Listing as an African-American

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I have a question, I've searched through many threads using the search function but have not found a solid answer to my question. I plan on listing myself as African-American when I fill out my AMCAS, however, to my understanding, listing myself as such would lead people to assume I am black. I come from Egypt and I consider myself an African-American. The real reason I ask this is because schools tend to flag people that list this as a URM and I'm unaware of how this will reflect on me. Should I list myself as an African-American or check other? Am I even considered a URM?

Posted this in the WAMC forum as to not clutter the pre-med forum with a soon to be dead topic.

Thank you for your input!

Originally Posted by Shazzam

I have a question, I've searched through many threads using the search function but have not found a solid answer to my question. I plan on listing myself as African-American when I fill out my AMCAS, however, to my understanding, listing myself as such would lead people to assume I am black. I come from Egypt and I consider myself an African-American. The real reason I ask this is because schools tend to flag people that list this as a URM and I'm unaware of how this will reflect on me. Should I list myself as an African-American or check other? Am I even considered a URM?

Posted this in the WAMC forum as to not clutter the pre-med forum with a soon to be dead topic.

Thank you for your input!

lol. Because you should be at least partially black to use this term. Officially it would be lying (or negligence)

African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans or Afro-Americans) are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa.[2] In the United States, the terms are generally used for Americans with at least partial Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Most African Americans are the direct descendants of captive Africans who survived the slavery era within the boundaries of the present United States, although some are—or are descended from—immigrants from African, Caribbean, Central American or South American nations.[3] As an adjective, the term is usually spelled African-American.[4]

Sub-Saharan Africa is a geographical term used to describe the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara, or those African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara.[1][2] It contrasts with North Africa, which is considered a part of the Arab world.[3][4][5][6][7]

Clear view of the sahara breakdown...


Egypt...



"Black, African-American. Yeah that's me."

I had an Egyptian friend in high school who listed himself as African-American for undergrad applications and got into a lot of trouble for it. I would strongly recommend against it if you can't find any information on it.

However, I haven't heard this practice explicitly discouraged, nor have I seen the question asked here before after years of lurking so I could be wrong.

i personally knew a guy who is also egyptian, and listed himself as african-american. and i did the exact same thing as megaspectacular.

both he and his brother got into the same school, and as for as i know it hasn't caused them any trouble.

that being said, i would call schools i'm interested in and specifically ask them about it. better safe than sorry.

technically north african's are considered caucasian.. but ethnicity goes slightly above color.. so your still african..
but go for it lol worth a shot

Originally Posted by serenade

technically north african's are considered caucasian.. but ethnicity goes slightly above color.. so your still african..
but go for it lol worth a shot

This is the definition that the US census uses, by the way.

Originally Posted by herewego

i personally knew a guy who is also egyptian, and listed himself as african-american. and i did the exact same thing as megaspectacular.

both he and his brother got into the same school, and as for as i know it hasn't caused them any trouble.

that being said, i would call schools i'm interested in and specifically ask them about it. better safe than sorry.

The problem with this is that "it is lying". The AAMC clearly states the ethnicity as:

Black or African-American

The term does NOT mean "Black" or "from Africa". The term means "Black" or in other words, "African-American". This is why the lead term is BLACK. If you are not at least partially black then you are lying and will be in deep trouble for med school apps, as it does change your chances based on stats.

AAMC definition of URM:

http://www.aamc.org/meded/urm/start.htm

If you are trying to pass off as URM then that is trouble.

This thread has already been done: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=590324

Nice try!!

Originally Posted by MegaSpectacular

lol. Because you should be at least partially black to use this term. Officially it would be lying (or negligence)







Clear view of the sahara breakdown...


Egypt...



"Black, African-American. Yeah that's me."

thorough!

Originally Posted by serenade

technically north african's are considered caucasian.. But ethnicity goes slightly above color.. So your still african..
But go for it lol worth a shot

agreed

Originally Posted by mclinkin94

agreed

I agree. Egypt is a country in Africa. Egyptians are Africans. If you're an Egyptian-American, you're African-American. If you're a white dude from South Africa, you're also African-American. It's a game; play it.

Bumping a 2 year old thread, guys?

Originally Posted by mclinkin94

agreed

You forgot to couple your post to a temporal loop that would take your feedback back in time to a point where it could actually benefit the OP.

