Any black female pre-meds out there? part 01

yep!

I am a fellow URM female but not African-American, I am Mexican-American. Where are you in the process? I am a Sophomore/Junior (depending if you count Military credit or not) and will be applying to medical school next June, will be taking the MCAT in April 2002. I am a Health and Wellness Major with a minor in Chemistry. Last summer I was accepted to do research at a top 15, and this summer I am heading to a top-notch medical school to do research for ten weeks.

I'm an Asian male, does that count?

Black, female & pre-med here!

In response to the previous comment, the reason for such a post might be to address the obvious under-representation in black females in the medical field. I am not usually one to be interested in issues of ethnicity, but I think this a very curious disparity.

I think that there might be issues related to social disadvantages that may not have been experienced if one was not in the same boat... (succeeding in college, better access to decent schools, healthcare, a social environment that was less permissive of starting families in HS etc.). Of course these issues are not exclusive to the Black population; however, they are disproportionately present. Breaking the cycle/improving the stats starts with addressing the issues...

I'm a Black pre-med student at St. John's University. Soon I will be entering my sophomore year. NPremed, what area of specialization are you interested in? Also, what areas are the other post members interested in. I prefer either general surgery or obstetrics, and you...

Originally posted by NPreMed:
•There is another post regarding minority pre-med students and I dont see anything derrogatory on that page. Since this is an open forum I would ask that negative comments not be posted on this page. I am trying to start a dialogue here and gain support positively.•

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For whatever strange reason, I just feel compelled to say I think this kind of post is a nice idea. I hope you find what you're looking for.

--kris

Specialty...

Well, at this point in the game, I'd say general surgery or surgical oncology. Not really interested in primary care but would love to provide some pro bono community education... who knows where the road will lead

Ha..this is a little late but...

Yes, I'm black and female I'm a junior philosophy major with a minor in social and economic justice.

I think I want to do some type of primary care, but I'm not sure about the specialty!

I'm glad this thread was started!

Karen

I'm a black male pre-med going to Boston College. Any females in the boston area holla back!

This thread was started three years ago... I wonder if she made it into med school?

Old school thread. But on the note of black females, where is noobian princess and BushBaby??? My self personally, I wish all pre-meds, and all females were black females. My world would be sooo much better then.

I just thought this was really funny that this thread is 3 years old and people are replying to it like it was written recently.

willthatsall said:

I just thought this was really funny that this thread is 3 years old and people are replying to it like it was written recently.

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hahahha golden

I am a white Christian male from the wrong side of the tracks, can I join?

igbophysician said:

Watch out for these ones people:

Originally Posted by Gramsci
I will post here later, I am busy oppressing minorities.


--The Man


In response to Gramsci, he wrote:

Originally Posted by Spitting Camel
OMG, you are my new favorite SDNer!! That was Hil-freakin-arious!

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What, you have to watch out for me just because I oppress minorities? Where is your tolerance for my life choices?

Hey guys,

I am definitely a proud African American going to become one of the few black doctors out there and Igbo at that. Anyway wassup to everyone going through the process and much love to you igbophysician (she's a friend of mine...ucsd bud!!)

Peace out everyone!

Muah

your lucky, I wish I was a black female. Im a white male and that makes admissions hard........Good luck to you.

igbophysician said:

Hello all,
I'm a black female pre-med. I have a BS in Biochemistry and Cell Biology and a minor in Spanish. I'm waiting to hear off the waitlist at one school in particular, and i've already gotten in to Penn State. I'm glad to see that there are a lot of us here.

Nigeria kwenu!

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kedu

Yup we are lurkin around here, myself, ndi_amaka, BushBaby, Jamaican_MD, lakun, cocoabutter...
some are MIA now cause we're in med schl/or about to start

Hugeslut how about u wish u were a fly and buzz off and not turn this into an AA thread, goodness SDNers stop being so predictable

just signing in!

Hi peeps. I'm an AA female too. Gonna start med school in August. We are definitely in the minority but black docs do exist you guys.

igbophysician said:

Watch out for these ones people:

Originally Posted by Gramsci
I will post here later, I am busy oppressing minorities.


--The Man


In response to Gramsci, he wrote:

Originally Posted by Spitting Camel
OMG, you are my new favorite SDNer!! That was Hil-freakin-arious!

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I don't appreciate you taking my comments out of context and implying that I am in any way racist. Maybe if you got over your ignorant paranoia that everyone is out to get you, you wouldn't have such a chip on your shoulder, as evidenced by this post. Read the gramsci quote in the context of the thread it was in, and you will see why it was clever, witty, and appropriate as a joke. Don't make judgements on my character when you don't know me in the least. Get over yourself.

curlycity said:

So you honestly have no idea why anyone would find your thread a little offensive?

Ethnically complicated chica here, just asking what % I need to join in with you.

