Any Hispanic Pre-meds?

[PeruvianDoctor]

Just wondering if any of you exist, and what your experience has been. Are we given the shaft for not being Mexican-Americans? Im a California resident and hope and pray to stay in this state, much like almost every one else! Also I've been very intersted in going into research/teaching should I put that on my essay? or will it count against me. As you can tell I don't know much, so any information helps. Thanks

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[jlee9531]

if you are hispanic, i dont think it would matter if you are mexican or your background is from another country.

regardless of background, its hard to stay in Cali, so just prepare to apply to a lot of out of state schools to ensure that you give yourself the best opportunity to get accepted to a school.

if you want to go into academic medicine, then you should put that down in your personal statement. it shouldnt count against you because all of us want to enter into different fields and they realize this...

just be yourself in your essay. good luck.

 

[Adapt]

Just wondering if any of you exist, and what your experience has been. Are we given the shaft for not being Mexican-Americans? Im a California resident and hope and pray to stay in this state, much like almost every one else! Also I've been very intersted in going into research/teaching should I put that on my essay? or will it count against me. As you can tell I don't know much, so any information helps. Thanks

No you won't be given the shaft. I'm from CA also and am half Ecuadorian. I too wanted to stay in CA which is why I'll be going to COMP in pomona if I don't get into Loma Linda.

There are not that many hispanics out there applying to med school and on the interview trail I only saw a few other than me at the 9 schools I went to for interviews. If you are full, you definitely will be seen as a URM and it will help you get into somewhere. I was considered a URM at Tufts because they sent me a letter from their minority student affairs.

To give you my background I have a 29 MCAT and 3.7gpa. As I said in your other thread, you should be fine to get into somewhere. It is another story if you're talking about a CA MD...

 

[scota]

I'm a Mexican-American, but I don't think adcoms make a real distinction between Salvadoreans, Mexicans, Guatemalans, etc.! At UCLA, we've got a fairly large Latino pre-health organization called Chicanos/Latinos for Community Medicine (CCM). Um, I'm still completing my reqs, so I can't tll you what the application/interview process is like! Just do well in your classes, and you'll be alright!

 

[felipe5]

Hey Peruvian,

I am from Colombia, and I have never experienced any kind of "shafting" for not being Chicano.......actually, each interviewer that I have had expressed quite a lot of interest in my culture. One of my interviewers spent the bulk of my interview asking me questions about cross-cultural differences b/w hispanic countries that I've visited in the past. Seeing as the hispanic population in our country is skyrocketing (and the representative population in medicine and the sciences isn't) adcoms always have a special place in their hearts for us hispanic applicants. Are you from Peru??? I also have a large interest in teaching and research, and trust me, that interest will only help you in this crazy process.Send me a PM sometime if you'd like,

felipe

 

[priscy921]

i'm peruvian also, peruvian doctor good luck on your application cycles, i'm sure you'll do just fine. just make sure you write versions of your personal statement very early on, and rewrite it over and over again so that it's your very possible best when you turn it in. and i agree that if you're interested in academic medicine, do talk about it a little bit in your personal statement. it's very important at all of the big schools. i wasn't very interested in it, so i didn't write about it at all and i still did fine, but if academic med excites you, than that's great! hopefully you'll be able to stay in california, but apply everywhere also! (not only just as a backup, but also to explore/see other areas on your interviews) i know of lots of people (myself included) who use to think california is the only place that they would be happy, and now i'm so happy to get the opportunity to be somewhere new next year, and i know of a lot of california people who now wish they had applied elsewhere but didn't, and now they missed out on an opportunity to broaden their horizons. anyhow, good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[priscy921]

p.s., i wouldn't exactly say that we "get the shaft" for not being mexican-american, but to clarify, AAMC does NOT consider all hispanics URM, it says "mexican americans, puerto ricans". other hispanic isn't necessarily URM, but some individual schools may extend the term, who knows for sure. anyway, just thought i'd throw that in... good luck!

 

[Adapt]

p.s., i wouldn't exactly say that we "get the shaft" for not being mexican-american, but to clarify, AAMC does NOT consider all hispanics URM, it says "mexican americans, puerto ricans". other hispanic isn't necessarily URM, but some individual schools may extend the term, who knows for sure. anyway, just thought i'd throw that in... good luck!

This used to be the case but is now incorrect. The definition includes all hispanics now.

http://www.aamc.org/meded/urm/start.htm
Underrepresented in Medicine Definition


The Association of American Medical Colleges' (AAMC's) Executive Council adopted a clarification to its definition of "underrepresented in medicine" on March 19, 2004, titled "The status of the new AAMC definition of 'underrepresented in medicine' following the Supreme Court's decision in Grutter."