YOU FOOL!!!

Originally Posted by Pattycake25

You forgot to couple your post to a temporal loop that would take your feedback back in time to a point where it could actually benefit the OP.

YOU FOOL!!!

I'm sure the OP can still see it now. OP, do you mind telling us your success rate at listing as African American?

@pattycake stalker

You followed me here from my other posts lol.

I really really want to say I am African American on my adcom.

Originally Posted by mclinkin94

stalker

You followed me here from my other posts lol.

I really really want to say I am African American on my adcom.

We sorta gathered.

But come on, be honest with yourself, have you EVER identified as AA in any other way in your entire life? You've alluded in other threads that you're more concerned about getting caught doing something "bad", than making sure you are doing the right thing to begin with. Doesn't that trouble you?

Let me also tell you that I lied on my initial undergrad app, and eventually caved under the enormous guilt and confessed (thank God they let me come anyway). The guilt started with my acceptance, which felt so freaking CHEAP because I knew it was (partly) based on a lie. The two cases aren't as different as you'd probably like to believe - I convinced myself it was a "little white lie", just as you've convinced yourself that it's really up to you what ethnicity you declare. I fooled myself, and you are on the brink of doing the same. Do you really want to live with that? =/

And no stalking, I swear. =X I just always check on threads I've posted in, and new ones that seem more than just "stats are x,y,z, can i get in?" You've just created a fair number of those threads lately.

Originally Posted by Pattycake25

We sorta gathered.

But come on, be honest with yourself, have you EVER identified as AA in any other way in your entire life? You've alluded in other threads that you're more concerned about getting caught doing something "bad", than making sure you are doing the right thing to begin with. Doesn't that trouble you?

Let me also tell you that I lied on my initial undergrad app, and eventually caved under the enormous guilt and confessed (thank God they let me come anyway). The guilt started with my acceptance, which felt so freaking CHEAP because I knew it was (partly) based on a lie. The two cases aren't as different as you'd probably like to believe - I convinced myself it was a "little white lie", just as you've convinced yourself that it's really up to you what ethnicity you declare. I fooled myself, and you are on the brink of doing the same. Do you really want to live with that? =/

And no stalking, I swear. =X I just always check on threads I've posted in, and new ones that seem more than just "stats are x,y,z, can i get in?" You've just created a fair number of those threads lately.

Let me write a math equation for you:

Partially correct Race affiliation+ Medical school Admissions + Guilt= Acceptance and fulfillment of my life goal. (little sadness)

More socially accepted race affiliation (white) + Medical School Admissions + no guilt= NO acceptance and no fulfillment of life goal. (extreme sadness)

With my stats, I'll be lucky to get into D.O. with a white application. But I could get into M.D. with an African American application.

Originally Posted by mclinkin94

Let me write a math equation for you:

Partially correct Race affiliation+ Medical school Admissions + Guilt= Acceptance and fulfillment of my life goal. (little sadness)

More socially accepted race affiliation (white) + Medical School Admissions + no guilt= NO acceptance and no fulfillment of life goal. (extreme sadness)

With my stats, I'll be lucky to get into D.O. with a white application. But I could get into M.D. with an African American application.

URM classification is a useful and righteous admissions policy that is rarely abused by non-URM individuals.

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by mclinkin94

Let me write a math equation for you:

Partially correct Race affiliation+ Medical school Admissions + Guilt= Acceptance and fulfillment of my life goal. (little sadness)

More socially accepted race affiliation (white) + Medical School Admissions + no guilt= NO acceptance and no fulfillment of life goal. (extreme sadness)

With my stats, I'll be lucky to get into D.O. with a white application. But I could get into M.D. with an African American application.

The worst that will happen to you, since you are not outright lying by saying you are AA, is they won't consider you URM for admissions purposes. I would work on upping my stats though to be competitive in future cycles if the AA designation doesn't actually help you.

Originally Posted by Jamie561

URM classification is a useful and righteous admissions policy that is rarely abused by non-URM individuals.

