Sexual assault or misconduct. What are my chances?

[deleted1102960]

Hi I am a senior chemistry major at a small liberal arts school. I have been wrongly accused of sexual assault and for the past 4 months have been going through the Title IX process at my school with a lawyer that I have hired. It’s been determined that I am responsible despite the lack of physical evidence. My college works on the preponderance of evidence so the burden of proof was already very low. Their were differing witness claims but the college has come to the decision that the victim was not able to consent. Now I come to this forum in search for an answer on what to do next. I have fought for my life. I have given them the truth what had happened and despite different witnesses saying different things, I was still found responsible. My sanctions include not being able to walk graduation, immediate removal from campus housing and resignation from the RA position. I am still able to graduate on time. I am currently trying to appeal but the likelihood an appeal will work is little to none. I have always wanted to be a doctor a despite how cautious I have been in terms of recieving consent, I still find myself in this position. I am not sure what to do. I want to be a doctor really badly but it feels like ALL my doors have closed. I come here for some help or guidance. Please help me

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[Moko]

Hi I am a senior chemistry major at a small liberal arts school. I have been wrongly accused of sexual assault and for the past 4 months have been going through the Title IX process at my school with a lawyer that I have hired. It’s been determined that I am responsible despite the lack of physical evidence. My college works on the preponderance of evidence so the burden of proof was already very low. Their were differing witness claims but the college has come to the decision that the victim was not able to consent. Now I come to this forum in search for an answer on what to do next. I have fought for my life. I have given them the truth what had happened and despite different witnesses saying different things, I was still found responsible. My sanctions include not being able to walk graduation, immediate removal from campus housing and resignation from the RA position. I am still able to graduate on time. I am currently trying to appeal but the likelihood an appeal will work is little to none. I have always wanted to be a doctor a despite how cautious I have been in terms of recieving consent, I still find myself in this position. I am not sure what to do. I want to be a doctor really badly but it feels like ALL my doors have closed. I come here for some help or guidance. Please help me

Despite your reported innocence, we have no way of determining whether these allegations are true, and therefore must rely on your school's conclusions. For all practical purposes, you will be DOA at any USMD/USDO school. Having this IA / being found guilty of a sexual misconduct/crime against person, especially as a senior, is the kiss of death (no pun intended) on any application. Since you have a pulse, the Caribbean schools may take a chance on you. However, with their poor attrition+match rates, it is difficult for me to ever recommend them to anyone, but they are realistically the only shot you've got. If this gets escalated to at least a misdemeanor, then this will need to be reported on ERAS as well.. Personally, I would pursue another career rather than go to the Caribbean and take the risk of not successfully matching and be left with significant debt without the ability to pay it back. Your risk tolerance may vary. Just my thoughts and best of luck to you.

 

[bngli]

Despite your reported innocence, we have no way of determining whether these allegations are true, and therefore must rely on your school's conclusions. You will be DOA at any USMD/USDO. Having this IA / being found guilty of a sexual crime against person is the kiss of death (no pun intended) on any application. Since you have a pulse, the Caribbean schools may take a chance on you. However, with their poor attrition+match rates, it is difficult for me to ever recommend them to anyone, but they are realistically the only shot you've got. Prior to pursuing this path though, you need to make sure that this is not something you need to disclose to residency programs (I believe ERAS only asks for misdemeanors/felony convictions, but I defer to others who are more knowledgeable). Personally, I would pursue another career rather than to take the risk of not successfully matching and being left with significant debt without the ability of paying it back. Just my thoughts and best of luck to you.

Before going Caribbean, consider other IMG schools. IMO, UQ-Ochsner is way better than the Caribbean even if it is worse than MD/DO. And I'm not convinced it is worse than the very worst DO schools.

Personally, if I were in your position, I would go into tech. Or nursing if you absolutely have to be involved in medicine.

 

[LunaOri]

Even if you were accepted to medical school, it could be difficult to get licensed. Consult a lawyer.

