Am I disadvantaged?

[Takamori]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Hi, everybody!
I moved to the US as an adult. Got my bachelor's degree studying full-time while working. My income has been under the poverty threshold. I'm not Black or Latino.

Can I apply as disadvantaged?

 

[candbgirl]

I think disadvantaged refers to your life before you were 18. But you should check that out on AMCAS.


Sent from my iPad using SDN mobile app

 

[Takamori]

candbgirl thanks

" you are economically disadvantaged or of low socio-economic status" this definition makes me think that I qualify. Regarding my life before 18, I didn't have chance to enter any university due to some family issues independent of my abilities.

 

[piii]

You can check off disadvantaged for FAFSA purposes. Maybe get out of some primary and secondary fees. But it isn't going to "boost" your app or anything

 

[gyngyn]

AMCAS will make an independent decision regarding your pre-adult economic/educational circumstances.
If you have reasons that you would care to elaborate, you will be given that opportunity in the primary application.
I have yet to see a personal explanation of disadvantage that was more compelling than the one made by AMCAS.

 

[Takamori]

It's not for "boosting" purposes. It is for an accurate reflection of the past circumstances.

 

[Takamori]

The question was asked not because I have a more compelling interpretation of the "disadvantaged" status, but because I needed clarity of the AMCAS interpretation. I thought my question was clear.

 

[gyngyn]

It's not for "boosting" purposes. It is for an accurate reflection of the past circumstances.

An appreciation of context is all that is necessary.

 

[Takamori]

An appreciation of context is all that is necessary.

As much as a respectful assumption of human intent

 

[gyngyn]

As much as a respectful assumption of human intent

If the question is "can I apply as disadvantaged," the answer is yes.
Whether this will provide more clarity than AMCAS is less predictable.
More often than not the explanation colors an application less favorably than would have been achieved by the original AMCAS designation (with no annotation from the applicant).

 

[Takamori]

thank you