Disadvantaged????

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ImSoStreesedOut

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Howards secondary asks if you have ever lived in a medically underserved area for at least 3 years. Would you put yes, if the county your school was in was medically underserved but didnt seem like it becuase you were enjoying college life? I didnt experience it
 
ImSoStreesedOut said:
Howards secondary asks if you have ever lived in a medically underserved area for at least 3 years. Would you put yes, if the county your school was in was medically underserved but didnt seem like it becuase you were enjoying college life? I didnt experience it
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That would probably be misleading then.
 
No, this is misleading the committee. Many good schools are in disadvantaged areas, i.e. USC or John Hopkins, but the average applicant from those schools usually has very little in terms of a disadvantaged background.
 
well....technically yes you did live in a medically under served community if your undergrad is in a medically under served community. it would be misleading because you never really experienced that community's healthcare problems. so unless you want to risk being an idiot while answering interview questions i would put that you haven't. if you want to risk it then put you have
 
What about being in Iraq? When I went, the doctors for the cities were murdered. Is this something that could be used in my essay?
 
ImSoStreesedOut said:
Howards secondary asks if you have ever lived in a medically underserved area for at least 3 years. Would you put yes, if the county your school was in was medically underserved but didnt seem like it becuase you were enjoying college life? I didnt experience it
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If the question is exactly as you stated then Yes.
 
I talked to an admissions dean about this. People think that "disadvantaged" is: "I'm poor," or "I'm a minority." That's not what it's referring to, and even though the accompanying questions are indeed misleading, you shouldn't check "Yes" unless you have a really extenuating circumstance such as: (example the dean gave me,) "I've been attending college from my hospital bed this past semester," or "I am literally homeless." If you have to concoct some contrived reason as to why you may be "disadvantaged," and it does not immediately jump out at you or anyone else, then do not claim to be "disadvantaged."
 
hsperson said:
I talked to an admissions dean about this. People think that "disadvantaged" is: "I'm poor," or "I'm a minority." That's not what it's referring to, and even though the accompanying questions are indeed misleading, you shouldn't check "Yes" unless you have a really extenuating circumstance such as: (example the dean gave me,) "I've been attending college from my hospital bed this past semester," or "I am literally homeless." If you have to concoct some contrived reason as to why you may be "disadvantaged," and it does not immediately jump out at you or anyone else, then do not claim to be "disadvantaged."
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i bet this was a rich white guy saying this
 
hsperson said:
I talked to an admissions dean about this. People think that "disadvantaged" is: "I'm poor," or "I'm a minority." That's not what it's referring to, and even though the accompanying questions are indeed misleading, you shouldn't check "Yes" unless you have a really extenuating circumstance such as: (example the dean gave me,) "I've been attending college from my hospital bed this past semester," or "I am literally homeless." If you have to concoct some contrived reason as to why you may be "disadvantaged," and it does not immediately jump out at you or anyone else, then do not claim to be "disadvantaged."
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so you are "disadvantaged" if you were attending school from your hospital bed??? that doesnt make much sense to be classified as disadvantaged cuz that could just be a sickness. disadvantaged means disadvantaged.
 
It was just the example he gave me. I think his point was that if you don't have a clearly identifiable, non-contrived and unambiguous reason for marking "disadvantaged," then you would not be considered so in terms of what it's referring to in the application.

The previous post, (lacking sufficient forethought,) with the stereotypical preconception of "some rich white guy," backhandedly supports exactly what the guy was talking about:

Being a minority does not make you inherently "disadvantaged" in terms of its meaning in the application. Saying: he must have been some "rich white guy" is suggesting that he is somehow unaware of the issues of minority groups. The issues surrounding whether or not that is true, are irrelevant to the application.

The dean merely meant to point out that many people, due to what the term "disadvantaged" often connotates, think that they can automatically mark it if they are minorities. But the goal is to be aware of any extreme circumstances that may have hindered you on your way to medical school.

To have "fought against discrimination" is common and, in the context of the application, is not adequate grounds for marking "disadvantaged."

Also, being lower class is not the same as really being poor. Yeah, you may have been in a poor area, but were you ever really distractingly poor? Were you ever unable to go to school and focus on your studies at a sufficient level? Did it ever jade your prospects of college? Did you ever go without sufficient shelter or food? Did you have to hold down a full-time job and/or raise your children or siblings during school? My guess for most people on SDN is no.