 

[Goro]

Despite your reported innocence, we have no way of determining whether these allegations are true, and therefore must rely on your school's conclusions. For all practical purposes, you will be DOA at any USMD/USDO school. Having this IA / being found guilty of a sexual misconduct/crime against person, especially as a senior, is the kiss of death (no pun intended) on any application. Since you have a pulse, the Caribbean schools may take a chance on you. However, with their poor attrition+match rates, it is difficult for me to ever recommend them to anyone, but they are realistically the only shot you've got. If this gets escalated to at least a misdemeanor, then this will need to be reported on ERAS as well.. Personally, I would pursue another career rather than go to the Caribbean, take the risk of not successfully matching, and be left with significant debt without the ability to pay it back. Your risk tolerance may vary. Just my thoughts and best of luck to you.

I can't sugar coat this: you'd be DOA at my school.

 

[lanadelgay124]

I have been wrongly accused of sexual assault and for the past 4 months have been going through the Title IX process at my school with a lawyer that I have hired. It’s been determined that I am responsible despite the lack of physical evidence.

If you've been determined to be at fault, it doesn't matter whether you were "wrongly accused" or not. Medical schools do not make this judgement, and they certainly don't parse through who was wrongly accused or not.

 

[sarcasmrules]

This is very serious. You're going to need to take your time, think your game plan thoroughly to prove your innocence and get that record expunged or sealed at your student conduct records. When something is expunged or sealed, it will not show up in your Student Conduct Record or criminal background check. However, AMCAS requires you to report it even if it was removed from your record. I don't know if your specific case warrants an exception if you were actually proven innocent, You'll have to ask the experts here.

 

[gyngyn]

Attempts at humor in a thread on assault have been poorly received.
Please stay OT.

 

[Talldoctor96]

My advice: now is not the moment to even think about medical school. Think about your life. Something like this can have devastating consequences in any profession. If you are innocent, exhaust every appeal process you have and get a lawyer.

 

[sarcasmrules]

Attempts at humor in a thread on assault have been poorly received.
Please stay OT.

OT?

 

[Talldoctor96]

OT?

on topic.

 

[gyngyn]

OT?

On topic (without derailment).

 

[sarcasmrules]

I'm curious. If OP is actually able to overturn their conviction, can they answer "no" on the Institutional Action section of AMCAS? If OP is able to prove innocence, then it wouldn't be because they cleared their student records due to appeal (but were still guilty of the act), but it's more because their Student Conduct/Title IX record never should have existed in the first place. So would they be able to answer "no" to the Institutional Action question?

And OP, do not even think about using "I was wrongly accused" or "I was wrongfully accused" if you have to explain this on your AMCAS. I'm willing to bet this is a common tactic among students with IAs to try to avoid taking responsibilities for their actions or deny what they did.

 

[Talldoctor96]

I'm curious. If OP is actually proven innocent, can they answer "no" on the Institutional Action section of AMCAS? If OP is able to prove innocence, then it wouldn't be because they cleared their student records due to appeal (but were still guilty of the act), but it's more because their Student Conduct/Title IX record never should have existed in the first place. So would they be able to answer "no" to the Institutional Action question?

If you are innocent you have no institutional action. However, unfortunately for the applicant, as someone familiar with the title IX process because they have already been convicted the chances of that being overturned are approximately 0.0000000000001 percent.

 

[sarcasmrules]

If you are innocent you have no institutional action. However, unfortunately for the applicant, as someone familiar with the title IX process because they have already been convicted the chances of that being overturned are approximately 0.0000000000001 percent.

Let me rephrase. What if OP overturned their conviction?

 

[Talldoctor96]

Let me rephrase. What if OP overturned their conviction?

I would imagine they would have to report it then.

 

[LizzyM]

Is it really a "conviction"? It is a determination that a student has violated school rules. It is not a criminal court conviction. The determination that school rules were broken can be appealed and the determination can be reversed after appealing to a higher level of review. (This is the same for academic dishonesty cases.)

It is true that schools may want to steer clear of someone who has been found to have violated a school rule. Having some time between the determination and the application to medical school, with some academic heavy hitters as letters of recommendation, might help but it will take year to remediate if it has just happened now.

Does being found to have broken a school rule but without a criminal record have any bearing on licensure in a profession? I don't think so but I'm happy to be corrected if anyone knows more about licensure than I do.

