These ARBITRARY classifications are killing me. What exactly is an "Asian", a "White", or an "African American"?
A person born in Turkey or Russia could have been born in Europe or Asia, though "officially" the countries are both in Asia. However, I doubt anyone here would consider either one of those two people "Asians".
WE tend to use physical characteristics to classify people, and that is a mistake since a person's appearance has NOTHING to do with who they are or who you think they may be, and in more cases than you might believe can?t be used to determine who their ancestors were (if that even matters).
I know many people who have ancestors from multiple "races", so which one are they? Should we make a new race called "Mutt American"?
A ?black? from Jamaica is not considered an African American, and I see no reasonable choice for them on the AADSAS application.
I know one man born and raised in Africa, who is very "white"; since they live here now, I guess he is an "African American".
How many of you would agree? How many of you would scream "foul play" if he checked the box labeled "African American" on his application?
This entire discussion of race (aka ethnicity) and the asking of "how many of this or that are there at your school" is totally ridiculous.
(I find it funny that no one bothered to answer the question I posted only a day earlier.)
The point of where a person may practice after graduation is a reasonable point. A person is likely to practice within their comfort zone. The root of that, for most people, lies in where the person grew up, not what color their own skin is, not how kinky or wavy their hair is, and not whether there eyes are almond, round, or "slanted".
A ?black? who grew up in a rich town is not likely to practice in downtown Atlanta.
A ?white? who grew up in a mostly ?Hispanic? neighborhood is more likely to be comfortable there.
The type of area (rural, city, burbs) and the composition of the people (wealth, color, customs) around them during the learning years is what people will tend to be comfortable with later, and thus where they may or may not practice.
Of course, I firmly believe that no one should get preferential treatment over more qualified candidates based on their ancestry. And I certainly don?t understand the questions on how many people exist of a certain ?minority status? since that requires conjecture.
