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[Taskha]

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[gyngyn]

Do you fit their mission? The mission is far more important than mere stats.
Do you have a validated commitment to the African American community?

 

[Taskha]

Do you fit their mission? The mission is far more important than mere stats.
Do you have a validated commitment to the African American community?

Thanks for your advise! Unfortunately No. I reside in a state with very little African American population.

 

[GreenDuck12]

I will need to select some safe school. I have slightly higher GPA/MCAT than their median.
From the MSAR I find that the majorities are African American student and they might prefer African American applicants.
I am an East Asian and US permanent resident. I have >300h volunteering (clinical, nonclinical), research 1yr and developing publication/abstract, >100h shadowing, several leaderships activities.

Thanks for your advise! Unfortunately No. I reside in a state with very little African American population.

There really isn't a "safe school" for MD admissions. With 60k applicants and only 20k seats, medical admissions is incredibly competitive. I think what you mean is you want to pick some schools where you are above the median.

However, as the poster above mentioned, just because you might be competitive from a numbers perspective, many programs look for applicants who will serve certain missions. The schools that you picked are well known HBCUs and have missions to serve traditionally underserved communities. Just because you do not identify as an African American does not mean that you shouldn't apply. However, be prepared to be scrutinized to see if you meet the mission and can demonstrate it through a history of service in minority communities. If you do not meet that mission and do not have significant service in minority communities, then it would likely be better to look elsewhere.

 

[Taskha]

There really isn't a "safe school" for MD admissions. With 60k applicants and only 20k seats, medical admissions is incredibly competitive. I think what you mean is you want to pick some schools where you are above the median.

However, as the poster above mentioned, just because you might be competitive from a numbers perspective, many programs look for applicants who will serve certain missions. The schools that you picked are well known HBCUs and have missions to serve traditionally underserved communities. Just because you do not identify as an African American does not mean that you shouldn't apply. However, be prepared to be scrutinized to see if you meet the mission and can demonstrate it through a history of service in minority communities. If you do not meet that mission and do not have significant service in minority communities, then it would likely be better to look elsewhere.

Thanks for your advice!

 

[Goro]

Thanks for your advise! Unfortunately No. I reside in a state with very little African American population.

Without extensive service to communities of color, the HBCs are no-go.

Given your stats, you'll need to have DO schools on your list.

 

[Lanky279]

Without extensive service to communities of color, the HBCs are no-go.

Given your stats, you'll need to have DO schools on your list.

When you say communities of color, is it mostly focused on African American communities? I know some people who have extensive social work in their Native American communities, specifically on a reservation. Would that be good enough?

 

[GreenDuck12]

When you say communities of color, is it mostly focused on African American communities? I know some people who have extensive social work in their Native American communities, specifically on a reservation. Would that be good enough?

you need to pay attention to the wording. This is copied from Morehouse School of Medicine:
Mission
“We exist to:

• Improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities
• Increase the diversity of the health professional and scientific workforce
• Address primary health care through programs in education, research, and service

With emphasis on people of color and the underserved urban and rural populations in Georgia, the nation, and the world.”

Emphasis is on people of color in Georgia first, followed by the nation. Service in Native American communities will be evaluated in that context.

 

[ismyexistenceamemeyet]

I will need to select some safe school. I have slightly higher GPA/MCAT than their median.
From the MSAR I find that the majorities are African American student and they might prefer African American applicants.
I am an East Asian and US permanent resident. I have >300h volunteering (clinical, nonclinical), research 1yr and developing publication/abstract, >100h shadowing, several leaderships activities.
Served in clinic mainly for minorities. Served in minority physician society.

When you say communities of color, is it mostly focused on African American communities? I know some people who have extensive social work in their Native American communities, specifically on a reservation. Would that be good enough?

Disclaimer: was accepted to one of the HBCUs as an Asian. You might be surprised to find out that HBCUs aren't exactly "safe" schools. The HBCU I applied to had ~9000 applications, but only interviewed ~300 people for a class of 120. The acceptance rates are on par with top-notch schools like UCLA, Mayo, etc. Some of the HBCUs (like Morehouse) may target individuals from specific states too, which complicates things when applying.

If you apply to these schools (really, any school in general, but ESPECIALLY for HBCUs), make sure you fulfill their mission. You don't have to serve the African American community necessarily; my school had a mission statement that encompassed the underserved in general. So really, it could be African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic/Latino communities, homeless population, etc. For me, I didn't serve the AA community, but did work with the homeless and Native population in my state and have a desire to return (although I did have high stats comparative to the school's median which may be a confounding variable).

Tl;dr: Make sure you're in line with their mission and make that crystal clear in your application, should you apply. Typically the specific communities you work with don't matter (may be dependent on the school's mission)-the idea is that you have a track record of serving the underserved/communities of color and that you want to continue serving them in the future.

 

[Goro]

Disclaimer: was accepted to one of the HBCUs as an Asian. You might be surprised to find out that HBCUs aren't exactly "safe" schools. The HBCU I applied to had ~9000 applications, but only interviewed ~300 people for a class of 120. The acceptance rates are on par with top-notch schools like UCLA, Mayo, etc. Some of the HBCUs (like Morehouse) may target individuals from specific states too, which complicates things when applying.

If you apply to these schools (really, any school in general, but ESPECIALLY for HBCUs), make sure you fulfill their mission. You don't have to serve the African American community necessarily; my school had a mission statement that encompassed the underserved in general. So really, it could be African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic/Latino communities, homeless population, etc. For me, I didn't serve the AA community, but did work with the homeless and Native population in my state and have a desire to return (although I did have high stats comparative to the school's median which may be a confounding variable).

Tl;dr: Make sure you're in line with their mission and make that crystal clear in your application, should you apply. Typically the specific communities you work with don't matter (may be dependent on the school's mission)-the idea is that you have a track record of serving the underserved/communities of color and that you want to continue serving them in the future.

You'd be surprise how many of American's best and brightest, who have hundreds if not even thousands of research hours, couldn't be bothered to lift a finger to look at the Admissions web pages of the HBCs and read the school's mission statements.

When you say communities of color, is it mostly focused on African American communities? I know some people who have extensive social work in their Native American communities, specifically on a reservation. Would that be good enough?

Honestly, if one doesn't understand what the term "communities of color" means, then one should NOT be applying to the HBCs.