So both my parents were 1st generation college students. Do you think 2nd Generation counts for any admission advantage?
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2nd Generation College Student
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I agree to the no advantage opinion.
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Wow, I'm a first generation college student (within my immediate family) and I wouldn't consider myself disadvantaged. 
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To describe this kind of thinking as wishful would be generous.
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Absolutely, I totally feel for you. 2nd generation college students have a difficult life and they deserve to have a "better chance" at getting EVERYTHING they want. It doesn't really matter what YOU do, or how hard YOU work, or how smart YOU are. Really, it doesn't, because your parents did everything for you and you can ride their coat-tail until you are an amazing success.
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Many (but not necessarily all) 1st gen students were disadvantaged in terms of educational opportunities pre-college (and even in college due to less knowledge about getting into college). This can translate to disadvantaged status, although most 1st gen students who persist to graduation ultimately overcome most/all of those barriers.
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Purely wishful thinking. I am first generation by a long shot, and I am not disadvantaged. By the way, does anyone know if Pakistani students are considered minorities? I am just curious.
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I could be wrong, but people of middle eastern decent are considered "cocasian" for determining URMs. If Pakistan isn't considered Middle Eastern, it would get lumped in with Indea, which makes you a ORM.
Short answer: I don't believe so.
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thisWow, I'm a first generation college student (within my immediate family) and I wouldn't consider myself disadvantaged.
Wishful thinking. My grandfather on one side was an immigrant who became a physician despite tremendous opposition. My mom rebelled and dropped out of college. My grandfather on the other side died at 42 when he was drunk and fell down the stairs at a train station. My dad supported his family starting at the age of 13. No exaggeration.
Nobody cares what my parents did or didn't do. I have a sob story about parents who fought constantly until they divorced after declaring bankruptcy when I was 12. My dad literally left the country to avoid child support. My mom worked and finished college while I took care of my younger siblings. I walked them home from school, cooked dinner and prepared lunches for the next day, and made sure they finished their homework, bathed, and went to bed by 9pm.
Since I'm white and my mom managed to keep us in a decent school district, this never helped me...it only factored against me socially. I didn't care that much. I'm a better person for what I've overcome. But I am really annoyed when people who had a relatively easy life claim that they're disadvantaged and deserve help.
If you had a parent who was home enough to take care of you or could pay for someone who did, and if you didn't have to contribute the money you earned baby-sitting or mowing lawns to the monthly rent (while worrying that you might be evicted), you're not from a disadvantaged background. I don't resent people from worse situations than mine who get into med school with a 3.3, but I do resent those who are given special treatment due to ethnicity or immigration status over those of us who are equally (or more) disadvantaged but ignored because our parents made mistakes.
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Ethnicity is such a bullcrap card. If I can't claim disadvantaged status, I don't see how a middle-class US-born Hispanic/black can. In fact, I haven't seen a Sudanese medical student yet, but I've seen plenty of African-AMERICAN medical students.
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Are you f-ing kidding me. If I were the dean of admissions and I saw you were trying to mooch off your parent's disadvantages, I'd throw your application in the trash immediately.
This is like asking "my parents were violent criminals, do I deserve to go to jail?"
True. I'm from NYC, so I know plenty of kids who are truly disadvantaged because they're immigrants and alone here, or grew up with more responsibilities in high school than most people have before being the sole provider for their own children. It's ridiculous for those whose parents are paying for their education to pretend to be "disadvantaged" due to ethnicity.
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Putting your ethnicity (one of those under the headline URM for this example) and disadvantaged status are two totally different things. Because you are Black or Hispanic, it does not mean you are disadvantaged socioeconomically and Adcoms don't view it that way. You can claim disadvantaged status because of many other reasons, one of them not being ethnicity.
If they are disadvantaged then they can put it on their application and spell out the reasons why. The only reasons why I could think of for people not putting disadvantaged when they are 1.)They really weren't 2.)They are ashamed of it 3.)They don't want people to know their situation. If 1 is the case then they didn't need to put it. If 2 and 3 are the case, then they are not telling their full story and its their problem. There is no disadvantaged status just for being Black, Hispanic or Native American. Any preference for people of these backgrounds isn't because of disadvantage but for the sake of diversity of the medical profession and the need of more URMs to go back to their communities as doctors and more to be in the workforce. You can check past forums for statistics, posts by LizzyM and articles on it. I don't feel like looking it up.
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Ethnicity and disadvantaged status are completely separate. If you do come from a disadvantaged background, you should put that. And you can't really compare the number of black students with Sudanese students unless we know percentages.
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I'm sorry, do you think the "norm" or "average" is to have college-educated GRANDparents?
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Good point. My grandparents only graduated from high school. And furthermore, my great grandparents never went to school beyond the eighth grade. (Back in the day, as long as you could read the bible, you were good to go, and could get to work on the farm).
Hmm, I guess I was disadvantaged now that I think about it but I managed to get accepted to med school without even mentioning it. And you know what, I feel better about myself for not using my great grandparents to gain sympathy points with the ad coms.
haha this thread should be deleted.
The only reason I was asking is because I have a tough situation, but no means was I trying to 'mooch' off of it. I was trying to determine whether or not it would help for 'disadvantaged'/'underrespresented' programs such as SMDEP.
The only reason I was asking is because I have a tough situation, but no means was I trying to 'mooch' off of it. I was trying to determine whether or not it would help for 'disadvantaged'/'underrespresented' programs such as SMDEP.
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Haha yeah I never thought I would see this question on SDN...
I will say that parents education can vary, both of mine went to college...check and check in the boxes.
Dad went on a sports scholarship and was kept just above failing before dropping out (he was darn good at the sport though)
Mom went to a one-up from community college in the city and has a degree in who knows what that got her a job that only requires a high school diploma.
Lets just say by 6th grade asking the rents for help with homework was pretty much out of the question.
I will say that parents education can vary, both of mine went to college...check and check in the boxes.
Dad went on a sports scholarship and was kept just above failing before dropping out (he was darn good at the sport though
)Mom went to a one-up from community college in the city and has a degree in who knows what that got her a job that only requires a high school diploma.
Lets just say by 6th grade asking the rents for help with homework was pretty much out of the question.
