cannot say this, how does this translate to disclosure in the medical school application. Can I speak the truth that I took the fall for that person even though legally it will not appear that way...meaning the charge is mine and under my name? I'm not sure what to do, I've always been by the book and now i'm scared of not becoming a doctor one day. Lastly, please don't lecture me on why I made the decision that I did, it's been made. Looking for constructive advice on how to move forward in terms of disclosure and also would like to know if this type of felony, which was non-violent, affects the background check for clinicals and automatically disqualifies me or not. Thanks in advance for all your replies.

I am not a lawyer, nor an adcom. Take all of this with a 10 pound grain of salt.

From my understanding, withhold of adjudication means that you are not a felon and that you have NOT been convicted of a crime. Furthermore, my understanding is that per AMCAS rules you would not need to answer yes to the question. I also believe that you are not a felon as you were not convicted of any crimes.

BUT, this has potential to show up on a background check. If this shows up as you being charged and not being found guilty vs you being charged and receiving a withhold of adjudication would mean a whole different story. Your best bet is to run a background check on yourself and see what pops up. If it's a charge, and no conviction, I think you are in the clear.

 

[Throwaway3772]

I am not a lawyer, nor an adcom. Take all of this with a 10 pound grain of salt.

From my understanding, withhold of adjudication means that you are not a felon and that you have NOT been convicted of a crime. Furthermore, my understanding is that per AMCAS rules you would not need to answer yes to the question. I also believe that you are not a felon as you were not convicted of any crimes.

BUT, this has potential to show up on a background check. If this shows up as you being charged and not being found guilty vs you being charged and receiving a withhold of adjudication would mean a whole different story. Your best bet is to run a background check on yourself and see what pops up. If it's a charge, and no conviction, I think you are in the clear.

Thanks for the reply. I am getting a withhold of adjudication, not a conviction, what do you think?

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

Thanks for the reply. I am getting a withhold of adjudication, not a conviction, what do you think?

I think your best bet is to ask a lawyer if this would show up on a background check after you complete your probation. My understanding is that it would show as a withhold of adjudication on a background check which could raise eyebrows for adcoms.

After rereading things:
Did you plead guilty or no contest to the charge?

 

[gyngyn]

Some schools ask if you have been charged with a crime.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Deferred adjudication usually follows a plea of no contest.

Some schools also ask whether you have been arrested in secondaries. Start anonymously calling schools admissions offices and ask about whether this is the case. If so, don't apply to those schools if your CBC comes back clean.

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

Deferred adjudication usually follows a plea of no contest.

Some schools also ask whether you have been arrested in secondaries. Start anonymously calling schools admissions offices and ask about whether this is the case. If so, don't apply to those schools if your CBC comes back clean.

If it's a plead of no-contest OP would need to report this on AMCAS unfortunately.

 

[Throwaway3772]

I was reading Florida (state I am from) Statue laws regarding licensing and this particular felony of theft is not listed on the type of felonies that automatically denies you certification or licensing. Any thoughts? I just don't know how to properly disclose the situation and what I'm doing about it to medical schools. After probation, I am getting my record sealed, but that would be completed in August 2019, and I'm applying this cycle of 2018.

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

I was reading Florida (state I am from) Statue laws regarding licensing and this particular felony of theft is not listed on the type of felonies that automatically denies you certification or licensing. Any thoughts? I just don't know how to properly disclose the situation and what I'm doing about it to medical schools. After probation, I am getting my record sealed, but that would be completed in August 2019, and I'm applying this cycle of 2018.

I think your best bet is to not apply until your record is sealed. Do good things for your community, do some research, or anything that you would like, but waiting until your records are sealed would be the best idea imo.

 

[Goro]

Hello, first post here, long time lurker. I recently had a felony charge against me, although not convicted (withhold of adjudication), have to do probation for 9 months. The charge is grand theft of $500. Other than this, my record is completely clean, how does this change things for me when applying? Most importantly, the felony charge is one where I took the fall for someone important to me that was at risk of being deported if being charged herself. Even though in the eyes of the court, I cannot say this, how does this translate to disclosure in the medical school application. Can I speak the truth that I took the fall for that person even though legally it will not appear that way...meaning the charge is mine and under my name? I'm not sure what to do, I've always been by the book and now i'm scared of not becoming a doctor one day. Lastly, please don't lecture me on why I made the decision that I did, it's been made. Looking for constructive advice on how to move forward in terms of disclosure and also would like to know if this type of felony, which was non-violent, affects the background check for clinicals and automatically disqualifies me or not. Thanks in advance for all your replies.

Your medical career is over.

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

Your medical career is over.

Not when his record gets expunged after probation.

 

[Goro]

Not when his record gets expunged after probation.

Schools ask if you've ever been arrested.

IF the prompts are worded in such a way that OP can safely answer 'no" then s/he has a chance.

 

[Stagg737]

What you did was not only incredibly stupid, it will be seen by many people as incredibly unethical whether the med school sees it as a felony or you covering for a felony. Either way, if med schools find out about this, it'll likely be at least a decade before any school would even want to touch your app if ever.

I was reading Florida (state I am from) Statue laws regarding licensing and this particular felony of theft is not listed on the type of felonies that automatically denies you certification or licensing. Any thoughts? I just don't know how to properly disclose the situation and what I'm doing about it to medical schools. After probation, I am getting my record sealed, but that would be completed in August 2019, and I'm applying this cycle of 2018.

Your state's licensing laws don't matter if you can't get into med school or residency. Agree with the previous advice of not applying until your record is sealed though. If you do, not only will you be screwed for this cycle, everywhere you apply will know your story and likely shut the door permanently. Withdraw your application, go work/volunteer, build your app for future cycles when you may actually have a shot, don't do anything else illegal, and pray this gets sealed and med schools don't find out.

 

[Doctoreffedup]

I think the best thing you can do is call the individual schools and ask the admissions counselors str8 up. Tell them your situation, and they are going to tell you. They have seen it all. They aren't out to purposely hurt you. If you are really worried, just don't give them your
name. They are the best educated as to how to procede.