 

[YCAGA]

I am going to assume you are 100% innocent for the purposes of this advice.

Does your lawyer specialize in Title IX? Did the school conduct the process fairly in the opinion of a lawyer who specializes in this? I would discuss with your lawyer the possibility of taking the case to real court as a civil case if they think a real court would rule in your favor. Civil cases normally default to preponderance of evidence as well, but at least you will be working with a real judge, real legal procedures, and not your school's kangaroo court.

Obligatory: I am not a lawyer

 

[sarcasmrules]

Is it really a "conviction"? It is a determination that a student has violated school rules. It is not a criminal court conviction. The determination that school rules were broken can be appealed and the determination can be reversed after appealing to a higher level of review. (This is the same for academic dishonesty cases.)

It is true that schools may want to steer clear of someone who has been found to have violated a school rule. Having some time between the determination and the application to medical school, with some academic heavy hitters as letters of recommendation, might help but it will take year to remediate if it has just happened now.

Does being found to have broken a school rule but without a criminal record have any bearing on licensure in a profession? I don't think so but I'm happy to be corrected if anyone knows more about licensure than I do.

Semantics. I mean the Student Conduct version of a conviction.

 

[YCAGA]

Semantics. I mean the Student Conduct version of a conviction.

lol it is not semantics at all. At least not in the usual connotation of semantics that are pedantic or completely irrelevant. This situation is DOA for medical school acceptance but this situation is not required to be disclosed on licensing applications AFAIK (I only checked Texas). Now if it happened in medical school or residency, then that can be DOA for licensing applications.

 

[sarcasmrules]

lol it is not semantics at all. At least not in the usual connotation of semantics that are pedantic or completely irrelevant. This situation is DOA for medical school acceptance but this situation is not required to be disclosed on licensing applications AFAIK (I only checked Texas). Now if it happened in medical school or residency, then that can be DOA for licensing applications.

It is because I asked about OP overturning their conviction in a previous post. Not exactly the best word to describe the result, but I couldn't think of the best word. Yes, "conviction" is more accurate for legal proceedings of determining guilt, but you can still tell what I was getting at because convictions has enough similarities with the idea/word I was thinking of.

 

[deleted1064759]

So is this effectively a lose-lose situation for OP? If he overturns the case, will he still be DOA?

Sorry this happened man; unfortunately, you aren't alone among the countless men who have been falsely accused.

 

[YCAGA]

So is this effectively a lose-lose situation for OP? If he overturns the case, will he still be DOA?

Your other sections must have really carried your CARS score if that is the message you got from this thread.

Sorry this happened man; unfortunately, you aren't alone among the countless men who have been falsely accused.

^Real footage of this thread 3.46 seconds before it careened off the rails, thanks to @CommyØ

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Even if you were accepted to medical school, it could be difficult to get licensed. Consult a lawyer.

Excellent point

 

[candbgirl]

OP have you appealed this yet? What is that process?
From what you have shared it sounds like this whole thing has remained campus bound and not moved to the legal system. Is that right?
So all of the sanctions you listed are part of an IA on the part of your school. Is that correct? There is no legal process and your “punishment” is from your college?
Have you applied to med school yet or were you planning to apply in June? (Or later?)
I’m sorry this is happening to you. It’s a very tough situation.

 

[beautymd22]

Sexual Assault is taken very seriously. Saying you were "wrongfully" accused only hurts you more as it shows no growth and acceptance for your actions. It unfortunate to be in this position but clearly, some line was crossed especially since witnesses were involved.

With that being said... I not going to tell you to switch a career if becoming a US MD or DO doctor is truly your passion. This profession prides itself on ethics and honesty so, in your application, I would just own up to the actions and discussed what you learned from it, how it has made you a better person.

As far as all your doors being closed, they are guaranteed to be closed if you never try. Yes you may be DOA at some schools so maybe it be worth it to contact schools before applying and explain your situation.

