Are Filipinos considered as URM?

[CluelessAsian]

Are they? There's a lot of Filipinos going into nursing but I don't see a lot in med school. So is being a Filipino considered a minority?

Thanks.

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[WDeagle]

Are they a minority? Yes. Are they URM? No. Filipino doctors make up a much larger part of the doctor population than filipino americans make up of the overall american population. In short being filipino wont give you any advantage in getting into medical school.

 

[CluelessAsian]

Are they a minority? Yes. Are they URM? No. Filipino doctors make up a much larger part of the doctor population than filipino americans make up of the overall american population. In short being filipino wont give you any advantage in getting into medical school.

What if my grandmother was Spanish but she was born in the Philippines? Would I be considered as URM?

edit: sorry meant to say URM.. Changed title.

 

[ButImLETired]

Spanish is caucasian, unless you're from central/south america. URM is pretty narrow, actually, and I'm positive Filipino doesn't count.

 

[dynezxice]

As far as I know, you are considered a URM if you fall under one of these categories: hispanic, native indian, and black.

Note also that URM means underrepresented minorities, not minorities, and the above categories are treated as such.

 

[CluelessAsian]

As far as I know, you are considered a URM if you fall under one of these categories: hispanic, native indian, and black.

Note also that URM means underrepresented minorities, not minorities, and the above categories are treated as such.

I see. Thanks.
Do you have to be full blooded, let's say, hispanic or black? What if you're just 1/4 of something, are you considered URM?

 

[8744]

Are they? There's a lot of Filipinos going into nursing but I don't see a lot in med school. So is being a Filipino considered a minority?

Thanks.

Good rule of thumb: If you have to ask, you're not a URM.

 

[RySerr21]

how are you officially labeled as URM? I am puerto rican and white. I put that on my AMCAS and AACOMAS, but thats it. I'm not disadvantaged in any way, but i konw puerto ricans are underrepresented. So, will schools see my ethnicity and classify me as URM? It was never addressed explicitly anywhere so i'm not really sure if i am applying URM are not, i just listed my ethnicity/race.

 

[ButImLETired]

how are you officially labeled as URM? I am puerto rican and white. I put that on my AMCAS and AACOMAS, but thats it. I'm not disadvantaged in any way, but i konw puerto ricans are underrepresented. So, will schools see my ethnicity and classify me as URM? It was never addressed explicitly anywhere so i'm not really sure if i am applying URM are not, i just listed my ethnicity/race.

You know, my understanding of it is that it's really up to the individual schools to make that call. So far, I've seen some secondaries that just ask very broadly what your ethnicity is and don't want to know anything past "Hispanic". Others are SUPER-specific (as in, they'll differentiate between "white Puerto Rican" and "black Puerto Rican"). How they choose to interpret your ethnicity is sort of up to them.

Which, OP, is why it's a good rule of thumb not to "fake" one or claim one just to gain some perceived advantage. Say you are interviewed, and show up looking pretty clearly Asian, and they ask why you put down Hispanic on your application, what would you say? You can argue that your grandmother was Hispanic, but what connection do you have with the culture that makes you identify with it? I think that if I were in an Adcom, I'd understand someone who was white but had lived in Africa his entire life saying he is "African-American" (makes sense, after all) but someone who's one-fourth Hispanic very vaguely in his origin but has no real connection to the culture would probably bug me on principle. I'm not saying that's you and I'm sorry if I'm making unfair assumptions, it's just something to think about.

I believe I'm like 1/4th Native American (my mom is half) but frankly I'd feel a little silly claiming that, since I have had absolutely no connection to that culture whatsoever, and my claim on the ethnicity is extremely tenuous (only a 4th) to begin with.

With topics like this, in general, I think it's better to err on the side of caution so as to not unwittingly annoy/insult anyone.

 

[CluelessAsian]

You know, my understanding of it is that it's really up to the individual schools to make that call. So far, I've seen some secondaries that just ask very broadly what your ethnicity is and don't want to know anything past "Hispanic". Others are SUPER-specific (as in, they'll differentiate between "white Puerto Rican" and "black Puerto Rican"). How they choose to interpret your ethnicity is sort of up to them.

