Am I disadvantaged?

[Inspired Chaos]

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[blueharbor]

The disadvantaged status is generally considered to refer to one's experiences through age 18.

 

[DokterMom]

You qualify -- and yes, it will help. Not many people make it to middle class from where you started, much less to medical school. Congratulations (sincerely)

 

[freemontie]

You definitely do. But expect adcoms to be skeptical.*

*i.e. unless you were working fast food while getting your GRE while having 3 dependents. Or equivalent. I'm just advising: make your submitted application tell a story by itself without assumptions.

 

[Inspired Chaos]

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[blueharbor]

I think mentioning that you were a teen mother would be a positive, as it is uncommon among medical school applicants and shows just how much you've overcome to get to this point. Don't worry that having high test scores makes you seem somehow less disadvantaged (is that your concern?) The fact is that in comparison to the majority of other med school applicants - smart, wealthy kids - you had to be that much more talented and perseverant to reach the point of being a competitive applicant.

 

[LizzyM]

You absolutely should "check the box". It doesn't matter how much you make now, it is about "distance traveled" (I had an applicant a decade ago who was making almost $100,000 with bonuses but who was raised by a single mom & grandparents and had a academic history that mirrored that experience.)

 

[DokterMom]

Your story shows an incredible amount of resilience, creativity and persistence. If you're a teen mom, taking a job as a live-in nanny is a very adaptive decision -- one that it positive, logical, and innovative. (And one that many teen mothers seem oddly reluctant to make.) One that moves you forward instead of holding you back. Decisions like that SHOW (not tell) that you will find a way around the obstacles that life will invariably throw in your path, and that you have your priorities straight.

Also consider how this makes you so much more 'relatable' to the large portion of our population not born into a stable middle-class environment (AdComs will consider that), and how your story can be an inspiration for others.

 

[Inspired Chaos]

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[LizzyM]

HRSA underserved area finder: MUA Find

I've read 100 of these essays in applications over the years. Most people go with something factual and simple:

My mother raised me and my # siblings on her own in Flint, Michigan, an impoverished city of 90,000. We grew up in extreme poverty and I missed the equivalent of 2 years of school due to sickness/head lice/lack of transportation/needing to take care of younger siblings before I dropped out at age #. add anything you want about living in Section 8 or public housing, being on Medicaid, having free school lunch or anything else that might be relevant. Some people will make a statement about being materially poor but having the love and support of family or a statement about being grateful for what they had.

You can certainly address your background in the PS in the context of your path to medicine.