Medical I was arrested my senior year of high school, will this kill my app?

[Goro]

My senior year of high school when I was 17, in November, I was arrested due to theft from a retail store (I stole a mascara and some makeup as a dare). I was arrested and charged, but later did these community "theft classes" (how stealing hurts), and later got it expunged off my record. I am not proud of what I did at all, and i definitely did an idiotic thing by not thinking and giving in to stupid impulses. I deeply regret that, and I can say I have honestly learned from my mistakes. It was a really stupid thing to do, not like me at all, and it could've easily been avoided had I not been an idiot and minded my own business.

The thing is, I have it expunged, but I know AMCAS wants you to report everything even if it is off your record. That is what i plan on doing, however, I have grown as a person and never had any incidence or anything of the sort throughout undergrad. I would never ever repeat that or anything remotely like that ever. I don't know how to tell ADCOMS that i am NOT that person and never will be, and that I have grown from that. How badly will this affect my future application? What should I do?

EDIT: I am 22 now, will be 22 when i apply and 23 if i am accepted and attending any med school.
EDIT 2: To clarify, i am 100% reporting it to AMCAS

You were a child then; you'll be fine.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

You make mistakes when you are young...everyone does. Just because you have made mistakes in the past (to an extent) doesn't mean it should ruin your entire life. You have time in between your mistake and now and I think you will do just fine.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Thank you, just a bit worried that adcoms dont want someone who stole to be a medical professional. Any advice on how to say i learned from this?

Again, this was a while ago. A solid record for a few years will help.

 

[Goro]

Thank you Goro, any advice on what to say/not to say when ill have to explain this??

You own it, and you tell tell the truth

 

[lord999]

Note, AMCAS changed the rules this year about criminal history disclosure.

https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fastly.net/production/media/filer_public/8d/5d/8d5dfefb-617f-41fa-97e5-4e934cc644c4/final_amcas_2021_applicant_guide_42220.pdf

Page 23-24

If you were a juvenile at the time or the crime is expunged, it will show up in the background investigation but no longer needs to be reported on the AMCAS application.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Note, AMCAS changed the rules this year about criminal history disclosure.

https://aamc-orange.global.ssl.fastly.net/production/media/filer_public/8d/5d/8d5dfefb-617f-41fa-97e5-4e934cc644c4/final_amcas_2021_applicant_guide_42220.pdf

Page 23-24

If you were a juvenile at the time or the crime is expunged, it will show up in the background investigation but no longer needs to be reported on the AMCAS application.

Interesting. Thanks for this!

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Sorry if I sound trite, but what did you learn from that? How did you remediate? How did this change your behavior? How have you stopped others from stealing or cheating? I would be one of those AdComs you would worry about if I saw this, though taken in context.

Just wondering.

For something like this, do you think this still applies? The OP said they stole once on a dare when she was young. I mean, the only thing to learn from this would be to not steal cause it’s bad, right? Isn’t this more of a “OP grew up” kinda deal? Just wondering how you would view this and how much depth the applicant would have to go into their explanation before the applicant would have to start reaching for “their reason for change.”

 

[Mr.Smile12]

This shouldn't show up in a CBC, but you can't bank on that. I would agree that cooler heads who would review this would likely understand the context of youthfulness. But I would rather make sure it doesn't appear on a CBC than have to explain later.

 

[lord999]

When they arrested me at the time, they said I was considered a legal adult in the state of Texas. Does this still count? Sorry, im not very good with legal terminology lol

(Page 24, Highlights mine)
You must indicate if you have ever been convicted of, or pleaded guilty or no contest to, a misdemeanor crime, excluding (1) any offense for which you were adjudicated as a juvenile, (2) any convictions that have been expunged or sealed by a court, or (3) any misdemeanor convictions for which you completed any probation and for which the court dismissed the case (in states where applicable).

------------------


There has been changes to this year's form of AMCAS. This still will come up, but if it actually has been expunged, then it will not be a problem. But you have to read the section carefully if there's a state exception (below this). This is the first year of this guidance change, so there's no experience on how a criminal background check issue adjudicates with the new instructions.

If you do apply in TX though, you do have a moral turpitude charge that you'll have to explain as the Texas process is different than AMCAS. Likewise with licensing, there's very different rules (and AMCAS used to mirror them).

 

[lord999]

Thank you very much explaining this! If you run a background check, the case says dismissed, so i see after some research and on the ACMAS link you sent that I was not convicted if the charge was dismissed. I think I will contact AMCAS in the future and also a lawyer to get some more specific information so as to avoid consequences of listing/not listing my arrest. Thanks again!

You're going to need a lawyer definitely when you license to get it right. Don't hire a general one, you need to find a professional services lawyer, one preferably with licensing experience.

 

[tantacles]

My senior year of high school when I was 17, in November, I was arrested due to theft from a retail store (I stole a mascara and some makeup as a dare). I was arrested and charged, but later did these community "theft classes" (how stealing hurts), and later got it expunged off my record. I am not proud of what I did at all, and i definitely did an idiotic thing by not thinking and giving in to stupid impulses. I deeply regret that, and I can say I have honestly learned from my mistakes. It was a really stupid thing to do, not like me at all, and it could've easily been avoided had I not been an idiot and minded my own business.

The thing is, I have it expunged, but I know AMCAS wants you to report everything even if it is off your record. That is what i plan on doing, however, I have grown as a person and never had any incidence or anything of the sort throughout undergrad. I would never ever repeat that or anything remotely like that ever. I don't know how to tell ADCOMS that i am NOT that person and never will be, and that I have grown from that. How badly will this affect my future application? What should I do?

EDIT: I am 22 now, will be 22 when i apply and 23 if i am accepted and attending any med school.
EDIT 2: To clarify, i am 100% reporting it to AMCAS

I think few people will ultimately care about this as long as you are able to speak about what you learned from it. At 17, your brain is not fully developed.

Just don't make excuses. Say that you made a mistake and that you realize that it was a terrible choice and that you won't do it again.