Grew up on a farm... Disadvantaged..?

[younggunner94]

I am filling out my AMCAS app, and came across the disadvantaged status page.

I grew up on my father's farm until I was 12. He housed his worker's families in nearby farmhouses, and growing up I spent most of my social time with them. Their families were definitely medically underserved and undereducated, but my family was not. Should I check the box for yes? (I would not move back out to live on a farm, but I talk about growing up in this environment in my PS)

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[Benito25]

I am filling out my AMCAS app, and came across the disadvantaged status page.

I grew up on my father's farm until I was 12. He housed his worker's families in nearby farmhouses, and growing up I spent most of my social time with them. Their families were definitely medically underserved and undereducated, but my family was not. Should I check the box for yes? (I would not move back out to live on a farm, but I talk about growing up in this environment in my PS)

Not an expert about what specifically counts as disadvantaged, but it looks like you answered your own question right there.

 

[TMC07]

This may be a good thing to talk about in a diversity statement, but no, you are not disadvantaged.

 

[Moose A Moose]

OP.. what are you talking about?

No.

... and before you ask, farmers aren't URM either.

 

[ndafife]

Definitely meaningful for schools with a rural med focus.

Was the farm in a medically underserved area? How far from the nearest hospital was the farm?

 

[deleted480308]

did you really just ask if you were disadvantaged because your dad owns a plantation?

 

[Ismet]

Their families were definitely medically underserved and undereducated, but my family was not.

...so no.

 

[WhittyPsyche]

did you really just ask if you were disadvantaged because your dad owns a plantation?

omg I definitely had some of this imagery from OP's description.


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[younggunner94]

I will go without the disadvantaged status, as I have been quite lucky in life.

But no, my father far from owns a plantation. AMCAS definition of disadvantaged (underserved): "Do you believe, based on your own experiences or the experiences of family and friends, that the area in which you grew up was adequately served by the available health care professionals? Were there enough physicians, nurses, hospitals, clinics, and other health care service providers?"

 

[Astra]

Your thread is living up to your username.

Keep on gunning young gunner

 

[OchemOficionado]

Somebody look at this (Kevin Hart voice).

 

[Dr.NickRiviera]

"My maid, Consuela, was medically underserved and undereducated. She called me amigo once, when she was cleaning my room. Do I count as disadvantaged?"

 

[takeurmeds02]

did you really just ask if you were disadvantaged because your dad owns a plantation?

That's what I read too.....

 

[Mansamusa]

http://datawarehouse.hrsa.gov/tools/analyzers/muafind.aspx

This will tell you if you are from a medically underserved area

 

[KitKat30]

I will go without the disadvantaged status, as I have been quite lucky in life.

But no, my father far from owns a plantation. AMCAS definition of disadvantaged (underserved): "Do you believe, based on your own experiences or the experiences of family and friends, that the area in which you grew up was adequately served by the available health care professionals? Were there enough physicians, nurses, hospitals, clinics, and other health care service providers?"

I'm pretty sure "disadvantaged" and "underserved" were two separate things on AMCAS? From what I remember, there was a box to check off for if you were from a medically underserved area but in order to designate yourself as "disadvantaged", you had to write an essay to explain why.

 

[KitKat30]

For example, I put that I was from an underserved area because of my rural background but I definitely did not consider myself to be disadvantaged.

 

[Lannister]

Anyone from Cook County in Illinois is considered underserved because Chicago is located in that county. But Cook County also includes some of the wealthiest areas in the country. So obviously underserved is not the same as disadvantaged.

 

[Crayola227]

more than just what area you're in, there is a section to write a blurb on why you think your upbringing makes you "disadvantaged"

you could check yes and leave it blank, that's no good
you can check yes and then write in what you've written, but remember they've read thousands of these, how is your personal sob story going to read compared to the one right before yours that someone wrote about growing up in war torn Iraq hiding in a hole from bomb shells going off? not well is what you're getting from this thread

it's not enough to know poor people, yeesh
all prospective med students no matter their privilege are expected to do things to rub elbows with other echelons of society
so by your logic, they all should check disadvantaged because they volunteered in soup kitchens as kids

 

[trickydick]

Apparently I'm from an underserved area. I guess I knew that but never really indicated it on my apps because I could always get healthcare when I needed it.

Also, Chicago is underserved? I thought it would among the more popular places to practice after NY/LA.

 

[Lannister]

Apparently I'm from an underserved area. I guess I knew that but never really indicated it on my apps because I could always get healthcare when I needed it.

Also, Chicago is underserved? I thought it would among the more popular places to practices after NY/LA.

Both Cook and Cuyahoga (Cleveland) counties were marked as undeserved on my AMCAS, I assume because of the large numbers of poor people in those cities that don't have access to health care, even though there are plenty of hospitals.

 

[Pagan FutureDoc]

Did growing up on a farm impact your access to education or your ability to perform well in school?

 

[LizzyM]

Both Cook and Cuyahoga (Cleveland) counties were marked as undeserved on my AMCAS, I assume because of the large numbers of poor people in those cities that don't have access to health care, even though there are plenty of hospitals.

Underserved is a measure of the number of primary care providers per 1,000 population. In the big cities, everyone is a specialist. There may be tons of doctors, but if they are super-subspecialist faculty members at the med school they aren't helping the primary care shortage (although they are helping in other ways).