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oh pls spare me cause I dont see why it should offend u. Did u get offended by the recent spanish thread? how about the korean one and the many asian ones.
Start ur own thread if u like, the mods didnt find this offensive enough to delete it. Do u complain about the other ethnic threads, i've seen many lately. Go ahead, and say all u want, kinda similar to people who get aggitated when they hear a foreign language being spoken around the,.

Jalby said:

Old school thread. But on the note of black females, where is noobian princess and BushBaby??? My self personally, I wish all pre-meds, and all females were black females. My world would be sooo much better then.

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I think nubian princess just took the April 2004 MCAT and BB has already been accepted into medical school!

lotanna said:

oh pls spare me cause I dont see why it should offend u. Did u get offended by the recent spanish thread? how about the korean one and the many asian ones.
Start ur own thread if u like, the mods didnt find this offensive enough to delete it. Do u complain about the other ethnic threads, i've seen many lately. Go ahead, and say all u want, kinda similar to people who get aggitated when they hear a foreign language being spoken around the,.

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Lotanna, I really think that some of these people are just waiting for the words "black" "affirmative action" "african-american" "URM", etc to appear in the subject line of a thread so they can talk smack. I say that we IGNORE these posts and don't respond to them. If we argue with them, we "feed the trolls." Thanks SDN for showing me that recism is alive and well

Jamaican MD said:

Thanks SDN for showing me that recism is alive and well

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Well, well, well, what have we here? A little truth perhaps?

Yes, very interesting fact that as soon as THIS thread pops up, all hell breaks loose. So lets all turn on our internal ignore buttons that we have ALL used at some point to get this far and "keep on keepin on" as my Mom would say.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, In my best Randy Jackson (American Idol) voice!

God, people are so quick to jump on the "look at all the racism" band wagon. I don't see how anything posted in this thread thus far has been racist.

btw - I *heart* nubianprincess

In a vain and blatant attempt NOT to feed the trolls, I'm changing the subject.

What specialties are you guys going into?

As women of color, do you feel we have any unique obstacles that will be in our way as medical professionals?

How do you plan to juggle career and family life?

ndi_amaka said:

What specialties are you guys going into?

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I'm going into .................Pathology

ndi_amaka said:

As women of color, do you feel we have any unique obstacles that will be in our way as medical professionals?

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No doubt, as I'm looking toward a career in research, the "numbers" will be considerably less. But heath disparities are a HUGE issue in the AA community and there is much ground breaking research needs to be done to address this national/international issue. You guys handle the patient end of it, and I'll take care of the research!

ndi_amaka said:

How do you plan to juggle career and family life??

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I've been "juggling' far the past 8 years, so I think I have this down to a science now. I believe the keys are to: 1) Seek help before it's too late whether it be with the household chores or childcare. 2) Network with other people in your situation 3) And most importantly, date/marry the RIGHT man. If the "right" guy hasn't come around yet, chill out until he does because he's DEFINITELY on the way!!

pathdr2b said:

I'm going into .................Pathology

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Cool. I want to do something with a surgical component but not entirely surgery. Something that incorporates patient contact with technical expertise.

pathdr2b said:

I've been "juggling' far the past 8 years, so I think I have this down to a science now. I believe the keys are to: 1) Seek help before it's too late whether it be with the household chores or childcare. 2) Network with other people in your situation 3) And most importantly, date/marry the RIGHT man. If the "right" guy hasn't come around yet, chill out until he does because he's DEFINITELY on the way!!

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Good advice!!!

I just want to congratulate all of you for coming as far as you have come, and for having the courage to think big. It's truly not easy being a black woman in the medical profession, no matter how exceptional you are, because the "old boy" mentality is still alive and kicking. Especially for you Californians, you will soon notice that UCSD has less than a handful of blacks of any sex, Stanford's current first year class has ZERO black women, and 2 black males, etc. It's easier to find a black communuity at many of the higher ranked institutions, such as Harvard or UPenn, but it's not always easy to find onesself among those ranks. I will say that I have been able to beat many odds (Harvard, Hopkins, UCSF, Stanford, UPenn, UCLA...), and I've met many beautiful black women (and men) along the way. I think we would all agree that it takes an extreme level of will-power and self-reliance to push through, especially considering the overt and covert racism that this world is just waiting to throw at you at every turn. But you can ALL prosper in this land of opportunity. Feel free to PM me about anything, and I will try my absolute best to answer any/all of your questions.

OB has a surgical component, but is not entirely surgical

ndi_amaka said:

Cool. I want to do something with a surgical component but not entirely surgery. Something that incorporates patient contact with technical expertise.

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klooless said:

It's easier to find a black communuity at many of the higher ranked institutions, such as Harvard or UPenn, but it's not always easy to find onesself among those ranks.

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And these schools tend to serve us very well in the end. Either Harvard or Howard/NIH could be a top choice for me if I get in. I also like UPenn, Hopkins, G'town, Morehouse, Meharry, but I have NO plans to return to the South. I NEED to be around like minded people, and in many ways personal and professional, ANY of these schools could meet my needs just fine. I know Howard has it's "problems" but there's NOTHING in the world like seeing so many people that look just like me with "white coats" on! And I have SDN to really thank for reminding me of just how special the environment at Howard could be!