In the meantime here are vids on less serious institutional actions and how advice has been given to this student:
You got yourself into this mess and only have yourself to blame. Now find a way to get out of it. yes a little harsh but oh well. best of luck and hope

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

Applying to USMD/DO isn't going to be viable with this anywhere near your transcript/application. If you can get it appealed, great. If not, your only real path to medicine will be through the Carrib.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

Do not derail and stay on topic, please. Thank you.

 

[Redpancreas]

Sexual Assault is taken very seriously. Saying you were "wrongfully" accused only hurts you more as it shows no growth and acceptance for your actions. It unfortunate to be in this position but clearly, some line was crossed especially since witnesses were involved.

With that being said... I not going to tell you to switch a career if becoming a US MD or DO doctor is truly your passion. This profession prides itself on ethics and honesty so, in your application, I would just own up to the actions and discussed what you learned from it, how it has made you a better person.

As far as all your doors being closed, they are guaranteed to be closed if you never try. Yes you may be DOA at some schools so maybe it be worth it to contact schools before applying and explain your situation.

In the meantime here are vids on less serious institutional actions and how advice has been given to this student:
You got yourself into this mess and only have yourself to blame. Now find a way to get out of it. yes a little harsh but oh well. best of luck and hope

I'm also going to assume innocence for the sake of advising. Do not do any of the bolded.

 

[deleted1064759]

Do not own up to anything OP, you will be completely screwed and effectively ruin your life. I know someone who outed himself to a Dean about his presence on online premed forums and he got his acceptance rescinded. Last I read, some Dartmouth medical students admitted to cheating (supposedly they didn't actually cheat) which caused them to face significant disciplinary action to the degree of expulsion. We don't live in some utopia where 'coming clean' is going to get you brownie points. Medical schools will only care about their public image at the end of the day.

I'll add that it's absolutely revolting how people already assume you're guilty.

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

I think people are confusing the common advise for serious IAs like cheating etc where you very much do need to own what happened. While cheating is potentially overlookable anything remotely of this nature isn’t going to be.

 

[candbgirl]

I’m thinking we are never going to know the answer to any of our questions or what the outcome is. OP hasn’t posted since he made this thread over three weeks ago.

 

[CorgiLoaf]

I actually know of someone back in college who was investigated for sexual misconduct. He was ultimately let off as the girl declared it was consensual (a bystander saw them going home after a party and reported it). It was still noted on his record iirc as an investigation.

He had a extremely good app. 3.9, 518, 2 pubs, lots of volunteering, leadership, did a gap year with americorp, etc. Applied to ~43 schools in 2 cycles, had 2 interviews total but all turned into Rs. It's hard to say whether the sexual misconduct investigation blackballed him but he had no red flags otherwise. And this was an investigation, not a conviction like in your case. Life just isn't fair sometimes.

 

[MD-PhD-NonTrad]

Since the incident is just associated with the transcript, could OP wait a decade and move to Texas and apply TMDSAS?

 

[j4pac]

Definitely consult a Lawyer. Honestly, our opinions don't really matter.

But here is my useless opinion. Don't go to med school right now. What would be even worse than not going to med school is to get accepted by one of these morally inept Caribbean programs, who take your money, and then you either are unable to match to residency or get licensed because of your legal problems. Then you are down hundreds of thousands of dollars, and you are screwed. Get legal counsel.

 

[mmchick]

Sexual Assault is taken very seriously. Saying you were "wrongfully" accused only hurts you more as it shows no growth and acceptance for your actions. It unfortunate to be in this position but clearly, some line was crossed especially since witnesses were involved.

With that being said... I not going to tell you to switch a career if becoming a US MD or DO doctor is truly your passion. This profession prides itself on ethics and honesty so, in your application, I would just own up to the actions and discussed what you learned from it, how it has made you a better person.

As far as all your doors being closed, they are guaranteed to be closed if you never try. Yes you may be DOA at some schools so maybe it be worth it to contact schools before applying and explain your situation.