Which, OP, is why it's a good rule of thumb not to "fake" one or claim one just to gain some perceived advantage. Say you are interviewed, and show up looking pretty clearly Asian, and they ask why you put down Hispanic on your application, what would you say? You can argue that your grandmother was Hispanic, but what connection do you have with the culture that makes you identify with it? I think that if I were in an Adcom, I'd understand someone who was white but had lived in Africa his entire life saying he is "African-American" (makes sense, after all) but someone who's one-fourth Hispanic very vaguely in his origin but has no real connection to the culture would probably bug me on principle. I'm not saying that's you and I'm sorry if I'm making unfair assumptions, it's just something to think about.

I believe I'm like 1/4th Native American (my mom is half) but frankly I'd feel a little silly claiming that, since I have had absolutely no connection to that culture whatsoever, and my claim on the ethnicity is extremely tenuous (only a 4th) to begin with.

With topics like this, in general, I think it's better to err on the side of caution so as to not unwittingly annoy/insult anyone.

I understand and agree with what you're saying.

 

[tncekm]

URM is primarily:
- black
- latino
- native american

If you're not one of those, or some combination thereof, you're probably not.

 

[FenixTx]

d

 

[jnerry]

Are they a minority? Yes. Are they URM? No. Filipino doctors make up a much larger part of the doctor population than filipino americans make up of the overall American population. In short being filipino wont give you any advantage in getting into medical school.

I actually always considered US born Filipinos and other Southeast Asians more on the boat of URM. I've seen several statistics claiming that Filipinos, Vietnamese, and especially Hmong/Laotian/Cambodians have higher high school drop out rates than Blacks and Hispanic/Latinos.

I couldn't find any stats on Filipino doctors online, but we can look at the MSAR for matrics by ethnicity for the incoming class in 2007.

160 Filipinos/17,759 Total Matrics = 0.9%

According to Wikipedia in 2007, there were 4 million Filipino Americans making up 1.5% of the US population.

Now, 0.9% is technically a smaller proportion than 1.5%, so maybe they aren't as "represented" in medical schools as people think. I see a similar pattern at Yale, where we only get around 5 Filipinos per undergrad class of 1350--that's 0.4%, and I've worked at the admissions office here.

Point is, I think it depends on the school, but I can definitely see more than a few admissions directors recognizing that Filipinos fall under the URM categroy. The extent to which that label actually helps is another question.

 

[amp3r5and]

i had this same question, but i decided not to list myself as URM. i did list myself as filipino though.

good luck on whatever you decide, OP

 

[chessknt]

I actually always considered US born Filipinos and other Southeast Asians more on the boat of URM. I've seen several statistics claiming that Filipinos, Vietnamese, and especially Hmong/Laotian/Cambodians have higher high school drop out rates than Blacks and Hispanic/Latinos.

I couldn't find any stats on Filipino doctors online, but we can look at the MSAR for matrics by ethnicity for the incoming class in 2007.

160 Filipinos/17,759 Total Matrics = 0.9%

According to Wikipedia in 2007, there were 4 million Filipino Americans making up 1.5% of the US population.

Now, 0.9% is technically a smaller proportion than 1.5%, so maybe they aren't as "represented" in medical schools as people think. I see a similar pattern at Yale, where we only get around 5 Filipinos per undergrad class of 1350--that's 0.4%, and I've worked at the admissions office here.

Point is, I think it depends on the school, but I can definitely see more than a few admissions directors recognizing that Filipinos fall under the URM categroy. The extent to which that label actually helps is another question.

That isnt really fair to separate filipinos as a separate group while white includes all of Europe and a lot of the middle east. What makes them so special? You could argue that Iranians are also URM and probably Afghanis too.

 

[Diksha]

That isnt really fair to separate filipinos as a separate group while white includes all of Europe and a lot of the middle east. What makes them so special? You could argue that Iranians are also URM and probably Afghanis too.

The thing is, many of these groups HAVE come into the country at a disadvantage. It's not about semantics, it's about listing yourself as not having as many opportunities as others because of your background. The AMCAS allows you to apply as a "disadvantaged" applicant, and you can most certainly check that box off if you are white; this means that you have to write another essay explaining your disadvantaged status. If you manage to shine even if you had a hard life, this makes you even more impressive.

