Disadvantaged white people we get no love!

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RedSox143

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*stirring the pot for lively debate*
*instantly regretting this thread at the same time*

Not poor enough for aid but not well-off enough to afford much of.

Urban white kid who's sick of not being able to afford anything, working wicked hard and still not being eligible for aid. Just graduated, did real well in school have good stats but can't afford much and no im not eligible for aid,I work 2 jobs and live at home to help my parents so... People on this thread complain with me how "disadvantaged white person" is actually the worst thing to be in the medical school application process.

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*not trying to compare to any urm or personal bad situation*

Not poor enough for aid but not well-off enough to afford much. Urban white kid who's sick of not being able to afford anything, working wicked hard and still not being eligible for aid. Just graduated, did real well in school have good stats but can't afford much and no im not eligible for aid,I work 2 jobs and live at home to help my parents so... People on this thread complain with me how "disadvantaged white person" is actually the worst thing to be in the medical school application process.
See, you may not be trying to compare to those other situations, and yet you still are.

Not überprivileged ≠ disadvantaged.

Seriously, stop whining. This thread is an auto-no-sympathy trigger.
 
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Oh boy, brace yourselves, the URM/ORM debate is coming.
 
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See, you may not be trying to compare to those other situations, and yet you still are.

Not überprivileged ≠ disadvantaged.

Seriously, stop whining. This thread is an auto-no-sympathy trigger.

Yeah definitely saw that coming, this threads gonna suck, instant regret posting it, I'm just frustrated that money is such an issue
 
So you're complaining about not being poor enough to be eligible for financial aid?
 
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If you're not poor enough for aid, then you're not disadvantaged...My family IS poor enough for aid and I still don't consider myself disadvantaged.
 
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Yeah definitely saw that coming, this threads gonna suck, instant regret posting it, I'm just frustrated that money is such an issue
I mean, I definitely feel that...part of the human condition, man! Yet I feel that complaining about money without bringing in the whole race/'middle class gets hit the worst' bits would have been just as, if not more, effective.

Actually, even with the middle class thing...the race card is really what elevated this post to :nono: land. It IS true that low SES is more likely to garner aid and high SES can simply pay for things, while middle is usually loan-town USA (this is more true for undergrad than med school, from what I can see, as finaid is less in med, so low SES is even more hosed).

Anywho, sorry if I was harsh, hope the carnage isn't too bad!
 
If you're not poor enough for aid, then you're not disadvantaged...My family IS poor enough for aid and I still don't consider myself disadvantaged.
I was poor enough for aid in undergrad and do not consider myself disadvantaged...but largely because I received that aid. If we were swimming in a few hundred grand of debt right now or I had been forced to change my educational path due to financial concerns, I may feel differently now.
 
Just complaining about how lower middle class is ostracized in this process big time
 
Keep your head up and keep working hard. After undergrad and before medical school can be a difficult time financially and otherwise.

You can also keep track of your hardships. When you have a good list and are ready to apply, read them off to a few different advisers. You may be able to frame it in a way where you can successfully apply as, "disadvantaged."
 
I was poor enough for aid in undergrad and do not consider myself disadvantaged...but largely because I received that aid. If we were swimming in a few hundred grand of debt right now or I had been forced to change my educational path due to financial concerns, I may feel differently now.

I agree, but it's the fact that aid is distributed based on who needs it the most. I know many people who consider themselves in that "nightmare" zone where they were too rich to be considered for financial aid but not rich enough to pay everything out of pocket. Yet when they tell me about all the things they had growing up....I don't consider that really a nightmare.
 
A new contender appears: Disadvantaged Asian™
 
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I could only afford 3 schools and I'm waiting on a check to come in to pay for a secondary waiting to go, I guess it's my own fault for not checking finances before , it just makes me so angry looking at a what should be complete secondary that I can't send cuz there's not a check mark next to the "fee" section
 
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I agree, but it's the fact that aid is distributed based on who needs it the most. I know many people who consider themselves in that "nightmare" zone where they were too rich to be considered for financial aid but not rich enough to pay everything out of pocket. Yet when they tell me about all the things they had growing up....I don't consider that really a nightmare.
Fair enough...I had a friend (who used to make similar complaints) tell me about the worst experience of her life once...it involved her little sister destroying the box of her brand new markers at her childhood birthday party. And by 'destroying', I mean 'ripping the flap that it hangs by at the store off the top of the box'.

