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Mixed Heritage?
- Thread starter Osteoth
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- Oct 13, 2011
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I'm writing in response to this because my kid (when my SO and I make that decision) is going to be of mixed heritage. I've thought a lot about the multitude of threads in this forum, and I'm really intrigued and a little disheartened by this question of mixed heritage. It's not that I don't think your question is valid. It is. But I think you're asking this question coming from the wrong place, the wrong way to look at it.
My impression is that adcoms are trying to build a critical mass of true diversity in their medical communities. Given that the American population is increasingly less white, more bilingual/trilingual, less "cherry-pie" and more "flan", I get the feeling that adcoms of all health professions are trying to find students who reflect these differences in our changing cultural climate. But they want people who don't just reflect these differences but who actually embrace them and want to use them in meaningful ways to unite our diverse communities, to strengthen and empower them through deep cultural understandings and sensitivities.
So it's not a question of "what heritage do I mark on AMCAS based on my looks" but "how am I rich in cultural diversity? What experiences do I bring that provide different ways of evaluating or challenging the dominant 'american' narrative?" So, ask yourself that. What experiences have you gained from being who you are, from having a diverse cultural background? And, hell, if the only thing separating your cultural experience from that of the prototypical-white-suburban-80K-100K-income-household is your skin color, well, then just be honest. There's a difference between URM and "disadvantaged", and given the sheer amount of applicants to the health professions, these are two simple but greatly imperfect factors that adcoms have decided are important in helping them evaluate the cultural richness of an applicant's background. That's my opinion. I just hope my kid doesn't ask this question of me one day. At least, not like this.
My impression is that adcoms are trying to build a critical mass of true diversity in their medical communities. Given that the American population is increasingly less white, more bilingual/trilingual, less "cherry-pie" and more "flan", I get the feeling that adcoms of all health professions are trying to find students who reflect these differences in our changing cultural climate. But they want people who don't just reflect these differences but who actually embrace them and want to use them in meaningful ways to unite our diverse communities, to strengthen and empower them through deep cultural understandings and sensitivities.
So it's not a question of "what heritage do I mark on AMCAS based on my looks" but "how am I rich in cultural diversity? What experiences do I bring that provide different ways of evaluating or challenging the dominant 'american' narrative?" So, ask yourself that. What experiences have you gained from being who you are, from having a diverse cultural background? And, hell, if the only thing separating your cultural experience from that of the prototypical-white-suburban-80K-100K-income-household is your skin color, well, then just be honest. There's a difference between URM and "disadvantaged", and given the sheer amount of applicants to the health professions, these are two simple but greatly imperfect factors that adcoms have decided are important in helping them evaluate the cultural richness of an applicant's background. That's my opinion. I just hope my kid doesn't ask this question of me one day. At least, not like this.