URM is a separate thing, though.

 

[chessknt]

The thing is, many of these groups HAVE come into the country at a disadvantage. It's not about semantics, it's about listing yourself as not having as many opportunities as others because of your background. The AMCAS allows you to apply as a "disadvantaged" applicant, and you can most certainly check that box off if you are white; this means that you have to write another essay explaining your disadvantaged status. If you manage to shine even if you had a hard life, this makes you even more impressive.

URM is a separate thing, though.

Which is what this thread is about..... why did you bring disadvantaged into it?

 

[tncekm]

I actually always considered US born Filipinos and other Southeast Asians more on the boat of URM. I've seen several statistics claiming that Filipinos, Vietnamese, and especially Hmong/Laotian/Cambodians have higher high school drop out rates than Blacks and Hispanic/Latinos.

I couldn't find any stats on Filipino doctors online, but we can look at the MSAR for matrics by ethnicity for the incoming class in 2007.

160 Filipinos/17,759 Total Matrics = 0.9%

According to Wikipedia in 2007, there were 4 million Filipino Americans making up 1.5% of the US population.

Now, 0.9% is technically a smaller proportion than 1.5%, so maybe they aren't as "represented" in medical schools as people think. I see a similar pattern at Yale, where we only get around 5 Filipinos per undergrad class of 1350--that's 0.4%, and I've worked at the admissions office here.

Point is, I think it depends on the school, but I can definitely see more than a few admissions directors recognizing that Filipinos fall under the URM categroy. The extent to which that label actually helps is another question.

The only percentage that matters is:

# Filipino physicians / #total physicians = %filipino physicians

If that # is equal or greater to their % of US population they're not URM. # matriculants / applicants isn't the deciding factor.

 

[Diksha]

Which is what this thread is about..... why did you bring disadvantaged into it?

It's a way around the URM thing. If you're not sure if you "qualify" as underrepresented but you know that you were at a disadvantage, you can use that to your advantage. Mwa ha ha.

 

[scottyT]

so, is the Jerk URM?

 

[riceman04]

1. y'all are forgetting Pacific Islander
2. Some schools DO define some Asian grps as underrepresented
- for e.g. Jefferson considers Vietnames underrepresented and thus they are viewed as such during the application process.

 

[AlanAlanine]

1. y'all are forgetting Pacific Islander
2. Some schools DO define some Asian grps as underrepresented
- for e.g. Jefferson considers Vietnames underrepresented and thus they are viewed as such during the application process.

do you know any schools other than Jefferson that do this?

 

[DrMattOglesby]

Yes, Pacific Islanders are given URM status.

I am proudly representing my Cherokee Indian & Guamanian (Chamorro) heritage on my applications and every school has considered me a minority so far.
I have even been invited by Boston, Wake Forest, and Emory to apply to their school on the basis of ethnicity and MCAT performance.

I also know that the University of Utah stated this excerpt on their AMCAS profile (you can log on to AMCAS and see for yourself if you like):
Be specifically recognized as a member of a population group underrepresented in the physician workforce. (Africans and African Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Chamorros, Polynesians including Native Hawaiians, Tongans, Samoans, Filipinos, Tahitians, Maoris, Fijians, Niueans, Palauans; Chicanos/as and Latinos/as including Puerto Ricans, Mexican Americans, Central Americans and South Americans.

 

[thethethe]

don't use URM to get into medical school if you can't get in on your own merits. The only AA i approve of is coming from a background filled with financial problems.

 

[jr doctor in sd]

That isnt really fair to separate filipinos as a separate group while white includes all of Europe and a lot of the middle east. What makes them so special? You could argue that Iranians are also URM and probably Afghanis too.

this is by far the best post in the thread.

Edit: Incase of any confusion, you are NOT URM and adcoms are not stupid and can tell if you are trying to lie/skew information to appear URM to get an unfair advantage.

 

[redbull928]

Yes, Pacific Islanders are given URM status.

I was wondering why this one person got into UCSF with below-30 mcat... makes sense now.

 

[guamboy]

What if your half filipino and half Pacific Islander(Guamanian/Chamorro)?

What types of advantage do URM's have over the Majorities?

 

[DrMattOglesby]

What if your half filipino and half Pacific Islander(Guamanian/Chamorro)?