In the meantime here are vids on less serious institutional actions and how advice has been given to this student:
You got yourself into this mess and only have yourself to blame. Now find a way to get out of it. yes a little harsh but oh well. best of luck and hope

I'm sorry, but "owning up" to guilt involving potentially sexually assaulting someone and "how you grew from that" will not get you any brownie points anywhere, in any career. No one, unless the environment condones or tolerates sexual assault, will be impressed by someone owning up to predatory behavior and claiming they have grown from it. There have been far too many instances where previous offenders were let off the hook and come to find out, they continued on with their perverse tendencies, hurting more people. Not to assume you're guilty or that this applies to you specifically, but no respectable medical school will come near a potential situation where a current student gets accused of sexual assault, then come to find out they admitted they did it in the past and the school not only forgave them from their single POV, but admitted them with knowledge of said past. And as they should, no reason to put a person in a place of power who has, by all accords anyone has to work with, already shown they abuse said power dynamics. Why would any school do that when they can simply avoid all previous violence on persons when admitting someone into a highly competitive program where there are thousands of applicants that do not have such a background.

If you cannot prove your innocence through tireless lawyers + due process, then forget medicine entirely. Arguably, sexual assault whether as an IA or legal conviction, is worse than DUI, drug possession, and cheating. If you can live without medicine, you'll be presumably just fine with an IA that your future job will never know about. If you can't live without medicine, you'd better focus direly on overturning the IA.

 

[Proudfather94]

Hi I am a senior chemistry major at a small liberal arts school. I have been wrongly accused of sexual assault and for the past 4 months have been going through the Title IX process at my school with a lawyer that I have hired. It’s been determined that I am responsible despite the lack of physical evidence. My college works on the preponderance of evidence so the burden of proof was already very low. Their were differing witness claims but the college has come to the decision that the victim was not able to consent. Now I come to this forum in search for an answer on what to do next. I have fought for my life. I have given them the truth what had happened and despite different witnesses saying different things, I was still found responsible. My sanctions include not being able to walk graduation, immediate removal from campus housing and resignation from the RA position. I am still able to graduate on time. I am currently trying to appeal but the likelihood an appeal will work is little to none. I have always wanted to be a doctor a despite how cautious I have been in terms of recieving consent, I still find myself in this position. I am not sure what to do. I want to be a doctor really badly but it feels like ALL my doors have closed. I come here for some help or guidance. Please help me

Sorry this happened I hope for your sake she was able to consent and this is all a misunderstanding. Do not do anything with someone that's had alcohol no matter what they say! that goes for everyone. Everyone doesn't respond to alcohol the same and one can seem not as inebriated as they are.

 

[deleted1102960]

UPDATE: Sorry to take so long to respond. First of all thank you all for your advice and thoughts. It means a lot and has been helpful. Second, I have been going through the Title IX process. I have been found responsible for sexual assault based on a preponderance of the evidence. My appeal did not work. Currently, my sanctions are immediate removal from campus and I am not allowed to walk graduation. I am not sure if this IA is on my transcript. I do know that there is no criminal case. There is no evidence other than hearsay. Most of the witnesses were her friends. The only physical evidence was medical records which are in my favor, Which show no sexual assault. I am not sure what to do now. I graduate on time and I get my degree. Any advice on how to move forward?

 

[Proudfather94]

UPDATE: Sorry to take so long to respond. First of all thank you all for your advice and thoughts. It means a lot and has been helpful. Second, I have been going through the Title IX process. I have been found responsible for sexual assault based on a preponderance of the evidence. My appeal did not work. Currently, my sanctions are immediate removal from campus and I am not allowed to walk graduation. I am not sure if this IA is on my transcript. I do know that there is no criminal case. There is no evidence other than hearsay. Most of the witnesses were her friends. The only physical evidence was medical records which are in my favor, Which show no sexual assault. I am not sure what to do now. I graduate on time and I get my degree. Any advice on how to move forward?

Why would her friends say this happened if it didn't? I'm sure you'll have to disclose it even if it doesn't show up on your transcript.

 

[catnip12]

I think you should apply anyway with a clear understanding that it might be for naught. I won’t speak to your actual institutional action because each person reading your application will have different things going through their heads, and I don’t have all the facts. If everything else about your application is stellar and you don’t get an admission anywhere, then you know what the red flag is. You are still young and have the potential to steer your career and life in any direction you want. You could even apply again after significant time off at which time you can claim / demonstrate personal growth.

