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Poll: How much do your parents make?
Started by Ross434
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MollyMalone
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I don't.
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my parents are social workers. draw your own conclusions.
Ross434 said:
I don't come from a rich family, but my children will!
SanDiegoSOD said:I don't come from a rich family, but my children will!
Do you think medicine is a hard field to get into without money - ie: it selects out people who cant afford to apply or travel for interviews or study or take review classes or pay for mcat fees, etc. Or are people from wealthier families just smarter on average? I dont think medicine is the best way to move up from poor to rich, just because it requires such a big investment.
Ross434 said:
I agree, if my parents didnt have money, I would not be able to afford to go to med school. It takes too long, applying is expensive, and the road to becoming a physician entails many opportunities for one to accrue debt. If you don't already have money, it takes much more sacrifice, good planning, and determination to become a doctor.
Ross434 said:
I think it takes more support/connections. For example, when I was interviewing in NY, i stayed with friends.
If u apply for fin. hardship on the MCAT fee, then most secondary apps fees are waived or reduced.
The help is out there. Its just to look for it.
I think it has mostly to do with upbringing and access. Children in 'rich' families live in better neighborhoods which have better schools (preschool on up), are more likely to go to college, and so on. The pattern is set. In other words, life isn't fair.
This is why many people make the argument for affirmative action based on socioeconomic status. But that discussion is for a different thread.
This is why many people make the argument for affirmative action based on socioeconomic status. But that discussion is for a different thread.
aragonh said:
financial aid offered by amcas to cover some of the the cost on your MCAT and 2ndary application fees is more difficult than you'd think to get. I was deferred, and my parents make 35K a year combined. 😡
Definitely the first bracket, unfortunately.
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my parents are in the first bracket... both never went to college and barely graduated from high school (no joke). Don't know how I ended up where i am.. lol.. but there is no way I would have been able to afford all this if I wouldn't have worked as student teacher ($25/hr).
But to the question on whether it makes a diff.... it definately does. At one my interviews (A high ranked school- top5) I was asked by the dean of admissions why I chose my small, unranked, blah state school- instead of a higher ranked one (having been accepted to their undergrad). When I told him there was no way I could have afforded it and that I didnt plan on being premed at the time, he still didnt seem to understand. I had no idea on how to pick a college--- Can't blaim my parents for not knowing, and my high school counselors were little help. I didn't think ranked mattered all that much and wanted to go where I had the most scholarships, etc.
But to the question on whether it makes a diff.... it definately does. At one my interviews (A high ranked school- top5) I was asked by the dean of admissions why I chose my small, unranked, blah state school- instead of a higher ranked one (having been accepted to their undergrad). When I told him there was no way I could have afforded it and that I didnt plan on being premed at the time, he still didnt seem to understand. I had no idea on how to pick a college--- Can't blaim my parents for not knowing, and my high school counselors were little help. I didn't think ranked mattered all that much and wanted to go where I had the most scholarships, etc.
Mine are in the bottom bracket. Both only have a high school diploma but with some work ethic, savings and by starting their own business they are now building a 1.5 mil house. You don't have to come from money to make money, you just have to have the determination.
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Most people in college are from above-average families, so it would kind of make sense. Mine do aight, but I have six siblings to soak up any extra money. 😛 I haven't gotten a cent out of them for tuition or any school expenses. In fact, my dad still owes me money from times he's borrowed it. 🙄Ross434 said:
I have to disagree. I think people who have grown up "advantaged" can have less drive than those who come from "disadvantaged" families. The "disadvantaged" ones have a hunger for success and financial remuneration because they haven't had it handed to them all their lives. I went to an Ivy undergrad, and most of my fellow premeds had attended public high school, were often first-generation Americans, and did work-study.Ross434 said:
Also, why haven't people figured out that medicine is NOT the way to make piles of money? Go bank if money's what you're after.
fyli260 said:
At the same time, this type of affirmative action is difficult to use well, since, sometimes, the amount of money people's parents make every year doesnt have much to do with the opportunities the children have available. I mean, sure, if you live in a wealthy neighborhood and go to good schools, you have more opportunities for a better future (statistically speaking), but if your parents make a lot of money and you live in a bad area because your parents are paying all of their cash for a disastrous medical problem, or your family's business did bad and they lost everything, then you probably dont have the same opportunities, even though you're in the same income bracket.
How did you guys all find out how much your parents make? Did they tell you? Is it something you fill out on financial aid applications? My dad never told me how much he made -- it's always been confidential. He got lucky with his stock options and retired early, so I know he's done well. For me, a career in medicine is the only way I can imagine coming close to his level financially. Certainly won't happen in my current line of work....
humuhumu said:
Yeah, my parents told me. However, you will have to know your parents' financial information to fill out the FAFSA.