What types of advantage do URM's have over the Majorities?

hey guamboy,
I left you a message on your profile page, just letting you know I'm here to help out anytime ya need it
so lets start with the first question about how your ethnicity is represented in the physician workforce:
According to this previous post, both Filipinos and Chamorros are under-represented. In addition, the Asian and Pacific Islander American organization will support the claim that Chamorros are indeed under-represented in health care. Information about their statements can be obtained from this site.
Some advantages I have personally experienced are private lunches during medical school interviews. I won't argue that there is a possibility my ethnic heritage may have had something to do with me even landing the interview...but that is another story altogether; and is one that requires way too much time to discourse in a public forum. If you are interested, feel free to PM me and I can send you a brief paper I recently authored about the subject.

 

[calnation]

Apply to schools that don't have many filipinos. I think being URM at the school matters more than in medicine itself.

 

[Dr Lyss]

I was wondering why this one person got into UCSF with below-30 mcat... makes sense now.

can this not devolve into a URM bashing thread please?

 

[dynezxice]

don't use URM to get into medical school if you can't get in on your own merits. The only AA i approve of is coming from a background filled with financial problems.

and even then, you don't even get special attention or placed in a smaller applicant pool with the URMs.

 

[dynezxice]

I was wondering why this one person got into UCSF with below-30 mcat... makes sense now.

You also have to keep in mind that schools have quotas to fill, so....

 

[DrMattOglesby]

I strongly suggest more people try to stay updated on the information involved with this debate.
As far as a great place to start out, here is a link to an audio discussion held on National Public Radio on January 19th, 2009.

What's The Future Of Affirmative Action?

 

[sourgrapes]

Spanish is caucasian, unless you're from central/south america. URM is pretty narrow, actually, and I'm positive Filipino doesn't count.

Actually, Spanish is put in the ethnicity of "hispanic" on the AMCAS

As far as I know, you are considered a URM if you fall under one of these categories: hispanic, native indian, and black.

Note also that URM means underrepresented minorities, not minorities, and the above categories are treated as such.

Not all Latinos are considered URM according to the AAMC. From AAMC website "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."

 

[Slack3r]

URM is either Black, Puerto Rican, Indian, or Mexican. Or you were financially disadvantaged. You don't need to be both, as whites can claim URM if they grew up at an extreme financial disadvantage. And I don't mean your parents bought you a Civic instead of a Range on your 16th birthday disadvantaged.

I'm first-generation Peruvian-American. Too bad that doesn't count as underrepresented.

 

[potato head]

What if my grandmother was Spanish but she was born in the Philippines?

URM is either Black, Puerto Rican, Indian, or Mexican. Or you were financially disadvantaged.

i believe slack3r is correct. so even if your grandmother is spanish, spanish people themselves (and you are only 1/4) are not considered URMs.

 

[flaahless]

I was wondering why this one person got into UCSF with below-30 mcat... makes sense now.

For the record, there are quite a few people here with sub-30 MCATs. Both urms and non-urms. Tall people and short people. SF is not as number *****-ish as many of yall would like to think.

You also have to keep in mind that schools have quotas to fill, so....

prop 209

 

[Med Addict]

i believe slack3r is correct. so even if your grandmother is spanish, spanish people themselves (and you are only 1/4) is not considered a URM.

A friend of mine applied for a URM research program at my school and got rejected because he was only 1/4 Hispanic and 3/4 Filipino. He said that if he was 1/2 Hispanic then he would have gotten that URM position. So I guess you'll have to be 1/2 in order to qualify.

In the USA Filipinos get lumped with Asians, and Asian aren't an URM so you won't get counted as URM.

Hope that helps.

 

[Dr Lyss]

A friend of mine applied for a URM research program at my school and got rejected because he was only 1/4 Hispanic and 3/4 Filipino. He said that if he was 1/2 Hispanic then he would have gotten that URM position. So I guess you'll have to be 1/2 in order to qualify.

In the USA Filipinos get lumped with Asians, and Asian aren't an URM so you won't get counted as URM.

Hope that helps.

On the AMCAS they don't ask you to check anything for URM or to put the percentages of your ethnicity. You pick an ethnicity and a race. That's it.

