How do medical schools look at institutional actions like alcohol violations? Are they red flags that will get your app thrown out? How does it vary between schools? We'll cover those questions and a bunch more in today's Ask Dr. Gray: Premed Q&A!

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Our student this week has applied to medical school in the past—back in 2016—and is preparing to apply a second time.

Her first question is about institutional actions: She has an alcohol infraction from back in her sophomore year of undergrad, and she needs to include that on her AMCAS application. How big of a red flag is it?

Along with answering that question, I explain how to approach writing your description for an institutional action, misdemeanor, or felony on your medical school application, and what to avoid. Then we get into some other questions.

Some more background on the student: Last time, she only applied to 4 MD schools and applied a bit late (August). Her GPA is a bit low, but she has an upward trend. She did some shadowing in the past, but it's been 5 years since then—so we talk about the importance of getting more recent shadowing.

We also talk a bit about how to network and build relationships with the medical schools you're applying to and why that's so valuable.

And at the end, we talk about the HPSP scholarship I did through the military, comparing that to the Military Medical School (USUHS). I talk about how networking opportunities at USUHS can potentially change the game for students.

For more episodes of Ask Dr. Gray: Premed Q&A, be sure to check out the playlist for the series:    • Ask Dr. Gray: Premed Q&A