Am I disadvantaged?

[Pinkfluffybunny]

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[LizzyM]

This is not what the disadvantaged statement is meant to address. The disadvantage statement is for applicants who arrived at college less well prepared than most students because they came from impoverished circumstances, depended on government programs to meet basic needs, attended underfunded schools, and so forth.

By contrast, it sounds like your troubles started after HS graduation and might be better as an overcoming adversity essay or even as a diversity essay to show that you represent a subculture in the US with very specific gender roles and you understand where people from that culture are coming from (Indians don't have a monopoly on this and there are others where your experience of an expectation of early marriage for women is not uncommon).

Your work as a doula, first author paper, etc all go in the experience section and are useful in showing some of the work and experience you have that have prepared you for medical school.

 

[LizzyM]

Adversity is usually college, or at least after age 17, but some people do use struggles from when they were younger. I was thinking, too, of the assault which happened in college and would not factor into a disadvantage statement but which could work for overcoming adversity.

If you come from a high SES family, then you are going to be working against the trope that an applicant from a high SES is not "disadvantaged". If you were homeless and couch surfing for months, then maybe you could get away with it, particularly if you were not provided with opportunities for school field trips, after school activities, hobbies, music/dance lessons, etc.

Are you at all interested in women's health/medicine? If so, you could work some of this material into a personal statement about your own experiences and your interest in serving women, including those who are marginalized by cultural norms and expectations. There is more than one way to get your story heard. The trick is to do it without engendering prejudices against you for self-identifying in a way that seems not to fit the circumstances.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

I agree... this sounds a bit more like adversity. Disadvantaged usually refers to the environment of structural barriers that prevent people from accessing food, healthcare, education, safe housing, and reliable transportation.

 

[deleted1100659]

thanks for the advice! I think you're right but I just had some follow up questions - I got kicked out before HS graduation so I was kind of struggling to even make it to graduation. Also since my parent didn't really care for my education I didn't have a chance to participate in a lot of extracurriculars etc. in high school that could've been seen as enrichment. I did have to pay for everything myself during this time so even though my parents have high SES I was living out of a car at one point so would that transfer over to me? Also, I was under the impression that diversity/adversity essays had to be experiences from college (is this a false assumption?) Thanks so much for your help 🙂

yes this is this an adversity and I dont think they would view you as disadvantaged. Now, I still think your story will leave an impact on your personal statement, and will carry on when you apply for residency one day. Residency programs want hard workers who demonstrate a well roundedness and resilence, which obviously you demonstrate.

My story earned me points back in the day, as I was a first generation college student, worked and paid towards college with scholarships/money, etc. People do admire hustle and drive. Also as an attending I feel like that resilience I developed from my past experiences led to more success, so that will continue to help you