 

[littlealex]

In the USA Filipinos get lumped with Asians, and Asian aren't an URM so you won't get counted as URM.

Hope that helps.

The Chinese and the Asian-Indians ruined it for you man.

 

[njmed]

Good rule of thumb: If you have to ask, you're not a URM.

 

[lmesina]

bump.

I have to chime in to this 'years old' convo.

With the advent of the new health reform dawning upon us and the frightening reality of our primary care physician shortage, it has come to my attention that it is VERY important for minority populations to have a PCP of their own serving their, at times culturally sensitive, populations - ESP. in underserved areas.

That being said, Filipinos within the Nursing population in the U.S. IS great, so in that arena, they are not 'underrepresented'. Filipino Physicians are a lot less in proportion, although it's true many of them come from the PI to practice here, but that doesn't mean that it is adequate for the needs of the Filipino populations as they stand.

In general, there is a primary care shortage across the nation, and I can atest to how it's consequences have trickled down to the local Filipino population here in Southern California. There are Filipino docs, but there just aren't enough of them. The sad reality is that racial health disparities are rampant, and mistreatment of patients and gross lack of quality are apparent in areas of town that are populated by *minorities in general.

Hopefully things change greatly in the near future.

 

[LizzyM]

bump.

I have to chime in to this 'years old' convo.

With the advent of the new health reform dawning upon us and the frightening reality of our primary care physician shortage, it has come to my attention that it is VERY important for minority populations to have a PCP of their own serving their, at times culturally sensitive, populations - ESP. in underserved areas.

That being said, Filipinos within the Nursing population in the U.S. IS great, so in that arena, they are not 'underrepresented'. Filipino Physicians are a lot less in proportion, although it's true many of them come from the PI to practice here, but that doesn't mean that it is adequate for the needs of the Filipino populations as they stand.

In general, there is a primary care shortage across the nation, and I can atest to how it's consequences have trickled down to the local Filipino population here in Southern California. There are Filipino docs, but there just aren't enough of them. The sad reality is that racial health disparities are rampant, and mistreatment of patients and gross lack of quality are apparent in areas of town that are populated by *minorities in general.

Hopefully things change greatly in the near future.

There used to be a AAMC policy statement on which groups were considered URM. That changed awhile back and now each school is encouraged to define URM according to the situation in the school's service area (where its graduates serve). So, one can't make a blanket statement on this subject.

 

[FireTop]

bump.

I have to chime in to this 'years old' convo.

With the advent of the new health reform dawning upon us and the frightening reality of our primary care physician shortage, it has come to my attention that it is VERY important for minority populations to have a PCP of their own serving their, at times culturally sensitive, populations - ESP. in underserved areas.

That being said, Filipinos within the Nursing population in the U.S. IS great, so in that arena, they are not 'underrepresented'. Filipino Physicians are a lot less in proportion, although it's true many of them come from the PI to practice here, but that doesn't mean that it is adequate for the needs of the Filipino populations as they stand.

In general, there is a primary care shortage across the nation, and I can atest to how it's consequences have trickled down to the local Filipino population here in Southern California. There are Filipino docs, but there just aren't enough of them. The sad reality is that racial health disparities are rampant, and mistreatment of patients and gross lack of quality are apparent in areas of town that are populated by *minorities in general.

Hopefully things change greatly in the near future.

I felt compelled to reply to add to lmesina’s insight

Growing up here in Southern California, the Filipino population is large and only growing. However, the amount of Filipino physicians is marginal--and those that do exist are directly from the Philippines. With FMGs (obviously, physicians from the Philippines included) having an increasingly more difficult time leaving their home country and practicing here in America, the Filipino physician population will decrease dramatically. Due to this fact, in the next 20 or so years, there will be a huge dearth in Filipino physicians that would be able to represent this community.

It is well known here, and probably across America, that Filipinos largely go into the field of nursing--who often make up a large % of the nurses in urban city hospitals. With that said, there is an unbelievable amount of pressure for a Filipino-American student to pursue nursing over any other career. The culture of the average Filipino-American family actually pressures you to not pursue medicine. The parents, and especially friends, place this huge amount of emphasis on going into Nursing and going into a field that is much more practical to the culture, lifestyle and socio-economic status.

