Disadvantaged section on AMCAS?

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Med1992

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I know this question has been beat to death, but I haven't been able to find a particular thread with anyone that matches my description.

I grew up in a very underserved/deprived rural area. I'm from an immigrant background (Asian) where 95% of the people around me were white. My parents served the community as physicians, and our family were fortunate enough to have money. That's what confuses me; from an economic perspective, I wouldn't be disadvantaged, but based on my background/where I grew up, I'm not sure if I would be or not.

According to US News, it sounds like I could select that as an option. I really did feel a "lack of belonging" oftentimes growing up and didn't have social/environmental resources; I felt like my school didn't prepare me well for college compared to those from more wealthy areas. And the area I live in consisted of lower-income communities and was medically underserved. But like I said, my family was not lower-income.

https://www.usnews.com/education/bl...t-it-means-to-be-a-disadvantaged-md-applicant

What do you all think?
 
So to clarify, you went to the same local public school that the poor community's children attended? If it was a horrible school with high dropout rate etc and you felt very under-prepared when you arrived at college, then yeah checking the disadvantaged box could make sense.

And you can certainly check off Rural, which is separate box iirc.
 
efle said:
So to clarify, you went to the same local public school that the poor community's children attended? If it was a horrible school with high dropout rate etc and you felt very under-prepared when you arrived at college, then yeah checking the disadvantaged box could make sense.

And you can certainly check off Rural, which is separate box iirc.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I went to the same public school that everyone else did, and yeah, I believe only about 55-60% of the people ended up finishing for a diploma OR going onto college (can't remember which). Thank you for replying!
 
Gotcha. Do you see yourself returning to an underserved and/or rural community for your own practice? If so, then I would certainly mark down yes for that box.
 
Ampharos said:
My gut reaction is that your narrative doesn't fit what the disadvantage tag usually tries to capture. If you parents' are physicians, their occupation/education will likely screen you out of the AMCAS SES indicator range (EO-1/EO-2) -- see table linked below. Like @efle stated above, there are separate check marks for under-served/rural. Maybe @LizzyM and @gyngyn can shed some more light.

https://www.aamc.org/download/351766/data/amcassesdisadvantagedindicator.pdf
Click to expand...

Okay, yeah this is exactly what I want to know. Anyone know for sure? I just want to make absolute sure about what this question means because I've read through threads where some people didn't put it down and later found out they would've qualified and regretted not putting it down.
 
Ampharos said:
My gut reaction is that your narrative doesn't fit what the disadvantage tag usually tries to capture. If you parents are physicians, their occupation/education will likely screen you out of the AMCAS SES indicator range (EO-1/EO-2) -- see table linked below. Like @efle stated above, there are separate check marks for under-served/rural. Maybe @LizzyM and @gyngyn can shed some more light.

https://www.aamc.org/download/351766/data/amcassesdisadvantagedindicator.pdf
Click to expand...
So is it three separate things - SES, underserved (U), and rural (R)? To what does "disadvantaged" refer?
 
efle said:
Gotcha. Do you see yourself returning to an underserved and/or rural community for your own practice? If so, then I would certainly mark down yes for that box.
Click to expand...

Yeah, growing up in a rural community is all I know. Even my college was in a rural/underserved community even though it was a major state university. I dunno exactly what the future holds, but I would definitely want to practice in a rural/underserved setting.
 
gyngyn said:
Checking the disadvantaged box will not have the desired effect in your case.
Click to expand...

Okay, thank you for answering! So this would mean the question is really tailored toward family income?
 
gyngyn said:
Checking the disadvantaged box will not have the desired effect in your case.
Click to expand...
...why? All the money in the world won't make you more prepared for college if you go to a crappy rural highschool, and if they aim to return to such a community one day because of their experience growing up there, aren't they exactly what schools are looking for?
 
Oh never mind, I saw what you said earlier!
 
You can express the reality of your situation and high school experience in your secondaries, and I think it will be taken into consideration. However, I really don't think that checking the box would be looked upon favorably, since both your parents are doctors. My feeling is that checking this box under the wrong circumstances actually has the potential to hurt your application. Honestly, I think the AAMC should be much more specific about the criteria since it causes a ridiculous amount of confusion every year.
 
Ohhhh k I'm understanding it now. It should be visible that OP is from a background in a rural, underserved area. However it should also be visible that he was not poor in said community. So I'd go "no" on SES disadvantage. The other two will still be visible and you'll be able to express interest in returning to that kind of community in your essays/secondaries.
 
coffeeandcodeine said:
You can express the reality of your situation and high school experience in your secondaries, and I think it will be taken into consideration. However, I really don't think that checking the box would be looked upon favorably, since both your parents are doctors. My feeling is that checking this box under the wrong circumstances actually has the potential to hurt your application. Honestly, I think the AAMC should be much more specific about the criteria since it causes a ridiculous amount of confusion every year.
Click to expand...