Ps for whatever it is worth I do not condone sexual violence.

 

[Gardenea]

UPDATE: Sorry to take so long to respond. First of all thank you all for your advice and thoughts. It means a lot and has been helpful. Second, I have been going through the Title IX process. I have been found responsible for sexual assault based on a preponderance of the evidence. My appeal did not work. Currently, my sanctions are immediate removal from campus and I am not allowed to walk graduation. I am not sure if this IA is on my transcript. I do know that there is no criminal case. There is no evidence other than hearsay. Most of the witnesses were her friends. The only physical evidence was medical records which are in my favor, Which show no sexual assault. I am not sure what to do now. I graduate on time and I get my degree. Any advice on how to move forward?

Will you be taking legal action against her/the school to clear your name?

 

[Goro]

UPDATE: Sorry to take so long to respond. First of all thank you all for your advice and thoughts. It means a lot and has been helpful. Second, I have been going through the Title IX process. I have been found responsible for sexual assault based on a preponderance of the evidence. My appeal did not work. Currently, my sanctions are immediate removal from campus and I am not allowed to walk graduation. I am not sure if this IA is on my transcript. I do know that there is no criminal case. There is no evidence other than hearsay. Most of the witnesses were her friends. The only physical evidence was medical records which are in my favor, Which show no sexual assault. I am not sure what to do now. I graduate on time and I get my degree. Any advice on how to move forward?

Very sorry to hear this, but your medical career is over.

 

[Moko]

UPDATE: Sorry to take so long to respond. First of all thank you all for your advice and thoughts. It means a lot and has been helpful. Second, I have been going through the Title IX process. I have been found responsible for sexual assault based on a preponderance of the evidence. My appeal did not work. Currently, my sanctions are immediate removal from campus and I am not allowed to walk graduation. I am not sure if this IA is on my transcript. I do know that there is no criminal case. There is no evidence other than hearsay. Most of the witnesses were her friends. The only physical evidence was medical records which are in my favor, Which show no sexual assault. I am not sure what to do now. I graduate on time and I get my degree. Any advice on how to move forward?

Whether the IA appears on your transcript is irrelevant. This is a clear institutional action that must be reported per AMCAS:
"Medical schools need to know if you were ever the recipient of any institutional action resulting from unacceptable academic performance or a conduct violation, even if such action did not interrupt your enrollment, require you to withdraw, or does not appear on your official transcripts due to institutional policy or personal petition"

If you do not report it and your medical school finds out about this at any point in time, you and your career will be toast.

Your chances of matriculation at any US MD/DO school are essentially zero for the foreseeable future. As mentioned, sexual misconduct and crimes against persons, especially recent offenses, will be impossible to overlook. I suggest finding another career, putting yourself in positions of responsibility, and being a good role model for others. If after many years you remain interested in becoming a physician, is it within the realm of possibility that a school may take a chance on you? Maybe, but the probability of this happening is still low such that I would not recommend holding your breath for this outcome (hence the need to pursue plan B).

Did this Title IX process result in any criminal charges, i.e. misdemeanor or felony convictions? If not, then you may not need to report this on ERAS (the application for residency) or for medical licensure (state-dependent).. You need to read the fine print very carefully and run it by lawyers to make sure this is the case. If it is, then you could theoretically become a physician by going to an off-shore medical school and then matching to a US residency. This path will be very high risk though.

@Angus Avagadro @LunaOri @gyngyn, do you see any roadblocks with pursuing this plan? Do Title IX offenses need to be reported on ERAS/medical licensures?

Personally, if given these choices, I would move on with my life and pursue something else. Just my thoughts and best of luck.

What he could do is request their transcript to see if it is on there, then reach out to the office officials to see if a record of it is kept with the university provost or deans office and ask if this information would ever be communicated to outside entities such as graduate schools or employers. If the school by chance says “No we will not share this,” I say apply and don’t mention it on the application. If it turns out you do need to mention it, well you just lied on your application and you will get marked and blacklisted anyway.