I guess the main point I am trying to say that is often overlooked is that the cultural of some of the other Asian cultures--Asian Indian, Korean, Chinese, Japanese--very often have a much different outlook on going into a career as medicine relative to the standard Filipino family. It was stated above, but Filipinos are lumped into the Asian category and thus the cultural disparity is not taken into consideration and probably not even known. On SDN, it is often said that certain students face this huge amount of pressure to become a physician from their parents and surroundings. I assure you that in the Filipino-American community it is the opposite

Obviously, these are generalizations and there will always be exceptions to the rule. I personally do not necessarily think Filipinos should be considered URM; but, it may be a necessity that the cultural pressures they face from friends and family will be taken into consideration in the years to come.

Just my 2 cents. I just wanted to provide another perspective on Filipinos in medicine that I have not actually seen addressed here on this website.

 

[k12123]

It is well known here, and probably across America, that Filipinos largely go into the field of nursing--who often make up a large % of the nurses in urban city hospitals. With that said, there is an unbelievable amount of pressure for a Filipino-American student to pursue nursing over any other career. The culture of the average Filipino-American family actually pressures you to not pursue medicine. The parents, and especially friends, place this huge amount of emphasis on going into Nursing and going into a field that is much more practical to the culture, lifestyle and socio-economic status./QUOTE]

I know what ur talking about and I for one am sick of it. People around me, including my parents, have aat least tried to discourage me in trying to become a physician. I'm just really ticked off by it because all they're concerned about is money! They seem to be ignorant of the fact that ppl pursue careers that they are passionate about, not one that is "culturally practical." With some ignorant filipinos having this mindset, it makes us look bad. It makes filipinos seem that they cannot pursue something as prestigious as an MD/DO.

 

[30Percent]

I know what ur talking about and I for one am sick of it. People around me, including my parents, have aat least tried to discourage me in trying to become a physician. I'm just really ticked off by it because all they're concerned about is money! They seem to be ignorant of the fact that ppl pursue careers that they are passionate about, not one that is "culturally practical." With some ignorant filipinos having this mindset, it makes us look bad. It makes filipinos seem that they cannot pursue something as prestigious as an MD/DO.

A lot of Asian cultures put a lot of emphasis on money, its not only Filipinos. There's a lot of pressure in Vietnamese and Chinese families to pick a career where you can make good money.

 

[FireTop]

A lot of Asian cultures put a lot of emphasis on money, its not only Filipinos. There's a lot of pressure in Vietnamese and Chinese families to pick a career where you can make good money.

That wasn't what k12123 was trying to say. What he/she was trying to say that in Filipino families, the parents and friends often pressure one another to pursue nursing because it is most practical in terms of the lifestyle and culture. The money is the field of nursing is good, of course. But, Filipino families are more concerned about how much money is made relative to the lifestyle of the profession and the competitiveness of the career (often prefer less intense fields).

From what I have seen, Filipino families do not pressure their kids to make "good money." They pressure their kids to go into a career that will provide a decent lifestyle--which is inevitably better than what they experienced back in the Philippines.

The numbers are staggering. UCR medical school program (exclusive to UCR students) has not accepted a Filipino student since 2008--I know her. I am also pretty sure UCI has had only 2-3 Filipino students in the past couple years as well.

And for those that attend these schools, I have seen first hand that the Filipino population is very high. In the UCs, Filipinos are known to be the 2nd highest in population (right below Chinese), but hands-down least represented in medical school. Willing to hear other opinions, but I strongly believe it boils down to culture.

Just my opinion.

 

[Pons Asinorum]

Thank god this thread got bumped, so we could rehash the twice weekly URM and Asian Parenting thread flame wars. Great job all. Keep up the fine work. To the bumper, no, Filipinos are not URM at any school in the U.S., as was stated in 2009 when this thread was last active.

 

[garconfrancais]

.

 

[FireTop]

I remember during my college application process I had a friend who claimed she was Native American. I found it a little ironic since she was blonde. I don't know, I think URM should be reserved for people who are URM in the strictest sense and shouldn't be abused by people with tangential relations. In the end, that defeats the purpose and hurts the people who could actually benefit from it.

Quoted for truth