Only being able to afford second hand clothing, by itself, is not sufficient grounds for marking "disadvantaged." There are people for whom deciding whether to go to college (not just assuming that they'd be going after high school,) getting in and doing well was really an uphill battle. These people may be able to mark "disadvantaged," but it's all based on individual circumstance.

Could you imagine if every minority and lower income class person marked "disadvantaged." There would be a large portion of people that aren't really "disadvantaged." Obviously, this whole issue of, "Should I mark 'disadvantaged,'" comes from people wanting to garner pity. Additionally, it's apparent that people may feel that they'd be losing something if they didn't mark it. The ADCOMM probably won't even notice if you didn't mark it. If you do, at best, they'd want to ask you about it if you get an interview. But I bet it wouldn't bode well if you tried to make your life seem more "disadvantaged" than what was actually experienced.

Here's a nice rule of thumb: Basically, if you have to give it a second thought, post your "special circumstance" on SDN for feedback and wait for posters to decide for you, then no, you should not mark that you are "disadvantaged." If you don't feel "disadvantaged" then you are not.
 
I may be incorrect but in reviewing AMCAS (I haven't applied yet) I thought one of the things that it specifically said was if you had ever been on governmant assistance for a lengthy period of time as a child, you would be considered disadvantaged. This, which is basically being poor, is considered a disadvantage. And I think that it is not nearly as common for people from this type of a background to make it to med school as someone without this disadvantage so much so that it is somewhat rare. That is just my opinion.
 
t-funk said:
I may be incorrect but in reviewing AMCAS (I haven't applied yet) I thought one of the things that it specifically said was if you had ever been on governmant assistance for a lengthy period of time as a child, you would be considered disadvantaged. This, which is basically being poor, is considered a disadvantage. And I think that it is not nearly as common for people from this type of a background to make it to med school as someone without this disadvantage so much so that it is somewhat rare. That is just my opinion.
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Yes, but that would be exceptionally poor, not just lower economic class. Let's not get into every possible variation of every possible circumstance. It's all individual.

Some of those questions, if they apply to you, will count as a "disadvantage." But ultimately, if you don't feel "disadvantaged" then you shouldn't mark it. The application asks, if you wish to be considered "disadvantaged" first and then asks those other questions. If you say yes, when you feel you got by just fine even on welfare and secondhand clothes, then, when it comes down to explaining it at an interview you may seem very contrived which probably won't bode well. I'm certainly not saying not to mark it if you are "disadvantaged," just that you should be unambiguous and about it, and if you can't mark it without having read those secondary questions, then you should not mark it at all.
 
I think that I'm disadvantaged because I don't qualify for any of those minority programs. In addition, I happen to be of a certain ethnicity/race that med schools already have too much of.
Plus, with the majority of applicants currently being female, I think I'm disadvantaged in that sense too.

Sigh...
 
hsperson said:
It was just the example he gave me. I think his point was that if you don't have a clearly identifiable, non-contrived and unambiguous reason for marking "disadvantaged," then you would not be considered so in terms of what it's referring to in the application.

The previous post, (lacking sufficient forethought,) with the stereotypical preconception of "some rich white guy," backhandedly supports exactly what the guy was talking about:

Being a minority does not make you inherently "disadvantaged" in terms of its meaning in the application. Saying: he must have been some "rich white guy" is suggesting that he is somehow unaware of the issues of minority groups. The issues surrounding whether or not that is true, are irrelevant to the application.

The dean merely meant to point out that many people, due to what the term "disadvantaged" often connotates, think that they can automatically mark it if they are minorities. But the goal is to be aware of any extreme circumstances that may have hindered you on your way to medical school.

To have "fought against discrimination" is common and, in the context of the application, is not adequate grounds for marking "disadvantaged."

Also, being lower class is not the same as really being poor. Yeah, you may have been in a poor area, but were you ever really distractingly poor? Were you ever unable to go to school and focus on your studies at a sufficient level? Did it ever jade your prospects of college? Did you ever go without sufficient shelter or food? Did you have to hold down a full-time job and/or raise your children or siblings during school? My guess for most people on SDN is no.

Only being able to afford second hand clothing, by itself, is not sufficient grounds for marking "disadvantaged." There are people for whom deciding whether to go to college (not just assuming that they'd be going after high school,) getting in and doing well was really an uphill battle. These people may be able to mark "disadvantaged," but it's all based on individual circumstance.

