disadvantaged status

[praha12]

Does anyone know whether the use of federal need-based loans and grants during undergrad would constitute a "disadvantaged status"? If so, is there any advantage to claiming a disadvantaged status on the AMCAS app, or might this result in even more disadvantages? Thanks.

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[sandflea]

are you referring to federal financial aid? no, that's not disadvantaged status. my guess is that the majority of college students receive this kind of aid. heck, my college and the government pretty much paid for me to go to school.

disadvantaged status refers to people who are much worse off than that: say, growing up one of 10 children raised by a single mom on welfare in the poorest neighborhood of the inner city. something like that. my take on this is that if you are truly 'disadvantaged', you don't need to wonder about whether you are or not.

 

[racergirl]

I agree. I left home at 17, and have paid my own way through school. My father was a violent alcoholic. My mother is cool (and smart), but never got the chance to go to college. However, I don't consider myself "disadvantaged." I had to work hard. So what? Others have had to overcome much more than me. I grew up in a lower class neighborhood (and still live in one) but I never had bullets whizzing over my head or anything. Plus, I'm white, and American. How disadvantaged could I possibly be? I'll leave the "disadvantaged status" to those who truly deserve it.

 

[Spang]

Just to throw in my .02 here.

I marked the 'disadvantaged' block after talking to someone at one of the my state schools and reading the directions on AMCAS 2002. I come from a rural community that is also considered by the state and federal governments to be medically underserved. Since one or both of my state schools consider this for admission (it says so right in the MSAR and rural/underserved is one of the options in that section of the app) I was told to check the block. I tried to make it clear that my status was not a financial thing and I am prepared to talk about it if asked during an interview.

You asked......

Spang

 

[sandflea]

well, spang, if that is what you were told to do, then go for it. as long as you're prepared to discuss it in interviews. actually i don't think it's too uncommon for a rural area to be called 'disadvantaged' but if you come from a financially comfortable family that just happens to live in a rural area, then i wouldn't really call you 'underserved'.

i grew up in suburban chicago, and my hometown is within cook county, which is the county that encompasses all of the city of chicago, including the poor inner city areas. as a result, the first time i applied (when i listed my parents' address as my permanent address) it was indicated on my AMCAS app that i am from a medically-underserved area. this was pretty misleading, as while my family is far from rich, we live in a comfortable, middle-class suburb, surrounded by excellent hospitals, and in fact a very large portion of cook county extends out into the suburbs. but i would never *think* to call myself 'disadvantaged' because i know there are people applying to medical school who have had to live through situations i would never dream of.

but i'm not trying to call your status into doubt, spang, because i realize the situation is different for rural communities.

 

[6-8 Weeks]

I marked my disadvantaged because of financial aid reasons. I did receive considerable financial aid in college, but I believe that my family's income is extremely low and has impacted my life since I was a child. My family and I are immigrants and everyone knows the story of how we came with the clothes on our backs etc. The thing is, there's no success story here, neither of my parents have had time to get any education or special job training. My mother barely speaks english because she has to work and never has the time to take classes. All this adds up to some low-paying, long-hour jobs. Yes financial aid is common, but I wouldn't generalize it and say that just because many receive aid that they have similar financial situations. From my own experiences, financial limitiations can be just as difficult as any emotional/family disturbance.

 

[Medic171]

I have worked full time all through undergrad; the only fin aid I get are loans. I, however, also do not think I am disadvantaged. Disadvantaged might be something like a finacially straining illness, death of a breadwinner, or something that puts an extra strike against you.

 

[jmejia1]

Maybe I should've asked around before I marked the disadvantaged box.

Anyway, attending Los Angeles inner-city schools all my life put me at a disadvantage, I felt. There is a small 1/4 essay where you're asked to write about a hardship which may have interfered with my education. I wrote that the inner-city schools I attended reflected the economic conditions around me: kids sardined into classes and teachers going on strike for higher wages (it seemed every other year) interfered with me getting a good education. I also mentioned that in high school I was in a vocational track.