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you need their info until you're in your mid-twenties almosthumuhumu said:Unless I'm above a certain age, right? Looks like I may never find out how much the old man makes...
TheProwler said:
As an undergraduate, you are considered a dependent until the age of 24. If you are a graduate or medical student, the federal government considers you as an independent. However, the financial aid departments of most medical schools still require your parents' financial information despite your government status.
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I'm definitely not from a rich family. Neither of my parents went to college or even finished high school. My dad was one of 12 and my mom was one of 7. I myself am the youngest of 8. My father was ill for most of my life and could never work. Even though we were very poor and at times didn't even have a place to live, we all graduated high school and went on to college (we all had some kind of scholarship). My siblings arent doctors or lawyers or anything but they make good money and they have taken care of the rest of our family. The fact that they all worked so hard has made me want to work even harder to become the best I can be and hopefully someday take care of them 🙂
There's a pretty large % of people in my class whose parents are doctors, so I guess they fall into the 160,000+ category. My parents are also both doctors... You're bound to see that some people go into medicine just because it's a family thing...it's a shame though bc their heart probably isn't into it.
Ross434 said:
Life isn't fair. People with wealth are going to give their kids all the benefits they possible can. Is it fair to give people equal chances at getting into a state school when a wealthy man pays more taxes than a poor man? No, it isn't. But then again, life isn't fair.
Ross434 said:
Why in the world would it matter how much money your parents make? Are you working for the IRS. I'm afraid to tell you b/c you might come after me or report my family to the government
With scholarships, grants, and loans, medical school is affordable to everyone (even though not everyone is qualified in other areas). Stop bumming off your parents that work really hard to support your family, and start earning your own way to acheive your dreams. BTW, my parents make <30,000 combined. I alone made >15,000 last year while in undergrad. What a ridiculous thread and a ridiculous stereotype of only rich kids go to med school. Don't believe/trust everyone, everything you hear, or everything you see.
UT HSC COM Class of 2k9
I think this is a great thread. Class is not something we generaly talk about in America unless we're peddling that American Dream crap and ignoring the reality of it (that the US has the greatest divide between rich and poor of any industrialized nation, that the number of poor is increasing, that real income for working and middle class Americans has been steadily decreasing since the 1970s etc.)
There are of course moe upper middle class and upper class offspring in medical school than working class due not only to the cot of it all but because of the way they view themsleves and their options, role models, quality of previous education, and classism within the sciences and medicine, especially at elite schools. I went to Oberlin as an undergrad and being working class and female in the Chemistry department there is one of Dante's circles of Hell. There is a lack of support system at many schools which is desperately needed for working class students to "move up" into upper class culture. A few working class tokens will make it, but the overwhleming majority of working class and poor people remain that way and these days a good number of middle class slip down. Those are the facts. Feel free to look up the census data yourself.
As for me: grew up on a small farm well below the poverty line. Currently married with two kids and husband whose an architect making 35,000. If we weren't helped out by my husband's parents, we'd be living somewhere pretty awful and I would not be able to afford to take my pre-reqs and apply to med school.
There are of course moe upper middle class and upper class offspring in medical school than working class due not only to the cot of it all but because of the way they view themsleves and their options, role models, quality of previous education, and classism within the sciences and medicine, especially at elite schools. I went to Oberlin as an undergrad and being working class and female in the Chemistry department there is one of Dante's circles of Hell. There is a lack of support system at many schools which is desperately needed for working class students to "move up" into upper class culture. A few working class tokens will make it, but the overwhleming majority of working class and poor people remain that way and these days a good number of middle class slip down. Those are the facts. Feel free to look up the census data yourself.
As for me: grew up on a small farm well below the poverty line. Currently married with two kids and husband whose an architect making 35,000. If we weren't helped out by my husband's parents, we'd be living somewhere pretty awful and I would not be able to afford to take my pre-reqs and apply to med school.
personally, i think it's completely out of line that medical schools ask for parental income from anyone other than people who still live at home and are actual dependents. i'm 24 and live with my wife, and we wholly support ourselves...and yet all of the schools i have contacted have informed me that none of that matters, and my parents' income is still required info. I don't get what makes them think they should have access to that information...I don't have access to any of that money, and even if I did, I'm not my parents' responsibility...makes no sense...
jbrice1639 said:
I know, my mother was shocked when I told her that they require parental info. She's a lawyer, and she got all up in arms about how it sounds illegal. I told her it's how almost all the schools work.