Then again, despite us being broke my whole childhood, my mom did a pretty good job of making sure that I didn't feel like I was. That's part of why I don't feel disadvantaged - she bent over backwards to make sure I didn't. Checking the disadvantaged box, to me, feels like a betrayal of her efforts.
 
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Not poor enough for aid but not well-off enough to afford much of.


Pfft.

Don't you know the world is black-and-white? You either need financial aid or are rich enough to not need it. There is no middle-ground.

Everything fits into neat little categories. That includes med school applicants. "Disadvantaged White Person" is not one of those categories.
 
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Just complaining about how lower middle class is ostracized in this process big time

Boston is an expensive city and being lower middle class can be worse than being poor. I'm going to explain this since it may be tough to figure out for those without direct experience:

In my observation,** the DIFFICULTY of being "lower" middle class* here in Boston is EXACTLY what keeps MANY people on welfare (or just beneath* "lower" middle class). Poor people (below lower middle class) get welfare, usually in the form of actual money from the government each month in the form of an SSI check, food stamps, free phone service, free health insurance, reduced cost housing, etc. Dare to make an extra buck or so (and become "lower" middle class), and you lose those benefits which may be necessary for survival.

"Lower" middle class can be the most difficult place to be - you don't get the benefits of the group below, OR the additional income of the "middle" middle class. And as rents, etc. rise, many (possibly primarily locals) are left in the dust trying to survive. This is a "crack" in the system where people often feel invisible and overlooked, cut off from help, and too poor to live a proper life.

In my experience, as a pre-med, we're also stuck paying for MCAT books, and doing unprofitable things with our time. As a tutor, I would also add that it's no secret that those with more money hire tutors throughout college. Personally I've helped pre-meds salvage organic chemistry grades from a lower B area to a solid A. (Money and grades are not always correlated, but can be!) Add application fees, airplane tickets, etc. to the equation. FAP is nice, but doesn't go far enough - at all. I think FAP is also limited to the poor.

The only way to be heard is by speaking, and you never know who all is listening on a forum like this.

*assuming our definitions align (poor < lower middle class < middle class < upper middle class)

**feel free to disagree
 
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IF YOU'RE NOT POOR ENOUGH FOR AID, THEN YOU'RE NOT REALLY POOR. IF YOU WERE POOR YOU'D KNOW IT
 
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Your MDApps says you've been accepted to U of Utah, U of Miami and Ohio State and that you've applied to twelve others. :eyebrow:
 
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Look don't consider yourself disadvantage, consider yourself hardworking. Take pride in that. I know sometimes that the world might seem against you but if you truly feel disadvantage then you have option to explain why you think so.
There are people who work two jobs yet are still homeless. <-- Thats disadvantage.
Sometimes we fail to count our lucky stars, but we can still appreciate the little things we have. I know you do.
Plenty of white people (good, honest, hardworking like yourself) :) can be considerably disadvantage.
Look up "Rich Hill" and you'll know what I'm talking about.

You want to know how I'm disadvantaged? When I was 13, both my parents went to jail (though I call bullish*t on that prosecutor), we nearly lost our home (foreclosure), and we never had any savings because we get by paycheck to paycheck. Plus, we've been racially targeted/victimized by gang members. Thats not just a disadvantage, thats a predisposition.

Be happy with who you are. I think you're frustrated and the people here are going to shout and attack you through comments. Just making you feel worse. Thats why I'm too not fond of some people from SDN community. Its just **** slinging with no real constructive criticism. (You'll see it once some a-hole tries correcting my grammar on the next comments)

I don't believe you explained your situation here well or entirely, but I understand where your coming from.

Look, if theres anything in your life that may have left you disadvantage i.e. severe bullying, racial discrimination (yes white people are racially victimized), childhood trauma, divorced parents, blah blah anything that you really feel screwed you so hard that it drags you behind to this day, then by all means explain it on the application.

Best of luck, and keep on keeping on. :)
 
Perhaps they're all Yankees fans.
 
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Excerpt from the AMCAS application of a disadvantaged white person (ended up at an Ivy med school):
"My father left the home when I was less than one year old, and as a result, I grew up with a single mother who had no professional skills. I spent every weekend of my adolescent life working at the local swap meet to help support the home, and I graduated from high school as valedictorian. Unfortunately, I was forced to leave home shortly thereafter due in part to my mother not supporting my interest in continuing my education. I have had minimal contact with my mother since I left home, and I have not seen my father since I was an infant. In the three years between high school and college, I supported myself financially and saved money with the hopes that I would one day have the opportunity to return to school and pursue my dream of studying medicine."