Maybe these are not valid reasons to declare myself disadvantaged, but I honestly felt these were reasonable arguements based on how AMCAS asked the question.

 

[praha12]

Thank you for your responses. Although I've never felt disadvantaged, I'm still not sure how to answer the disadvantaged status question, because I have no idea how AMCAS intends to use the information--is it a tool to obtain demographic data? Is it used to evaluate the applicant's ability to pay for medical school, and if so, then what is FAFSA for? Is it a trick question designed to assess whether the applcant is willing to jump on the "I'm a victem" bandwagon? From a practical perspective, it doesn't matter whether you were raised by Mommy Dearest or Daddy Warbucks once you make it this far in the application process. What remains important is the applicant's financial situation right now, and presumably that's why AMCAS asks for details on undergraduate financing.

I grew up in a middle-class household, and while I'd be ashamed to claim disadvantaged status if what they're looking for is sob stories, I'm also reluctant to imply that I'm in rosy financial shape--the truth is that I don't have dollar one. And as a non-trad student whose been uninsured for most of the last ten years, I certainly know what it's like to be medically underserved. So I'm askin' again: What exactly does it mean to be disadvantaged?

 

[Nanon]

I'm a little confused about this issue, too. I've been told that I am disadvantaged and that I'm not, and I guess both are true. I grew up part-time in foster care, or with my mentally ill mom on welfare. I didn't graduate from high-school because I had to work. But now, at 32, I'm married to a man who makes a good living, and I would hardly call myself disadvantaged AT THIS POINT IN TIME. My background has definitely affected my college education, mostly because I had to learn how to learn, but there hasn't been any kind of financial hardship since my sophmore year in college.

I don't think I'll claim disadvantaged status, mostly because I don't know how this would change the way that my application is looked at. Also, I intend to cover my background in my personal statement and secondaries.

Nanon

 

[sandflea]

praha12--well, i'm no expert on all of this, but i'd be willing to bet that 99% of med school applicants have had some type of difficult situation they've emerged from at some point in time. but i would hardly call anyone 'disadvantaged' because of that. my opinion is that the majority of the people who have posted in this thread are what *i* would consider 'disadvantaged'--being raised in foster care, attending only inner-city schools (assuming that they weren't very good schools--chicago has a number of city schools that are quite good), being forced to work while in high school because your money was counted on to support the family, leaving home while still young because of a violent homelife....these are all experiences that could easily affect your education by way of severely affecting your homelife and emotional well-being. i wouldn't call having to rely on need-based loans and living without insurance to be 'disadvantaged'--i know far too many people who are in the same situation. my parents are self-employed and have put in *many* long hours to be able to put me through a good college (and i am only the second person of a very large extended family who has had the opportunity to attend college), and now that i'm on my own, i've had to work full-time to be able to put myself through grad school (which i also attend full-time)...but that's not 'disadvantaged'--that's life, and it involves sacrifice.

i think you're right in that your financial situation *right now* also is important. but what i think is the ultimate litmus test for this is whether or not you've had to apply for fee waivers from the AAMC in order to be able to apply. if you have money to spare to be able to apply to med school--not exactly a cheap process--then i would hardly call you 'disadvantaged', even if you have to scrimp and save and limit the number of schools you're applying to because of finances. some people need every cent they have to go toward living expenses.

my impression is that AMCAS will give special consideration to people who have had to endure extreme hardship yet have emerged competitive applicants...but i would think that it could really work against you if you falsely claim to be disadvantaged. my advice is that if you're not sure, then leave the 'disadvantaged' section blank on your application but discuss your situations in your personal statement.

