Disadvantaged or not?

[fishsticks2629]

I am debating on whether or not to choose disadvantage for this upcoming cycle. I'll give a brief synoposis of my life and would love input or whether or not I should apply as a disadvantaged applicant.

1.) Immigrated from a third world country when I was four years old. Lived in poverty while there.
2.)While living in the US and waiting for my parent to get a degree from a community college, lived in poverty. Food stamps, toys for tots, welfare, trailor park, etc. Worked hard labor with the family starting my third grade summer.
3.) Parent finally got their degree in nursing while I was in high school and things finally got better (no more welfare, foodstamps, etc.).
4.) Went to a state college because I got a football scholorship and because I couldnt apply for loans to other schools (parent has horrible credit).

My parent is a nurse and things are not as bad as they were. The reason why I don't immediately choose disadvantaged is because my parent's current finicial sitution is not disadvantaged at all. Although, I do live by myself and pay all my bills by working as a CNA. Any advice if one were in my shoes?

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[LizzyM]

Were you at a disadvantage when you arrived in college because you had poor academic preparation for college due to a bad school system (often associated with low income communities), lack of books and other educational materials in the home, lack of opportunities for enrichment (travel, extracurricular activities in grammar school & HS school)? Disadvantaged from 0-18 years of age is specified because it identifies students who were poor and who may have been poorly prepared for the rigors of college. You need to decide if you fit that description and write your paragraph on the AMCAS describing your situation. It doesn't matter if you are rich now and it doesn't matter if your parents are too. However, it can backfire if your years of difficulty were very few and you otherwise did well (e.g. born to a doctoral student, lived like a poor student in one's early childhood but daddy is now a tenured professor )

Did you grow up in a community in the US that was underserved? This could be an inner-city neighborhood, a rural area, or some place that has a severe shortage of doctors. If you did, and you want to go back to be a doctor in your community, or in a similar setting, then that is worth highlighting.