I'm not white (mixed race), but also grew up economically disadvantage (household of 7 with a sub-$20k household income). Being poor sucks. Count your blessings.
 
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Your MDApps says you've been accepted to U of Utah, U of Miami and Ohio State and that you've applied to twelve others. :eyebrow:

I don't have an MDApps that's weird, I wouldn't apply to those schools haha
 
THIS. This is exactly where I'm coming from.

Boston is an expensive city and being lower middle class can be worse than being poor. I'm going to explain this since it may be tough to figure out for those without direct experience:

In my observation,** the DIFFICULTY of being "lower" middle class* here in Boston is EXACTLY what keeps MANY people on welfare (or just beneath* "lower" middle class). Poor people (below lower middle class) get welfare, usually in the form of actual money from the government each month in the form of an SSI check, food stamps, free phone service, free health insurance, reduced cost housing, etc. Dare to make an extra buck or so (and become "lower" middle class), and you lose those benefits which may be necessary for survival.

"Lower" middle class can be the most difficult place to be - you don't get the benefits of the group below, OR the additional income of the "middle" middle class. And as rents, etc. rise, many (possibly primarily locals) are left in the dust trying to survive. This is a "crack" in the system where people often feel invisible and overlooked, cut off from help, and too poor to live a proper life.

In my experience, as a pre-med, we're also stuck paying for MCAT books, and doing unprofitable things with our time. As a tutor, I would also add that it's no secret that those with more money hire tutors throughout college. Personally I've helped pre-meds salvage organic chemistry grades from a lower B area to a solid A. (Money and grades are not always correlated, but can be!) Add application fees, airplane tickets, etc. to the equation. FAP is nice, but doesn't go far enough - at all. I think FAP is also limited to the poor.

The only way to be heard is by speaking, and you never know who all is listening on a forum like this.

*assuming our definitions align (poor < lower middle class < middle class < upper middle class)

**feel free to disagree
 
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Obviously a lot of people are more disadvantaged and have personal situations that no one is aware of, I'm more looking at socioeconomics of this process from and I believe the med school process is still made for the rich to succeed in the vast majority and options for URMs is fantastic and that's great that AAMC has aid and programs to sort of help other non-rich people through this process but it is still largely dominated by those with money
 
Urban white kid who's sick of not being able to afford anything, working wicked hard and still not being eligible for aid. Just graduated, did real well in school have good stats but can't afford much and no im not eligible for aid,I work 2 jobs and live at home to help my parents so...

I was born around 30 minutes from Boston center. Ever hear of places like Norwell, Scituate? We were pretty close to Plymouth too; South Shore ftw.

"Wicked" as a superlative is just iconic of the location, it reminded me of when I was little. :D

When I was little, we lived in my great-grandma's old house since she passed away. The place was really old; we didn't have AC throughout the place. We had those window units in the bedrooms; my dad apparently knew a guy and got them pretty cheap. My parents knew how to survive on what they could make- they were both ex-Army, they could probably live in a foxhole if they needed to. We were poor enough that my mother sometimes didn't eat so that we could have dinner. It's weird thinking back on it, because I never really saw myself as being poor. Add on top of that, I regressed at 3.5 years old (I have Asperger's/HFA), so they were even more strapped for cash until they could apply for some disability. Even then, it's not what it cracks up to be.

So, yes OP. I suppose I could put down that I'm "disadvantaged". That seems like a real spit in the face to those who still live in those situations (my mother got a nicer job in the south, and now we're doing good for the most part. My father had a virus attack his heart and so now he's searching for sedentary work.) It seems disgraceful to my mother, who had refused to eat some days just so that we could have what we wanted. It seems disgraceful to my father, too- who got up at 4 each morning to take me to therapy so I could learn to speak again. I have such a mixed relationship with how I feel about my past; my father also had PTSD and took it out on us.

We're all dealt different cards. I think it's because more skilled ones can take the pot even if they're holding off-suit ones that are 6 apart.
 
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I was born around 30 minutes from Boston center. Ever hear of places like Norwell, Scituate? We were pretty close to Plymouth too; South Shore ftw.

