Can I just say that the whole freaking process for getting into medical school is classist?
As a self-made woman and MS-0 who grew up SES disadvantagted (EO1), I've experienced both sides of this issue.
COLLEGE: Even though AMCAS says I'm SES disadvantaged, I grew up in a stable lower-middle class household which meant that I had access to good public schools for K-12 and college, although someone who is truly poor may not have had the opportunity for this. I think my SES status was good in some ways, in that it made me work harder and keep my GPA high and in-state college means less debt than private/OOS, but on the other hand it meant I was working/studying so much I never had less time and resources for snazzy ECs.
MCAT: I know people who paid $1000s for in-person MCAT study courses, but I paid ~$400-$500 for study books and many AAMC practice tests (the latter of which are quite expensive and very helpful) and earned a high score on my first try. I was also working full time and only took a few days off. So I think it is possible to succeed and not spend $1000s, but I also think it is extremely difficult to spend $0 and succeed.
SHADOWING: This is where I'm pretty jealous of people who have family members who are doctors, because I had to do 100s of hours of working/shadowing in order to get my foot in the door.
APPLICATION: I didn't qualify for FAP, so I spent $1000s on secondary fees.
INTERVIEWS: This was the worst part for me. It was financially painful, as I raised the limit on my credit card twice, but economically do-able for me. It starts with interview clothes (~$300) and because I'm female I had the additional salon/makeup/nylon costs (~$100). Plus, interviewing in 80 degree weather meant that I had to dry clean my suit after every interview. I had to fly OOS for all interviews except one, which means ~$400 for round trip plane tickets, ~$100 for hotel (this will be far, far worse in an expensive city and student host may not be available) and the hidden costs of taxi/car rental and overpriced airport and restaurant food (say ~$120). I went to six interviews and if I do the math, had to drop 6*$600=$3600 in a matter of two months.
And the worst part is that there's no FAP or other financial aid available for this, so I can see it's incredibly daunting if not nearly impossible for the truly disadvantaged.
Sorry as this was a very long way of saying that I agree and find the process appallingly difficult for economically disadvantaged applicants!!