Sent from my HTC Sensation Z710e using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by mclinkin94

Let me write a math equation for you:

Partially correct Race affiliation+ Medical school Admissions + Guilt= Acceptance and fulfillment of my life goal. (little sadness)

More socially accepted race affiliation (white) + Medical School Admissions + no guilt= NO acceptance and no fulfillment of life goal. (extreme sadness)

With my stats, I'll be lucky to get into D.O. with a white application. But I could get into M.D. with an African American application.

bumping a 2 year old thread to justify your own intentions? instead of attempting to deceive adcom, suck it up and do a post-bac to redeem yourself

SHAME ON YOU

McLinkin is in WAMC now! Woo!

Mister McLinkin sir, I think you need to answer a question before you consider putting yourself down as an African-American:

Do you think you are good enough to get into medical school without classifying yourself as a URM to gain that advantage?

I think when people tick the URM box, they know who they are. In other words, a brotha knows if he's an URM and a sista knows when she's an URM. The same goes for mi hermanos y hermanas.

If you really have to ask someone who you are, then I think you have a problem. Be proud of being an Egyptian and be proud of being an American, but you are not black sir. Either way, you are free to do what you want, and asking for people's opinions will only get you sarcastic glances here and there.

And to the people who got accepted saying that they were URMs but not black, they probably had the complete package to get into medical school.

Originally Posted by Shalashaska

McLinkin is in WAMC now! Woo!

Mister McLinkin sir, I think you need to answer a question before you consider putting yourself down as an African-American:

Do you think you are good enough to get into medical school without classifying yourself as a URM to gain that advantage?

I think when people tick the URM box, they know who they are. In other words, a brotha knows if he's an URM and a sista knows when she's an URM. The same goes for mi hermanos y hermanas.

If you really have to ask someone who you are, then I think you have a problem. Be proud of being an Egyptian and be proud of being an American, but you are not black sir. Either way, you are free to do what you want, and asking for people's opinions will only get you sarcastic glances here and there.

And to the people who got accepted saying that they were URMs but not black, they probably had the complete package to get into medical school.

My stats are "okay".

33 Mcat (It is all because of VR.) 7VR, 14 BS, 12 PS-Imagine I spoke English as a first language, I would have a very very high MCAT

3.45 GPA

as a URM, I have a much higher chance, If i wasn't a URM I would still have a chance.

Remember the 1/16th rule. My African American heritage is far above that. Maybe even 80%. did we forget that ancient Egyptians were Nubian?

...decided that it is unethical (especially) for a future doctor to cheat the system and use semi-true URM status to help get into medical school. I do not deserve to be a doctor and I would not be able to live with myself if I did that.

Time will tell if you will be able to live with yourself, mclinkin94.

Originally Posted by mclinkin94

My stats are "okay".

33 Mcat (It is all because of VR.) 7VR, 14 BS, 12 PS-Imagine I spoke English as a first language, I would have a very very high MCAT

3.45 GPA

as a URM, I have a much higher chance, If i wasn't a URM I would still have a chance.

Remember the 1/16th rule. My African American heritage is far above that. Maybe even 80%. did we forget that ancient Egyptians were Nubian?

As someone who didn't speak English until 10, I scored 11 on verbal, so quit making excuses.

It doesn't matter how you're rationalizing it in your head, you're trying to cheat the system.

and if you're going to cheat the system, then at least admit that you're doing so instead of trying to get people on SDN to agree with you.

Originally Posted by octupus

and if you're going to cheat the system, then at least admit that you're doing so instead of trying to get people on SDN to agree with you.

Think about it. You have 2 racial choices you can pick: White or African American--they can both work out for you, because you can pass as both. Which one would you pick? Would you go for the one that gives you an advantage? Its common human nature my friend.

At this point in time, do what you want man. I have no ill-will towards you and I hope you get accepted. Better to discuss something relevant than to discuss something that you already know the answer to.

Originally Posted by mclinkin94

Think about it. You have 2 racial choices you can pick: White or African American--they can both work out for you, because you can pass as both. Which one would you pick? Would you go for the one that gives you an advantage? Its common human nature my friend.

I hope your name and your parents' names and alma maters don't give you away.

I'm going to apply for URM status. Im caucasian, all the doctors I know are white.

you know how often ive gotten profiled because of this? Only fair I get some med school leniency.

damn those white people controllin dah world

Originally Posted by mclinkin94

Remember the 1/16th rule. My African American heritage is far above that. Maybe even 80%. did we forget that ancient Egyptians were Nubian?

In ancient times, my people were monkeys and I don't see any monkey docs so... HMS HERE I COME


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