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sc9449

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hey guys.
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Do you look black? Meaning "do you look similar to my avatar pic?"
 
I didn't think looks mattered. So if he looks more Asian he can't embrace his African American roots? Do you need to be 100% black to be URM? Hines Ward is half black, half Asian, but raised solely by his mother. He looks black. Would he then qualify as OP more than other biracials? I'm not trying to start a flame war, but is it all or nothing? Or does a person just have to look what they "represent"? This has always been confusing to me.
 
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Grace184 said:
I didn't think looks mattered. So if he looks more Asian he can't embrace his African American roots? Do you need to be 100% black to be URM? Hines Ward is half black, half Asian, but raised solely by his mother. He looks black. Would he then qualify as OP more than other biracials? I'm not trying to start a flame war, but is it all or nothing? Or does a person just have to look what they "represent"? This has always been confusing to me.
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He can embrace his African American roots all he wants. But if it's not visible to an admission committee, they wont be considering him URM.
 
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Gotcha....I see. So it may come off like he's misrepresenting himself for a "status"?
 
Exactly. At least that's how I interpret the process. It may be possible for him to not look AA but still have a strong connection and commitment to AAs. Depending on how he expresses this, it may work in his favor. But if he's 1/2AA, he probably looks it.
 
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I don't understand why there is any sort of advantage or disadvantage when someone applies to medical school just based SOLELY on their race?

Why are Asian people at a disadvantage? Why are black people at an advantage? Shouldn't they just look at the person, their accomplishments/stats and their qualities, and then decide if that person would be a good fit for the school?
 
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx said:
I don't understand why there is any sort of advantage or disadvantage when someone applies to medical school just based SOLELY on their race?

Why are Asian people at a disadvantage? Why are black people at an advantage? Shouldn't they just look at the person, their accomplishments/stats and their qualities, and then decide if that person would be a good fit for the school?
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Uh oh....
 
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I believe they use that criteria as well. But black/Hispanic and some other groups are considered "Under-represented Minorities in Medicine" meaning that the percent of physicians from these groups is much smaller than the percent of these groups in the total population. Asians/white and some other groups are over-represented in medicine. Most ppl who become physicians tend to work in areas with similar demographics as themselves. So if there aren't enough URM physicians to meet the needs of areas with large URM populations, than this could be a problem. This is why schools may tend to give an advantage to URM applicants. But being URM doesn't solely qualify you for a spot in medical school. I know

And this is just my viewpoint. Could be right or wrong
 
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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx said:
I don't understand why there is any sort of advantage or disadvantage when someone applies to medical school just based SOLELY on their race?

Why are Asian people at a disadvantage? Why are black people at an advantage? Shouldn't they just look at the person, their accomplishments/stats and their qualities, and then decide if that person would be a good fit for the school?
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This belies a fundamental misunderstanding of what the mission of most medical schools is. They are not looking to select the smartest our must accomplished physicians, they are looking to pick those that will best serve the community that the school serves. Those communities often have substantially underserved populations within them, which are often black or Hispanic. Black and Hispanic applicants historically are far, far more likely to work in such communities, this helping to fulfill the school's mission.
 
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Dr.Keem said:
I believe they use that criteria as well. But black/Hispanic and some other groups are considered "Under-represented Minorities in Medicine" meaning that the percent of physicians from these groups is much smaller than the percent of these groups in the total population. Asians/white and some other groups are over-represented in medicine. Most ppl who become physicians tend to work in areas with similar demographics as themselves. So if there aren't enough URM physicians to meet the needs of areas with large URM populations, than this could be a problem. This is why schools may tend to give an advantage to URM applicants. But being URM doesn't solely qualify you for a spot in medical school. I know

And this is just my viewpoint. Could be right or wrong
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Ok, that actually makes perfect sense. I hadn't thought about it in that way. Where I come from is a pretty big melting pot, we have doctors of all races, and the community is pretty evenly diverse in terms of race as well.

I can see how a black doctor or a Hispanic doctor would work in a region that was populated with mostly black or Hispanic people. I wasn't trying to open a can of worms, btw...it was honest curiosty.
 
Yes as the previous poster noted Hispanics and Blacks are more likely to practice in these underserved areas because they are products of that environment like myself. They have an understanding that if they do not go back and help in these areas chances are no one else will.
 
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They can't question you on it. I would put whatever you identify with (or what ever might be advantageous)
 
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