Applying to Chem. PhD's With Criminal Past

[Rouxpurtj]

Hello, everyone,

I'm getting ready to apply to either Chemistry or Medicinal Chemistry PhD programs for Fall 2015, and I have some questions about my ability to be accepted with a past criminal record. My past convictions have all been misdemeanors, and all took place at least 7 years ago and have been completed with no court involvement since them.

Just so you know what the rest of my application looks like, I have completed a BS in Chemistry with a minor in mathematics, 3.55 overall GPA, I've been awarded a number of competitive research grants/fellowships during my undergraduate degree, including traveling to the NIH in Bethesda to present my Undergraduate research as part of a conference. I'm also an author of a research article published in a peer-reviewed journal. I also have extremely strong letters of recommendation from at least four different faculty members at my undergraduate university.

Now comes the tough part; my past convictions. My record lists a misdemeanor assault charge, resisting arrest, and a shoplifting charge. Again, all have been completed and were a result of some very unfortunate things that happened in my late teenage life, and were before I decided to go to college and become interested in science.

So... thoughts? I'm wondering if I should even be wasting the time applying, or if my applications are just going to get thrown in the trash. Thanks for the help.

[fuzzylogician]

As I recall, some but not all applications asked about your past criminal record. If you are not asked about your past, I see no reason to bring it up. You are not lying, and bringing it up will do you no good. If asked, you should be truthful about your past. In that case, I think it is vital to address this issue in your SOP (or in an addendum to your application, if you can submit 'additional materials' along with the required documents) with a brief statement along the lines of what you said above -- this happened a long time ago and is firmly in the past. I would also consider having one of your letter writers address your current behavior/reliability, if there anyone who you trust with this information. The question on adcoms' minds, which you will need to answer, is whether they can trust you, given your record. You want to prove that the answer is yes.  

[Eigen]

To shed some light from what I've gotten from our graduate office: most schools that ask do so to protect themselves from potential lawsuits, not necessarily because it will bias or change their admissions. 

 

But yes, I would definitely have one of your letter writers address it for schools that ask for a disclosure.