AAMC Medical Minority Applicant Registry, Say What?

[schizosquirrel]

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So I've started getting emails from some schools stating I'm part of the AAMC Medical Minority Applicant Registry related to my MCAT administration. The only thing is I'm not an ethnic or racial minority. I'm an Caucasian, Jewish/christian male. I vaguely remember marking down that I was LGBQT somewhere (but can't remember if it was for the MCAT), but I can't figure out why I'm on this list otherwise. Is that the reason?

I definitely don't want medical schools thinking I'm trying to pass myself off as a minority when I'm clearly not. My AMCAS is pretty clear about this (ethnicity: caucasian, non-hispanic), but I'm just not sure how they'll view it. I can't seem to find who I'm supposed to call about this...or even if I should be calling.

Thoughts? Any experience with this? Agh, help.

 

[pharaoh88]

I definitely do not recall an MCAT question about LBGTQ status. You may want to look into this one...

 

[schizosquirrel]

I found this online. I think I must have accidentally checked a box while filling out the MCAT registration. Do you think medical schools will mind? This was a totally honest mistake.

"The Association of American Medical Colleges works to increase the number of minority medical students by distributing information about prospective students to medical schoolshttp://www.mommd.com/mmmedmar.shtml#. This service is provided by the subgroup of the AAMC known as the Medical Minority Applicant Registry (Med-MAR).

The Med-MAR program is open to any students who have taken the Medical College Admissions Test and are either part of an underrepresented racial or ethnic group or economically disadvantaged. Students who choose to participate in the registry will have their biographical information sent to designated medical schools upon their completion of the MCAT. The information that will be forwarded includes: name; address; date of birth; Social Security number; state of legal residence; racial/or ethnic self-description; undergraduate college; major; and MCAT scores


There are a couple of reasons why this service can benefit minority students. For one, many smaller medical schools specialize in training individuals from underrepresented groups. The Med-MAR program can help introduce students to these programs and vice versa. Also, the Med-MAR program is frequently used by medical schools who are actively seeking to increase minority enrollment. Thanks to Med-MAR, these schools can now contact potential applicants immediately and directly. Studieshttp://www.mommd.com/mmmedmar.shtml# performed by the AAMC suggest that minority students are more likely to apply and be accepted to schools when a relationship with the admissions department is initiated early. It should be noted that the Med-MAR program neither offers advice concerning specific schools to students nor influences admissions decisions. The sole purpose of the Med-MAR program is to identify potential applicants from underrepresented groups."


I definitely marked off that I was white, non-hispanic on my MCAT registration. So I assume there just sending them that information via this registry? I'm just hoping an adcom doesn't see this and wonder why I was on that list.

 

[schizosquirrel]

Just emailed the MED-Mar to take my name off the list. Is this gonna be an issue? Kinda freaking out.

 

[batman1983]

Med schools wont know unless you mark it off on the AMCAS primary app.

 

[Appless]

everyone should relax, its all good. This is something you check for mcat registration. If you check it its not a big deal and if you dont it wont matter. All it means is you might get some extra brochures from schools looking to get a more diverse class. Also med mar is not just minority its also disadvantaged.

 

[DHite]

I always check Caucasian (non-Hispanic), and I never check disadvantaged, and I'm getting the same emails. I suspect it's simply wholesale marketing.