This is very ill-advised.. From a practical standpoint, if the OP gets in and their medical school finds this out during 3rd or 4th year, they will be unceremoniously kicked out with 6-figures of debt, having wasted a few years of their life, with no appreciable skillset to pay off that debt.

 

[jhmmd]

UPDATE: Sorry to take so long to respond. First of all thank you all for your advice and thoughts. It means a lot and has been helpful. Second, I have been going through the Title IX process. I have been found responsible for sexual assault based on a preponderance of the evidence. My appeal did not work. Currently, my sanctions are immediate removal from campus and I am not allowed to walk graduation. I am not sure if this IA is on my transcript. I do know that there is no criminal case. There is no evidence other than hearsay. Most of the witnesses were her friends. The only physical evidence was medical records which are in my favor, Which show no sexual assault. I am not sure what to do now. I graduate on time and I get my degree. Any advice on how to move forward?

Having read through this entire thread, this seems very clear cut to me. You were found guilty of something that can be categorized as institutional action. Therefore you must report it, and deal with the consequences. The best you can do is dress up the rest of your app as best you can--outstanding extracurriculars, outstanding GPA, oustanding MCAT score, oustanding LORs, you get the picture. You may even have to take a few gap years to get it where it needs to be, if medicine is this important to you--a live or die situation, as someone said above. But at the end of the day all this amounts to is putting lipstick on a pig. There are plenty of other applicants who are outstanding in EVERY area of their applications with no red flags. Why should a med school pick you instead of them?

 

[Proudfather94]

As it is very unlikely the friends physically witnessed an assault (as that would likely produce tangible evidence) the witness reports from friends are more likely confirmations by the friends of what the potential victim told them, which amounts to the hearsay OP is stating. This is not to say the assault didn’t occur, however a case based solely on hearsay is an unfortunate circumstance for everyone involved.

What he could do is request their transcript to see if it is on there, then reach out to the office officials to see if a record of it is kept with the university provost or deans office and ask if this information would ever be communicated to outside entities such as graduate schools or employers. If the school by chance says “No we will not share this,” I say apply and don’t mention it on the application. If it turns out you do need to mention it, well you just lied on your application and you will get marked and blacklisted anyway.

I was thinking more like maybe they saw that their friend was too drunk to consent and could attest to that.

 

[jhmmd]

I was thinking more like maybe they saw that their friend was too drunk to consent and could attest to that.

Please stay on topic--refrain from speculation

 

[MD-PhD-NonTrad]

From a practical standpoint, if the OP gets in and their medical school finds this out during 3rd or 4th year, they will be unceremoniously kicked out with 6-figures of debt, having wasted a few years of their life, with no appreciable skillset to pay off that debt.

In the very very unlikely event that the undergrad school states “this is a sealed event and will be shared with no one” then isn’t that in essence not an IA? Or am I misinformed on what an IA is?

I was thinking more like maybe they saw that their friend was too drunk to consent and could attest to that.

This is another route, although “they were too drunk to consent” does not equate with “he took advantage of her drunkenness.” I am not on OPs side or against them, but based on what has been presented I can’t imagine it would stay on record if he sued.

 

[jhmmd]

In the very very unlikely event that the undergrad school states “this is a sealed event and will be shared with no one” then isn’t that in essence not an IA? Or am I misinformed on what an IA is?

This is another route, although “they were too drunk to consent” does not equate with “he took advantage of her drunkenness.” I am not on OPs side or against them, but based on what has been presented I can’t imagine it would stay on record if he sued.

Are you being sarcastic?

 

[MD-PhD-NonTrad]

Are you being sarcastic?

No. If there is as little evidence as is being presented by OP, and we don’t know if this is the full story but if it is, then him taking legal action to remove the mark I feel could be successful. Unless the school just doubles down and says that hearsay is tantamount to evidence.

edit to clarify: Sue the institution not the potential victim.

 

[jhmmd]

No. If there is as little evidence as is being presented by OP, and we don’t know if this is the full story but if it is, then him taking legal action to remove the mark I feel could be successful. Unless the school just doubles down and says that hearsay is tantamount to evidence.

Well I see your point but I also want to point out that what goes on the record stays on the record, just so that the OP is aware