I agree 100% about the question being written confusingly, and I think based on what people have told me, I'm going to go ahead and not check that box. Thank you all for your help!
 
efle said:
...why? All the money in the world won't make you more prepared for college if you go to a crappy rural highschool, and if they aim to return to such a community one day because of their experience growing up there, aren't they exactly what schools are looking for?
Click to expand...
I have yet to see a case in which a child of privilege, applying as disadvantaged, is viewed more favorably because of it. I see cases every year where they are viewed askance when they do this.
The other elements are an important part of the application, though.
 
gyngyn said:
I have yet to see a case in which a child of privilege, applying as disadvantaged, is viewed more favorably because of it. I see cases every year where they are viewed askance when they do this.
The other elements are an important part of the application, though.
Click to expand...
I guess the alternative ideas about "disadvantage" are kind of baloney then. Might not have seen many other people of your race during your childhood, but hey, your parents were doctors so you must have had it good
 
efle said:
I guess the alternative ideas about "disadvantage" are kind of baloney then. Might not have seen another person of your race during your childhood, but hey, your parents were doctors so you must have had it good
Click to expand...
The designation of "disadvantaged" is independent of race and ethnicity.
 
Take that, US News!

"The AAMC noted that there were three common topics used in applicants' disadvantaged status statements:

...2. Feeling a lack of belonging: Students from immigrant backgrounds, or who otherwise faced cultural or racial adversity in school, often use this space to discuss those issues."
 
efle said:
Take that, US News!

"The AAMC noted that there were three common topics used in applicants' disadvantaged status statements:

...2. Feeling a lack of belonging: Students from immigrant backgrounds, or who otherwise faced cultural or racial adversity in school, often use this space to discuss those issues."
Click to expand...
Anyone can use the space to discuss these issues. That choice may not always be advisable, though (especially for children of professionals).
Did you really cite US Snooze???
 
gyngyn said:
Anyone can use the space to discuss these issues. That choice may not always be advisable, though (especially for children of professionals).
Did you really cite US Snooze???
Click to expand...
OP linked that US news article above. I promise wasn't my idea.

It's good to have that cleared up though. Disadvantaged really means $ type of disadvantaged.
 
gyngyn said:
Anyone can use the space to discuss these issues. That choice may not always be advisable, though (especially for children of professionals).
Did you really cite US Snooze???
Click to expand...

I marked the disadvantaged box, but I wasn't sure if I fit the intent of it. I'm from a rural area, 1st gen college student, and my parents made a combined total between 40k-45k. I'm white though and I grew up around KCU, KCOM, etc. so there were doctors but not really in my county.

Is the disadvantaged box more for people from inner city backgrounds, immigrants, extreme poverty, etc.? If so, I'm not sure I fit the mold. I'm worried that marking disadvantaged may hurt my application if I don't fit the intent of the section. If it could potentially harm my application (although it would admittedly be to a very small degree), I'd rather not mess with it.
 
That's an interesting one. ~45k family income probably puts you much better off than most in your rural area, does that mean not disadvantaged?
 
efle said:
That's an interesting one. ~45k family income probably puts you much better off than most in your rural area, does that mean not disadvantaged?
Click to expand...

My thoughts as well. We definitely weren't well off, but we weren't exceptionally poor. My father was in and out of jobs twice, though, so that may play a factor.
 
DrDwayneJohnson said:
I marked the disadvantaged box, but I wasn't sure if I fit the intent of it. I'm from a rural area, 1st gen college student, and my parents made a combined total between 40k-45k. I'm white though and I grew up around KCU, KCOM, etc. so there were doctors but not really in my county.

Is the disadvantaged box more for people from inner city backgrounds, immigrants, extreme poverty, etc.? If so, I'm not sure I fit the mold. I'm worried that marking disadvantaged may hurt my application if I don't fit the intent of the section. If it could potentially harm my application (although it would admittedly be to a very small degree), I'd rather not mess with it.
Click to expand...
I don't think this harmed you.
 
Ampharos said:
My gut reaction is that your narrative doesn't fit what the disadvantage tag usually tries to capture. If you parents are physicians, their occupation/education will likely screen you out of the AMCAS SES indicator range (EO-1/EO-2) -- see table linked below. Like @efle stated above, there are separate check marks for under-served/rural. Maybe @LizzyM and @gyngyn can shed some more light.

https://www.aamc.org/download/351766/data/amcassesdisadvantagedindicator.pdf
Click to expand...

What if my parent is just getting her bachelor's right before I apply? Her job can be considered professional I think. Does that disqualify me from EO-1? Or can I still claim EO-1 since she didn't have a bachelor's for most of my life?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
gyngyn said:
I don't think this harmed you.
Click to expand...


Hey gyngyn. I also came across this section of the application and I was wondering what your input is.

I was simply going to list some of the factors that I claim disadvantage.


(paraphrasing)
"I am SES EO1 because I am a first gen college student and may parents make <40k"

"I am medically underserved because my county falls in that distinction. Also I am rural and the nearest hospital is 40 miles away"

"My rural/relative poor upbringing left our family without health insurance"

etc.

Are these acceptable to place in the box listed? I can pm you the exact language if you want to see that instead.
 
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