Fortunately, one DUI or misdemeanor charge will most likely be ignored by most medical schools. That said, a pattern of behavior demonstrated by more than one offense would be looked at more seriously.

Remember that admissions committees are made up of real people, who will consider all the relevant factors (age, inexperience included) in a candidate’s pre-med offense. You can request a copy of your driving record as well as your record with law enforcement; it’s possible that a misdemeanor will drop off your law enforcement record at some point.

Should you have a felony to deal with, it may be a little tougher sledding. I’d suggest calling a few schools and asking if they have a hard and fast rule against accepting students in your predicament. It’s possible that you’ll find an understanding adcom here or there, if everything else on your application is stellar. Either way, you’ll want to use your letter of intent to address whatever you did that you’re worried adcoms will have problems with.

If there’s one offense that’s going to cause you a lot of problems, it’s going to be cheating. So steer clear of that at all costs.