The Association of American Medical Colleges' (AAMC's) definition of underrepresented in medicine is:

"Underrepresented in medicine means those racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population."

Adopted by the AAMC's Executive Council on June 26, 2003, the definition helps medical schools accomplish three important objectives:


A shift in focus from a fixed aggregation of four racial and ethnic groups to a continually evolving underlying reality. The definition accommodates including and removing underrepresented groups on the basis of changing demographics of society and the profession, a shift in focus from a national perspective to a regional or local perspective on underrepresentation, and stimulate data collection and reporting on the broad range of racial and ethnic self-descriptions.

Before June 26, 2003, the AAMC used the term "underrepresented minority (URM)," which consisted of Blacks, Mexican-Americans, Native Americans (that is, American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians), and mainland Puerto Ricans. The AAMC remains committed to ensuring access to medical education and medicine-related careers for individuals from these four historically underrepresented racial/ethnic groups.

 

[Megalofyia]

p.s., i wouldn't exactly say that we "get the shaft" for not being mexican-american, but to clarify, AAMC does NOT consider all hispanics URM, it says "mexican americans, puerto ricans". other hispanic isn't necessarily URM, but some individual schools may extend the term, who knows for sure. anyway, just thought i'd throw that in... good luck!

I was going to say this.. and to add to it. I was told at a Texas school that it is not considered URM there. However, I'm not sure about CA. I know in the midwest and northeast it is more likely to be considered URM.

I was only asked about being Mexican at one school and at that one school my interviewer was quite rude about the whole thing. It was my worst interview, and I left the school deciding I def didn't want to go there. However at my other interviews it wasn't an issue in any way.

 

[Adapt]

I was going to say this.. and to add to it. I was told at a Texas school that it is not considered URM there. However, I'm not sure about CA. I know in the midwest and northeast it is more likely to be considered URM.

I was only asked about being Mexican at one school and at that one school my interviewer was quite rude about the whole thing. It was my worst interview, and I left the school deciding I def didn't want to go there. However at my other interviews it wasn't an issue in any way.

Please read my post above. The AAMC no longer regards just Mexicans and Puerto Ricans as underrepresented in medicine. The definition has been extended to include all hispanic groups and more ethnic groups.

 

[Megalofyia]

Please read my post above. The AAMC no longer regards just Mexicans and Puerto Ricans as underrepresented in medicine. The definition has been extended to include all hispanic groups and more ethnic groups.

That's good to know then for the AMCAS schools. I guess the idea still applies to some of the Texas schools as I was told that this application cycle.

 

[meanderson]

Unfortunately, you are very likely to have to leave california. Virtually nobody gets into a UC without a 3.95 gpa and a 38 mcat. The numbers the schools and the AAMC post showing plenty of people matriculating with 3.6's and 30's aren't true.

 

[felipe5]

Hmmmmmmm, interesting. So, what about people from Spain????? Are they considered URM's according to the AAMC's new guidelines?

 

[VCMM414]

Unfortunately, you are very likely to have to leave california. Virtually nobody gets into a UC without a 3.95 gpa and a 38 mcat. The numbers the schools and the AAMC post showing plenty of people matriculating with 3.6's and 30's aren't true.

I am going to assume that you were not being sarcastic...if you were then I am sorry for misunderstanding.

This is simply gross exaggeration. I know of quite a few college classmates who are now enrolled at UCLA, UCSD, and Stanford who simply do NOT have this kind of stats. One of them is even in a MSTP program. None of them are URM either, and ALL of them were out-of-state applicants. I myself was also accepted at USC (not a UC I know) as an out-of-state applicant, and I also did not have 3.95/38. I kinda wish I had applied to more Cali schools than just USC; being a non-Cali resident, I was very discouraged at the time by all the comments on SDN about how impossibly hard Cali schools are to get in. In retrospect, judging from schools that did accept me, I may have had a shot at some of the UCs.

Bottomline is, while Cali schools are undoubtedly very hard to get into, and yes, most Cali applicants (ie. >50%) do have to leave the state for med school, to say "virtually nobody gets into a UC without a 3.95 gpa and a 38 mcat" is just inaccurate and needlessly discouraging.

 

[meanderson]

I am going to assume that you were not being sarcastic...if you were then I am sorry for misunderstanding.