Could you imagine if every minority and lower income class person marked "disadvantaged." There would be a large portion of people that aren't really "disadvantaged." Obviously, this whole issue of, "Should I mark 'disadvantaged,'" comes from people wanting to garner pity. Additionally, it's apparent that people may feel that they'd be losing something if they didn't mark it. The ADCOMM probably won't even notice if you didn't mark it. If you do, at best, they'd want to ask you about it if you get an interview. But I bet it wouldn't bode well if you tried to make your life seem more "disadvantaged" than what was actually experienced.

Here's a nice rule of thumb: Basically, if you have to give it a second thought, post your "special circumstance" on SDN for feedback and wait for posters to decide for you, then no, you should not mark that you are "disadvantaged." If you don't feel "disadvantaged" then you are not.
Click to expand...



Um, how's this for disadvantaged:

Being told that you were cognitively gifted from a young age, scoring 90-98 percentile on standardized tests, etc. to your crackhead parent, 😡 in fourth grade, lifting you from the environment from whence she abandoned you for the sole fact that the next sibling in line was about to turn 18 and she would no longer be able to get welfare. The neighborhood , which was declared the 4th cheapest place to live in US, was very much underserved medically. I felt like I fell asleep and woke up in the boyz in da hood movie. 😱 Drugs, guns, fights, and gang wars were a normal part of the environment. My mother then proceeded to take in 5 members of our family , which I had to physically care for, in order to get her hands on whatever gov't check they were getting each month, yet we still had no food, and I had to figure out how to feed four kids and one post CVA senior.🙁 Not to mention being awakened on almost a nightly basis with the yelling and screaming of my mom who I guess was coming down from a drug high and then wanted to fight me. Needless to say I had no teenage yrs and lost a lot of my childhood. Many of my teachers in high school just passed me, saying your just too smart for me to fail. I nearly didn't finish school, until I got pregnant at the age of 18 and knew that I was going to have a child of my own to provide for 😍 and was NOT going to be the kind of parent that my bio mother was. I finished high school in alternative school and graduated. I then went to nursing school to ensure that i would be able to care for my son, since many men, from my viewpoint, were not reliable. So here I am many yrs later, remembering who I was as a child, and knowing that that bright young girl had the ablity to do or be anything, and so I am going for a dream that I have had for a long time, which is to be a doctor. When I was three I used to say I want to be an anesthesiologist, but we shall see. :luck:
 
ICCONFETTI said:
I think that I'm disadvantaged because I don't qualify for any of those minority programs. In addition, I happen to be of a certain ethnicity/race that med schools already have too much of.
Plus, with the majority of applicants currently being female, I think I'm disadvantaged in that sense too.

Sigh...
Click to expand...


Maybe disadvantaged in the med school application process , but how about in life in general. It is a priviledge not a right to attend college at all, let alone medical school.
 
I can feel for you and your experiences and I would say to definately state that you were disadvantaged. Without going into detail, it sounds like you and I could relate other than the fact that I grew up in small towns that really didn't have ghettos. I was financially on my own at about 13 yrs old and physically on my own by about 17 yrs old. I think a lot of people who had supportive parents in life really have absolutely no idea the amount of struggle and toil it takes to overcome financial burdons such as this as well as the fact that oftentimes, as I was, given severe guilt trips for going to college and not staying at home and taking care of my family. Instead of being encouraged to go to college, I was being told that I was selfish and only thinking of myself and should have been at home taking care of my brother and sister. I think the fact that I did graduate from college with everything else against me is an extraordinary feat.
 
ICCONFETTI said:
I think that I'm disadvantaged because I don't qualify for any of those minority programs. In addition, I happen to be of a certain ethnicity/race that med schools already have too much of.
Plus, with the majority of applicants currently being female, I think I'm disadvantaged in that sense too.

Sigh...
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's not cool. You were lucky enough to have been brought up and lived in a privileged background. Don't complain about things you cannot change.
 
wasn't complaining. I'm just saying, everyone goes through difficulties in life. Sure, you can argue that some are more "disadvantaged" than others, but life is really what you make of it.

Just because I didn't come from a poor family or what not, is that to say that my hard work doesn't count as much as another person's?

It's great that those from disadvantaged backgrounds can overcome their difficulties and continue on to life. But like I said before, everyone has issues and problems (family problems), and those who might not struggle financially wise may have a whole lot of other/different family problems that should still be considered.
 
nursetodoc said:
Maybe disadvantaged in the med school application process , but how about in life in general. It is a priviledge not a right to attend college at all, let alone medical school.
Click to expand...

You and others aren't to say that I haven't been disadvantaged in life. everyone goes through difficulties. They might not be considered "disadvantaged" just because I didn't grow up in the ghetto, but it's not to say I didn't overcome barriers to get to where I am.

