Will a DUI keep me from attending medical school?

Question

I got a DUI on January 2007. I'll be graduating with my BS in about a year or so and plan on attending medical school afterward.

Will this DUI affect my application (I live in California where a DUI is a misdemeanor if this bit of information makes any difference)?

If it will affect my application, is there anything I can do to "soften the blow" like having it expunged from my criminal record (expunging will remove the offense from my criminal record, however it will remain on my DMV record for life)?

Will volunteering my time to speak against drunk driving, or volunteering at rehab clinics, etc do anything to demonstrate a "change in character"?

Any and ALL advice is welcome!

Answer 1

The DUI will NOT affect you getting money from the government.Only FELONY offenses affect that!

Every state, school, and hospital have different rules.I would check with the university you plan on attending and see what they say.People make mistakes, that's called life!

Also, in NC DUI stays on DMV record for 7 years, not sure what it is in CA, but I know it's not for life :-).You'd need to look that up.Expungment rules are also different in each state.

Good luck!

Answer 2

It will definitely affect your changes of getting financial aid from the government. Medical schools will see this and it will definitely hinder your chances.

Its ironic -- you have a DUI and want to go to medical school?

Reconsider.  

Answer 3

May be this site can help you

http://www.sgpak.com

Answer 4

A single DUI will most likely be ignored by every medical school.  A repeat offense is not tolerated, though.  Admission committees are reasonable people and if every student who acted out in their first year of undergrad was banished there wouldn't be enough physicians for one state, let alone 50 states.

You might want to pay for a background check on yourself to see if it appears on your record.  Quite often, misdemeanors do not.  You can go to any law enforcement agency to request it--you might also be able to order one online through your state law enforcement's web site.  These checks are relatively inexpensive and take about 3 weeks.