 

[Spang]

Originally posted by sandflea:
•my impression is that AMCAS will give special consideration to people who have had to endure extreme hardship yet have emerged competitive applicants...but i would think that it could really work against you if you falsely claim to be disadvantaged. my advice is that if you're not sure, then leave the 'disadvantaged' section blank on your application but discuss your situations in your personal statement.•

•disadvantaged status refers to people who are much worse off than that: say, growing up one of 10 children raised by a single mom on welfare in the poorest neighborhood of the inner city. something like that. my take on this is that if you are truly 'disadvantaged', you don't need to wonder about whether you are or not.•

I must repsectfully disagree with sandflea and his/her definition of "disadvantaged" and its use by AMCAS or medical schools.

The "disadvantaged" block did not previously appear on the paper version of the app, I checked an old one, and I was given the impression (from a medschool admin staffer)that it was for use by the schools in their admissions process. I don't believe that "AMCAS will give special consideration",as sanflea asserts, based upon this block any more than AMCAS cares what you write in your essay or what race you happen to be. This info is for the schools' consideration, as I understand it, to facilitate their recruitement of appliants with special considerations, including rural, underserved, economic and socially disadvanted status.

This appears in the MEDPREP catalog, a program of the school (SIU)for "disadvantaged" applicants:
•
students with educationally disadvantaged backgrounds (rural, minority, economically disadvantaged, etc.)

An individual is considered "educationally disadvantaged" if he/she:

comes from an environment that has inhibited the individual from obtaining the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to enroll in and graduate from a health professions school.

An individual is considered "economically disadvantaged" if he/she:

comes from a family with an annual income below a level based on low-income thresholds, according to family size, published by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, adjusted annually for changes in the Consumer Price Index, and adjusted ... for use in all health ... professions programs.

•(there's a chart for this "threshold" on their website BTW)

Further the admissions section of the SIU catalog states that:
• Preference is given to central and southern Illinois residents and to those from rural, inner-city or disadvantaged backgrounds.•

Perhaps it would have been better if the AMCAS app asked if you consider yourself to have come from a rural, underserved, inner-city, economically or socially disadvantaged background, but it doesn't. The only way to "designate" oneself as rural or underserved or whatever is to check that "disadvantaged" block in order to get to the next menu page that allows you to detail your background.

One of their (MEDPREP's)staffers called the SIU admissions office and specifically asked if someone in my situation should check the box for THEIR CONSIDERATION and they said yes. Nowhere in my application or otherwise do I claim to be economically or socially disadvantaged which is what I think most people think of when they hear that term.

I am prepared to explain this in and interview and wonder if, at this school and UIC which also has admissions programs for rural Illinois students, I would be asked why I don't consider myself disadvantaged/rural/underserved when I meet their criteria and come from a county designated (by the state and federal govts and AMCAS) as underserved and rural.

I believe you should check what you think and feel is the honest and correct status for you and be prepared to explain your choices. That's what being consciencous and responsible means.

I don't mean this to sound like I'm being defensive of my choice, I just think that there are probably other applicants in my boat and I'm sharing my opinion and the info.

But I could be wrong........

Spang

 

[sandflea]

thanks for the correction, spang. when i gave the example of the '10 children' i was actually only thinking about economic disadvantage, although that same example could also apply to education. i probably should have been more specific. 'disadvantaged' can mean many things and i never claimed i was an expert in this. but i *do* think it's a stretch to call yourself 'disadvantaged' simply because you received financial aid to help pay for school, as the majority of the population in this country doesn't have a spare $30K a year or so to put towards school costs. and by 'special consideration' i didn't mean that you would be a shoo-in for medical school because you had a hard life. all i've been told is that your efforts and accomplishments may be looked more favorably upon if you've had to overcome more extreme situations than the rest of the population to get where you are today.

i wasn't criticizing your own designation as 'disadvantaged' because as a rural resident you certainly may not have access to the same things us city/suburb kids do. i just meant that, as you also noted, you should be prepared to explain yourself in an interview if asked.

as spang notes, check with each individual school you're interested in to find out what they consider to be 'disadvantaged.'

 

[Spang]

sandflea-

Being able to carry on a mature dialogue about interesting issues with people like you, jamier2, etc here at SDN is what I really love about this board compared to others like TPR.

Don't go changin'.

Who loves ya?
Spang