I never said it was a right to attend college or medical school. Everything is about hard work and pursueing your goals. I know it's a privilege. Who's to say it's more of a privilege for those who are classified as disadvantaged than those who aren't?
 
nursetodoc said:
Um, how's this for disadvantaged:

Being told that you were cognitively gifted from a young age, scoring 90-98 percentile on standardized tests, etc. to your crackhead parent, 😡 in fourth grade, lifting you from the environment from whence she abandoned you for the sole fact that the next sibling in line was about to turn 18 and she would no longer be able to get welfare. The neighborhood , which was declared the 4th cheapest place to live in US, was very much underserved medically. I felt like I fell asleep and woke up in the boyz in da hood movie. 😱 Drugs, guns, fights, and gang wars were a normal part of the environment. My mother then proceeded to take in 5 members of our family , which I had to physically care for, in order to get her hands on whatever gov't check they were getting each month, yet we still had no food, and I had to figure out how to feed four kids and one post CVA senior.🙁 Not to mention being awakened on almost a nightly basis with the yelling and screaming of my mom who I guess was coming down from a drug high and then wanted to fight me. Needless to say I had no teenage yrs and lost a lot of my childhood. Many of my teachers in high school just passed me, saying your just too smart for me to fail. I nearly didn't finish school, until I got pregnant at the age of 18 and knew that I was going to have a child of my own to provide for 😍 and was NOT going to be the kind of parent that my bio mother was. I finished high school in alternative school and graduated. I then went to nursing school to ensure that i would be able to care for my son, since many men, from my viewpoint, were not reliable. So here I am many yrs later, remembering who I was as a child, and knowing that that bright young girl had the ablity to do or be anything, and so I am going for a dream that I have had for a long time, which is to be a doctor. When I was three I used to say I want to be an anesthesiologist, but we shall see. :luck:
Click to expand...

That certainly might count, what is your point? Again, let's not get into every possible combination of every possible circumstance. It's all individual.
 
ICCONFETTI said:
wasn't complaining. I'm just saying, everyone goes through difficulties in life. Sure, you can argue that some are more "disadvantaged" than others, but life is really what you make of it.

Just because I didn't come from a poor family or what not, is that to say that my hard work doesn't count as much as another person's?

It's great that those from disadvantaged backgrounds can overcome their difficulties and continue on to life. But like I said before, everyone has issues and problems (family problems), and those who might not struggle financially wise may have a whole lot of other/different family problems that should still be considered.
Click to expand...


You are right that everyone has ups and downs, that is life. You are wrong that it is as easy as "life is what you make of it" I don't really think you have a grasp of how much more difficult it is for someone with lower means to make it as far as medical school. This entire process favors people of more means/knowledge/educational backgrounds/environment. This kind of reminds me of this guy I knew, who actually got kicked out of medical school but thats besides the point, his parents paid for his undergrad and med school and living expenses. One day he was complaining how "poor" people complain that they have no one to help them apply, and that parents should not have to help anyone. I couldnt help but think to myself is he for real? This coming from someone that has had soooo much given to him and has no idea what it is like to have to not have money for food sometimes. There is a lot more I can say about him but I wont
The point is, some people are complaining that if anyone could apply as being disadvantaged for being poor that sooo many people would. I find this kind of funny because the majority of those who apply and get into medical school come from a background that is definately well above the poverty line. If someone is at that line, it is rare.
 
ICCONFETTI said:
You and others aren't to say that I haven't been disadvantaged in life. everyone goes through difficulties. They might not be considered "disadvantaged" just because I didn't grow up in the ghetto, but it's not to say I didn't overcome barriers to get to where I am.

I never said it was a right to attend college or medical school. Everything is about hard work and pursueing your goals. I know it's a privilege. Who's to say it's more of a privilege for those who are classified as disadvantaged than those who aren't?
Click to expand...

If you look at my post I tried not to imply that you haven't been disadvantaged. I am wise enough to know that everyone has obstacles in life that they need to overcome. Hard work should be rewarded, yes, but it's not like you have straight 4.0's and aren't getting accepted. I never asked to have a drug addict mother, be abused, and have to take care of other peoples' children during my formative years. It's like people think that we won't work hard or something, like we're just gonna just fail all of our classes and get into med-school. People need to grow up! If you want something bad enough you will find a way to make it happen. End of story.
 
hsperson said:
That certainly might count, what is your point? Again, let's not get into every possible combination of every possible circumstance. It's all individual.
Click to expand...

