AMCAS and ACOMAS both require all institutional actions (IA)violations to be reported by the students whether or not it appears on your official transcript or records. AMCAS requires you report the type of violation (academic or conduct) and you are given space to explain the incident.
- Institutional Action: 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.
Sections 1-3 of the AMCAS® Application: Your Background Information
Plagiarism is serious offense and the judgement of individual adcomms will vary depending on the exact offense and its severity, when in college it happened (freshman vs senior year, for example) and the applicant’s behavior in subsequent years.
Some schools have a zero tolerance policy for academic violations that result in an automatic rejection; others may be more tolerant if the offense occurs early in a student’s academic career and if student shows evidence of personal growth and maturity resulting from the incident, coupled with zero additional academic or conduct violations.
Failure to disclose an IA can result in severe consequences–more severe than the IA itself, since every student signs an affidavit attesting all information is correct and accurate in their applications. An offer of admission can be withdrawn if it’s found that they lied on their application. The withdrawal of admission can even happen after a student has completed med school. (A retroactive withdrawal invalidates their med diploma and effectively bans an individual from practicing medicine for life.)