Yeah, I was just poking fun at those(almost always california residents) who believe all qualified california premeds are destined to have to leave the state unwillingly, despite what the facts say. But I love USC

 

[Dr. Don]

hello, I'm peruvian too well to answer your question, we non mexican-americans get dicked when it comes to the whole URM issue. Yes it's true the AAMC has changed the guidelines, but not ALL schools have adopted that new definition, maybe in a few years they'll adjust, but for now no! Honestly peruviandoc, try to get the best MCAT you can and the best GPA, because out of all the non-mexican hispanics I know, most of them do get in but their numbers are solid, check out slick's (aka ADAPT) or felipe5, I mean this people, even without being hispanic will still get in to med schoos, but ask around and without a doubt you will find more mexican americans getting in with much lower numbers...and why? well it' simple, med schools are looking for diversity, unfortunately they think that the only "minorities" that exist out there are only blacks, mexicans, puerto ricans, cubans, american indians, and some pacific islanders....BULLSH_T!

I was glad that the AAMC changed that URM definition because the demographics have changed a lot and there's no way that that old definition of a minority still stands now. I mean really, you are going to tell me that a black/mexican kid from beverly hills shares the same background with a salvadorian/peruvian/colombian (all other hispanics out there) from East LA or South Central....BS again! I believe that schools should look more into the applicants socio-economic background more so than whether that applicant fits a certain "minority" category, I think things would be better and the schools will truly add some diversity to their school...I mean really, how different is the white kid from malibu than the mexican kid from bel air? besides the obvious skin color....which doesn't mean sh-t...anyways I can go on forever talking about this issue.....well good luck

 

[Adapt]

I was glad that the AAMC changed that URM definition because the demographics have changed a lot and there's no way that that old definition of a minority still stands now. I mean really, you are going to tell me that a black/mexican kid from beverly hills shares the same background with a salvadorian/peruvian/colombian (all other hispanics out there) from East LA or South Central....BS again! I believe that schools should look more into the applicants socio-economic background more so than whether that applicant fits a certain "minority" category, I think things would be better and the schools will truly add some diversity to their school...I mean really, how different is the white kid from malibu than the mexican kid from bel air? besides the obvious skin color....which doesn't mean sh-t...anyways I can go on forever talking about this issue.....well good luck

I agree. Their are several problems with the whole system right now, and at least they are trying to fix it. I too thought it was weird that only Mexicans and Puerto Ricans were considered URMs while other hispanics were not. It simply did not make sense.

That's almost like saying Nigerians and Ethiopians are considered URMs but Ghanians are not.

All I know is that you shouldn't rely on some URM status to get you in. You should work your hardest at getting a good gpa or MCAT so that when you do get in, you will know it was because of your effort and not just because of your ethnicity.

 

[fakeplaztiktree]

I too am going to be a PeruvianDoctor I just finished this application cycle, and I was initially pissed by the URM classification. All my life people considered me mexican, though I try to explain peru is a separate country. So NOW we are trying to draw a distincition?? If I understand correctly, it's up to the school's discretion. The UCs and many other schools consider me a minority (they send me information on minority associations, etc.)
I don't think you can ride the URM train to med school. Schools will more actively recruit you and provide more opportunities to get acquainted with the student body, etc.
I'm happy with my acceptances, but I've also had my share of disappointment...I don't think my experience is all that different from non URM students.

 

[efex101]

I have also been accepted this cycle and have met tons of Hispanics (not just Mexican-Americans) at ALL schools and they were considered URM's. Regardless of URM status you need to have solid numbers. It also depends on the school, but most schools recognize all Hispanics as URM. Good luck.

 

[NontradICUdoc]

Uruguay representing here!!!

 

[pjr28]

Puerto Rico present here

 

[spidermonkey11]

wow, i didnt think there were any other Ecuadorian applicants! glad to see theres a whoppin two of us confirmed applicants now, hah. But yeah, i was under the impression that not being mexican or puerto rican meant that i was not an URM. I can't really say that being hispanic helped me out in any specific way, like i didnt get interviews from top schools out of the blue really, but on the other hand i know i didnt get shafted anywhere in my application process. I interviewed at mostly east coast schools and in all my interviews I think I may have met three or four other hispanic applicants. that's it! good to see that theres a lot more out there!

 

[Doc Martins]

I am Peruvian also... applying this summer.. wish me luck!

 

[jtorres]

mexican-american from texas here. i dont have the best numbers in the world but i have really had to bust my tail off like all of you. i come from culture that doesnt always put much value of higher education. i am not from cali but i can tell you dr. don that there isnt many mexicans in bel-air or beverly hills and the ones that are there are not your typical mexicans, so your comparison isnt good at all. check back with me after feb 1 2005 and i will be more than happy to let you know how much love the tex med schools show me. i think that we are all a special type of person. being hispanic in a society that only expects you to end up in jail or working constructions is tough but yet here we are. taking part in the most competitive process in this country. good luck to all of you, i look forward to working next to you all. lets hope the USA beats mexico this wednesday in dallas. my prediction is 2-0 USA. a proud to be american from mexican descent kid in dallas.