My husband and I will both be in med school at the same time (staggered; I'll enter when he's 3rd year). For his financial aid, he puts his parents' info, and for my aid, I"ll have to put mine. Of course, it doesn't matter that we're independent and paying for school isn't our parents' responsibility at this point.
I agree with jbrice here. Unless you live with your parents, why should you have to divulge their financial status? Just because someone comes from a wealthy background doesn't mean that their parents should have to carry the full burden of their medical education. But that's just my perspective. I'm sure that I can learn from others' situations.
Here's a general question.... if you KNOW that you won't qualify for any financial aid, do you have to waste time filling it out?
Here's a general question.... if you KNOW that you won't qualify for any financial aid, do you have to waste time filling it out?
$3.
Ross434 said:
I think it's more skewed to the richer side than the poll indicates. Many people who are wealthy don't like to post in things like this b/c it makes them feel like they could possibly have an unfair advantage.
Of course, it's similar to a MCAT thread where people with higher scores pop out of the woodwork. Nobody ever goes "I spent 10,000 on test prep and didn't work at all in the summer b/c my father is a doctor" and I got a 36 on the MCAT. They just say "I got a 36 on the MCAT, I'm awesome!"
Back in the day, I easily found the socioeconomic breakdown of Canadian medical school students. I imagine that the US is even worse!
humuhumu said:
When your utilities get cut off and you are taking government peanut butter spread on the bread ends to school for lunch, then you kind of get the idea that you arent living to high on the hog.... 😉
I dont think my mom has ever made over 15K a year, and it was just her raising my brother and I,
I tell you what, no matter how much money you or your parents have, if your heart isnt in it, you cant do anything...
Its all about how hard u want to work for something, and some disadvantage youth arent informed of the alternatives they have, and dont realize that the streets or crime is not their only option...
if your parents are poor, i dont see why you should get any advantage whatsoever, in admissions that is. im sure if you're either extremely smart or extremely hard-working you should be able to get into a medschool on your own merit, even if your parents are in prison. but most people are just like their parents...
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The argument is that a rich kid's parents could send him to a top prep high school, then pay for his tuition at a top university, give him money so he doesn't have to work while in school (so he has more study/research/extracurricular time), pay for an MCAT prep course, and give him enough money to apply to lots of schools (and he'll have lots of time to fill out secondaries, because he's not working).bor0000 said:
Or, you might live in the inner-city, go to a terrible high school with teachers who don't care, barely make it into college, struggle with the curriculum that is several years ahead of where your HS left off, work a lot to even pay for college/living expenses, which cuts into your study time, and you end up with poor grades, no money for an MCAT prep course, and a career as a fast-food employee.
Who's got the advantage?
yes, MOST people are just like their parents. But everyone knows there are plenty of poor people at schools like Harvard(if these poor people got into harvard, why couldnt the others?), even for ugrad, and once they get into such a great college, they should have no trouble getting into medschool...
i myself went into an inner city school and my parents were on welfare and came from a 3rd world country(but somehow they're no longer poor). i know there were people at my school that went to better colleges than i (and i can tell you it was on their merit) and there were those that didnt go on to college at all. it wasnt because they were more poor, but because they were more stupid or just werent interested in education.
and if a poor person couldnt get into a good college, or couldnt get good grades in college or didnt go to college, but is so interested in medicine, why doesnt he get a job as a fireman, paramedic, or a nurse?? i mean he can work for a few years and save some money and dedicate more time to educatin... or how about army medic, they would pay for his school after he gets out..
and if you think poor people are disadvantaged in school admissions, i bet if you take the IQ tests for the poor and the rich at any particular school, you will not notice that the poorer a group of people the higher their IQ, most likely it's the opposite.
i myself went into an inner city school and my parents were on welfare and came from a 3rd world country(but somehow they're no longer poor). i know there were people at my school that went to better colleges than i (and i can tell you it was on their merit) and there were those that didnt go on to college at all. it wasnt because they were more poor, but because they were more stupid or just werent interested in education.
and if a poor person couldnt get into a good college, or couldnt get good grades in college or didnt go to college, but is so interested in medicine, why doesnt he get a job as a fireman, paramedic, or a nurse?? i mean he can work for a few years and save some money and dedicate more time to educatin... or how about army medic, they would pay for his school after he gets out..
and if you think poor people are disadvantaged in school admissions, i bet if you take the IQ tests for the poor and the rich at any particular school, you will not notice that the poorer a group of people the higher their IQ, most likely it's the opposite.
👍TucsonDDS said:
bor0000 said:
good post 👍
