Affirmative action

bgtati said:

Does one have to proove their nationality to AMCAS? What if you are a 1/8 Mexican, can you still be URM? Any help would be cool.

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A question similar to yours was discussed in the Native American thread.

I do not think that 1/8 mexican constitutes as being a URM.

Sorry, however, I may be wrong.

i remember from somewhere that you have to be 1/4th. don't remember where i heard it though. sorry!

Hahaha.

Here was the response I got on the same question:

"Thank you for contacting AMCAS.

There is no policy procedure set in place for designating a racial status.

We leave this totally up to the applicant to choose.

Once you choose a race/ethnicity you will not have to send in supporting documentation for proof.

-----------------------------------------------

If you have any questions or if we can be of additional assistance, please contact us at [email protected] or (202) 828-0600.

AMCAS
Association of American Medical Colleges
Section for Medical School Application Services
2450 N St., NW
Washington, DC 20037
U.S.A.

General Inquiries: (202) 828-0600
Fax: (202) 828-1120
www.aamc.org/AMCAS



nma"

regardless, i think the ethical thing to do is mark what you most identify with.

Mark what's accurate. If you're part hispanic, list it. As long as you're being honest, that's all that matters.

Does this entire business of marking an ethnic or racial category solely for one's personal gain disturb anyone else besides me?

not really... I wish I had the same advantage. If you do, more power to you.

MadameLULU said:

Does this entire business of marking an ethnic or racial category solely for one's personal gain disturb anyone else besides me?

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Sort of, but just about everything we do in life is for personal gain. There's personal gian to be had, and people take advantage of it. To each his own.

MadameLULU said:

Does this entire business of marking an ethnic or racial category solely for one's personal gain disturb anyone else besides me?

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It doesn't disturb me anymore. I think it's ridiculous to use the URM status when it doesn't affect you in your everyday life, but that's just me. After all, it's med school we're talking about. People would sell their parents to get in here...

You're never going to make it through interviews after they see you and ask you about your heritage.

MadameLULU said:

Does this entire business of marking an ethnic or racial category solely for one's personal gain disturb anyone else besides me?

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it bothers me too. it's like stealing a spot from someone who really identifies as a URM.

Will Ferrell said:

You're never going to make it through interviews after they see you and ask you about your heritage.

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BS. I actually went to my buddy who is a doc and asked him the same question I asked on here. He said, "Hell yeah, claim it!". One of the women in his class was at school as a Native American. Red-headed and pale skinned, he said she looked more Irish than anything.

It's not all about "personal gain". It's about marking what is accurate. It doesn't matter if you "identify" with your racial heritage. I don't "identify" with white heritage. I identify with my unique background. I'm a minority of one. The fact is that a large portion of my genetic material comes from people who didn't arrive on this continent via ship. What I mark will reflect that. If they wanted me to mark "have you ever been discriminated against because x" then they'd ask that. You saw what AAMC's reply was when I asked the question.

Personally, I'm going to take my mom's birth certificate to interviews just in case the issue comes up. I can easily explain why I chose to apply like I did. If they'd don't like my answer, they're more than welcome to act on that opinion.

MadameLULU said:

Does this entire business of marking an ethnic or racial category solely for one's personal gain disturb anyone else besides me?

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I think it's unethical too, but it isn't anything new. Many years ago when Jennifer Beals applied to Yale she "claimed" the black side of her heritage but in celebrity interviews she glosses right over that litle fact.

Let me just state the obvious here MOST PEOPLE ONLY WANT TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH URM'S WHEN IT'S TO THEIR BENEFIT:

1)When meeting their boyfriends' "white" parents for the first time = NO

2)When interviewing for a job in Debuke, Iowa= NO

3)When applying for a mortage = NO

4)When applying to med school=Hell Yes!!!

Such is the wonderful world we live in today!!

the system is so messed up... why not?


i no longer believe in ethics as a certain political figure has clearly contradicted them probably thousands of times.

The continued segregation of society driven by ethnicity has created this so called advantage driven by personal gain.

Have legitimate URMs that have doc or lawyer parents given up their status since they grew up in a priveledged environment? NO.

Yeah, yeah, they are still the recipients of discrimination. I know the standard PC lines. We are all discriminated against to some degree, in some way. Pretty (handsome) people get advantages. Fat people have disadvantages. Wealth brings many benefits. Weak people get beat up by bullies. Excuses are a dime a dozen.

If you can legitimately claim URM status and have no personal conscious issues, then by all means DO IT.

Just get off the crutches folks, dump racial profiling and AA. Implement socioeconomic advantages. If you want people to practice in the hood, then contractually implement that prior to matriculation.

Hermit MMood said:

i no longer believe in ethics as a certain political figure has clearly contradicted them probably thousands of times.

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This is a very disturbing assertion. What political figure is this?