I don't understand your point.
 
I just wanted to give others a picture of what an adcomm might see as disadvantaged. Yes, that was my life, and it sucked at the time. The problem with the world is that someone will read my story and find some kind of justification within themselves as to why they shouldn't care. I feel advantaged in a way because due to my life I am now stronger, and can handle ADVERSITY. Many in my situation would have turned to substances, like some in my family,and given up, but somehow I had the strength to stay afloat. I am proud of myself for that. Now, I am not asking for anyone to hand me anything. I didn't do it in the past, and I'm not doing it now. I will fight as hard as I have to in order to get into medical school. My guess is that the people who are constantly trashing the system are the ones who are used to getting preferential treatment.(my opinion only) I can tell you that I am not. I was the underdog, and if for ONCE! being who I am helps me with something, I will find it unexpected as well as unusual, and be grateful.
 
nursetodoc said:
I just wanted to give others a picture of what an adcomm might see as disadvantaged. Yes, that was my life, and it sucked at the time. The problem with the world is that someone will read my story and find some kind of justification within themselves as to why they shouldn't care. I feel advantaged in a way because due to my life I am now stronger, and can handle ADVERSITY. Many in my situation would have turned to substances, like some in my family,and given up, but somehow I had the strength to stay afloat. I am proud of myself for that. Now, I am not asking for anyone to hand me anything. I didn't do it in the past, and I'm not doing it now. I will fight as hard as I have to in order to get into medical school. My guess is that the people who are constantly trashing the system are the ones who are used to getting preferential treatment.(my opinion only) I can tell you that I am not. I was the underdog, and if for ONCE! being who I am helps me with something, I will find it unexpected as well as unusual, and be grateful.
Click to expand...

Hey there
you should be proud of yourself. Good luck🙂 🙂 🙂
 
Eh, the AMCAS already figures out if where you're from is a disadvantaged area...pretty funny because I never realized I was from a disadvantaged/doctor shortaged area...go figure.
 
nursetodoc said:
I just wanted to give others a picture of what an adcomm might see as disadvantaged. Yes, that was my life, and it sucked at the time. The problem with the world is that someone will read my story and find some kind of justification within themselves as to why they shouldn't care. I feel advantaged in a way because due to my life I am now stronger, and can handle ADVERSITY. Many in my situation would have turned to substances, like some in my family,and given up, but somehow I had the strength to stay afloat. I am proud of myself for that. Now, I am not asking for anyone to hand me anything. I didn't do it in the past, and I'm not doing it now. I will fight as hard as I have to in order to get into medical school. My guess is that the people who are constantly trashing the system are the ones who are used to getting preferential treatment.(my opinion only) I can tell you that I am not. I was the underdog, and if for ONCE! being who I am helps me with something, I will find it unexpected as well as unusual, and be grateful.
Click to expand...

If this was addressed to me, I'm not trying to devalue your experiences at all. I just didn't understand your purpose for addressing me with it in the first place.
 
Nursetodoc, I just wanted to say that your previous post is exactly how I feel . Thank you for saying it so well. And I also sometimes feel that amongst all the disadvantages that I have had, I do have one advantage, I have already been taught how to fight FOR EVERYTHING!!!
 
are you kidding me?? This whole med school process is set up against lower class people. The whole applications process is a ridiculous amount of money. If you apply to 15 schools thats a nice chunk of change right there, plus flying to all these different interviews is gonna cost you. Plus don't get me started about all that legacy bullsh*t. I still for the life of me cannot understand why you will be a good doctor just because your dad is.

This whole system is a big joke.
 
Yes, the system is set up against people who do not have enough money and it may seemingly be easier for those whose parents are willing to pay for all of the interview related expenses while all they have to do is just sit around and study. However, many average middle class people do not have parents who can afford to pay for the interview and application process, but at least their parents can be supportive and encouraging and help out when they can or give them a place to live if they don't have a backup. I left my home at seventeen because every time I would leave to go to work, stuff would be stolen from my dressers, I had to sleep on a crappy mattress on the floor and basically freeze every night in the winter, and the house would mold over and all the walls would turn black every year and make me cough non-stop, amongst other issues. I think the point of the disadvantaged section is more that they realize that there are people out there who have not had nurturing environments conducive to success in life, and yet, have found a way to succeed. That is a rare quality in an individual and I think (I don't know) that admissions committees are impressed by this. I think the majority of people out there have to struggle to find the money for the applications and interviews. That is not the point in my opinion.
 
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