Disadvantaged Applicant Status

[SpiritiualDuck]

Hey, did any of you guys apply as disadvantaged applicants? If so, what has been said at your interviews about your status, your past, your life? Do you feel that it helped or hurt your application. Do you think the schools cared or didn't care about your story, your life, your past? Any experiences would be cool. I'm curious to see how it impacts your applications. I had heard that Cali schools care about that stuff.

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[jlee9531]

i applied.

my personal statement had a lot to do with my background.

and so the three schools i have interviewed at have asked me about my experiences and stuff in relation to that. and i just think it helps them to get to know me better as a person.

i would hope that the schools cared or else i dont think thats a place i would like to attend. tho admissions is largely based on numbers and scores...the type of person you are i think is huge and helped me have great interview experiences and so far 2 acceptances as a result...

i hope this helps.

 

[chapinsita]

Jlee, congrats on UVM!!! Wowie, 2 acceptances!

To the OP, my closest friend also applied disadvantaged and she has a really amazing story. Most disadvantaged applicants do and are really people to be admired. Most of her interviewers didn't mention her disadvantage at all during the interview. One school though, really grilled her about it, just to see if she was being honest in her app. I guess it depends on the school really. She's a NY resident though so I don't know about Cali schools.

 

[Eraserhead]

I applied disadvantaged for personal reasons and these reasons came up at UCSD in the interview with one faculty member and that may have helped me get in, I don't know. They also came up at Einstein on a solemn, sour note and the interviewer said "I'm sorry" etc. Everywhere else including Cornell and other great schools, it (my situation) was glossed over for more positive conversation topics which made me happy.

I *do* think it helped me get the interview at Stanford for some reason based on what I have heard about their policies, but I'll never know for sure. No one will ever know and it doesn't matter anyway. To those future applicants, don't let anyone tell you to do this or not do this, just make you own decision. I haven't talked to a pre-med counselor about my app, ever... and I think that's the best route to go.

 

[exmike]

sorry to hijack this thread but..

Congrats James!!

2/2 so far, not bad!

 

[Supadupafly]

I said most everything that needed to be said in my application and personal statements. Every single interviewer has asked me about my family and background, but I get the feeling they ask that of everyone. It doesn't feel like I'm being "checked". With one exception; the interviewer at Drexel asked me about my ethnicity, but I still don't quite know what he was getting at.

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by exmike
sorry to hijack this thread but..

Congrats James!!

2/2 so far, not bad!

haha thanks mike and of course chapinsita....

yeah batting a 1000....i just hope this stroke is as sweet as barry bonds when it comes to davis man...

i need chapinsita's charm cause she is a cali-magnet!



and to the OP ive been asked inside and outside of cali.

 

[potuhusky]

i'm both urm and disadvantaged. my situation is pretty blatent and i felt that it took up a large chunk of my interview, which i guess is a good sign (as long as its about me and not about health care reform). no school has made me feel like i may be getting pitty points, but rather they were trying to comprehend the extent of the struggles i've overcome.

 

[gimmedog]

Originally posted by potuhusky
no school has made me feel like i may be getting pitty points, but rather they were trying to comprehend the extent of the struggles i've overcome.

That's exactly how people should be evaluated: based on how far they've come not just the sum of all their academic accomplishments. I also applied disadvantaged. It's difficult to have to tell my life story, but my background absolutely makes me who I am, and has motivated me toward medicine, toward my specialty, and how I want to practice. In that way, it has helped me applying for med school and residency. It's important to have insight into the significance of your experiences and to be able to speak to that.

Most med students come from relatively provileged backgrounds and many have family in medicine. If you feel as if you had an unusually difficult path toward medicine and you can articulate it in an intelligent way, then do it. It doesn't have to be "an amazing story" either.