Gramsci said:

I sincerley want to know what kind of economic background you "survivors" come from. I'm willing to bet that the majority of you are middle to upper middle class. You want to try overcoming obstacles, try coming from a poor background and trying to make it in a system that favors the wealthy (of any race).

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To answer your question, I came from a household that struggled economically. But that was not the brunt of my battle in the least. Economically, it was the single-mother household, the whole family living in a single-room studio at one point or another, my mother being laid-off at one point, the filing bankruptcy twice, not knowing where the mext meal was coming from--oatmeal for dinner--was a reality. BUT I did NOT check the disadvantaged box, and I didn't write about finances in my personal statement. Why not? Because my desire to become a surgeon has nothing to do with my past economic circumstance, and my CV and perseverance will open every door, as long as I am willing to knock long and hard enough.
As I said, economic challenges were not the brunt of MY battle. But it could very well be the prevailing obstacle in someone else's life. And if it is, I am willing to be another resource for that person...

I wouild really enjoy leaving Texas after medical school. I spent the summer in Manhattan and truly enjoyed my time. What East Coast cities do you think would be a good fit both professionally and personally for a black female resident?

klooless said:

To answer your question, I came from a household that struggled economically. But that was not the brunt of my battle in the least. Economically, it was the single-mother household, the whole family living in a single-room studio at one point or another, my mother being laid-off at one point, the filing bankruptcy twice, not knowing where the mext meal was coming from--oatmeal for dinner--was a reality. BUT I did NOT check the disadvantaged box, and I didn't write about finances in my personal statement. Why not? Because my desire to become a surgeon has nothing to do with my past economic circumstance, and my CV and perseverance will open every door, as long as I am willing to knock long and hard enough.
As I said, economic challenges were not the brunt of MY battle. But it could very well be the prevailing obstacle in someone else's life. And if it is, I am willing to be another resource for that person...

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STOP FEEDING THE TROLLS!! Why do you have to answer to Gramsci about your personal experiences? He'll never understand what it is like to be black in a white male dominated field no matter what we say. I've given up on arguing.

What field of surgery do you plan on entering?

Philadelphia and Atlanta are wonderful in that regard (HUP, CHOP, Emory, and culture...). One will find that many large cities in the N.East are progressive, depending upon which specialty one opts to pursue. Personally, I'm not a fan of Manhattan (It's the LA girl in me talking), but once you've got the MD in hand, you might even want to begin to pave new paths for black women, going where few have gone before you. This might carry a personal sacrifice with it, but every noble deed has a price...

ndi_amaka said:

I wouild really enjoy leaving Texas after medical school. I spent the summer in Manhattan and truly enjoyed my time. What East Coast cities do you think would be a good fit both professionally and personally for a black female resident?

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I'm considering neuro.

ndi_amaka said:

STOP FEEDING THE TROLLS!! Why do you have to answer to Gramsci about your personal experiences? He'll never understand what it is like to be black in a white male dominated field no matter what we say. I've given up on arguing.

What field of surgery do you plan on entering?

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klooless said:

I'm considering neuro.

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Neurosurgery?? Wow!

Hi Everyone,

I'm an African American female premed as well!
I graduated from Columbia University (CC '02) with a major in History
I will be taking my MCAT this August and will apply for the class of 2005.

I've been reading the posts on this thread. Unfortunately, I am not surprised by the immature, foolish behavior of those individuals who frequent this site and make negative comments about what we go through...Nevertheless, I think it's important that we continue to keep this specific atmosphere positive and supportive..Why feed into certain people's insecurities, manifested in the form of racist comments, when we can simply ignore them?

btw, I'm not sure what speciality of medicine I want to go into...

Emergency Medicine or forensic pathology are at the top of my list, but I'm sure that my mind will change once I'm in med. school Whatever I do, I would like to continue teaching by becoming a medical professor...

Kingnick32 said:

I'm a black male pre-med going to Boston College. Any females in the boston area holla back!

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im premed at wellesley college and im a black female

ndi_amaka said:

In a vain and blatant attempt NOT to feed the trolls, I'm changing the subject.

What specialties are you guys going into?

As women of color, do you feel we have any unique obstacles that will be in our way as medical professionals?

How do you plan to juggle career and family life?

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I'm not entirely sure, I talked to my cousin who is an oB/GYN yesterday and they are paying her full time rate while she's working half time(it pays to know the right people!!), it seems to me like every other week she's on vacation, i dunno how she negotiated that deal, but dang I've to learn.

I think I'm leaning more towards Internal Medicine, and there are so many sub specialties there, maybe even Infectious disease. What I do know is that whatever specialty i choose has to be applicable to any society i find myself in, and I gain satisfaction from patient interaction and seeing immediate results, so that automatically eliminates radiology or dermatology.