"Wicked" as a superlative is just iconic of the location, it reminded me of when I was little. :D

When I was little, we lived in my great-grandma's old house since she passed away. The place was really old; we didn't have AC throughout the place. We had those window units in the bedrooms; my dad apparently knew a guy and got them pretty cheap. My parents knew how to survive on what they could make- they were both ex-Army, they could probably live in a foxhole if they needed to. We were poor enough that my mother sometimes didn't eat so that we could have dinner. It's weird thinking back on it, because I never really saw myself as being poor. Add on top of that, I regressed at 3.5 years old (I have Asperger's/HFA), so they were even more strapped for cash until they could apply for some disability. Even then, it's not what it cracks up to be.

So, yes OP. I suppose I could put down that I'm "disadvantaged". That seems like a real spit in the face to those who still live in those situations (my mother got a nicer job in the south, and now we're doing good for the most part. My father had a virus attack his heart and so now he's searching for sedentary work.) It seems disgraceful to my mother, who had refused to eat some days just so that we could have what we wanted. It seems disgraceful to my father, too- who got up at 4 each morning to take me to therapy so I could learn to speak again. I have such a mixed relationship with how I feel about my past; my father also had PTSD and took it out on us.

We're all dealt different cards. I think it's because more skilled ones can take the pot even if they're holding off-suit ones that are 6 apart.
Yeah I know of it! Quite a story and good advice. good luck and health to you.!
 
People on this thread complain with me how "disadvantaged white person" is actually the worst thing to be in the medical school application process.

It could be worse --
You could be working class Asian
Or working class Middle Eastern Muslim Female (no SES help, no URM status, religious restrictions)
 
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Excerpt from the AMCAS application of a disadvantaged white person (ended up at an Ivy med school):
"My father left the home when I was less than one year old, and as a result, I grew up with a single mother who had no professional skills. I spent every weekend of my adolescent life working at the local swap meet to help support the home, and I graduated from high school as valedictorian. Unfortunately, I was forced to leave home shortly thereafter due in part to my mother not supporting my interest in continuing my education. I have had minimal contact with my mother since I left home, and I have not seen my father since I was an infant. In the three years between high school and college, I supported myself financially and saved money with the hopes that I would one day have the opportunity to return to school and pursue my dream of studying medicine."

I'm not white (mixed race), but also grew up economically disadvantage (household of 7 with a sub-$20k household income). Being poor sucks. Count your blessings.

damn....that was depressing
 
Your MDApps says you've been accepted to U of Utah, U of Miami and Ohio State and that you've applied to twelve others. :eyebrow:

He just entered a random number in the MDApps field (notice how he also has a DDSapps?). If he had an MDApps number of 12, he would have been one of the first people to make an account after paul created MDApps.
 
I do not feel sorry for people who are $300-$400k in debt and make a $200-500k salary, living in the top 1%. Go to a cheaper school, get a scholarship, join the military, do accelerated programs, etc. If not being in debt is that important to you, there's always a way around it. My wife went to law school and is completely debt free because of scholarships since she worked her butt off. I'll be graduating med school completely debt free because of veteran benefits. Yes, we both worked much much harder in the beginning but it's because we wanted a very comfortable life afterwards. Life sucks sometimes and it's not fair. It's not fair the guy who was born Native American gets a free ride while you're white and don't. It's also not fair that some other guy happened to be born in Somalia and has no chance at succeeding in anything at life while you were born in a great country and get to complain about becoming one of the most comfortable and successful people on the planet. Count your blessings, then adapt and conquer.
 
I do not feel sorry for people who are $300-$400k in debt and make a $200-500k salary, living in the top 1%. Go to a cheaper school, get a scholarship, join the military, do accelerated programs, etc. If not being in debt is that important to you, there's always a way around it. My wife went to law school and is completely debt free because of scholarships since she worked her butt off. I'll be graduating med school completely debt free because of veteran benefits. Yes, we both worked much much harder in the beginning but it's because we wanted a very comfortable life afterwards. Life sucks sometimes and it's not fair. It's not fair the guy who was born Native American gets a free ride while you're white and don't. It's also not fair that some other guy happened to be born in Somalia and has no chance at succeeding in anything at life while you were born in a great country and get to complain about becoming one of the most comfortable and successful people on the planet. Count your blessings, then adapt and conquer.

native americans get free rides? News to me.....and I'm native american
 
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native americans get free rides? News to me.....and I'm native american

I apologize, I did not mean this realistically. Just since the OP brought up the fact that there are less scholarships for whites, I just picked a random race that has some background specific scholarships. By no means did I mean native Americans get a free ride or any advantage over whites applying. I'm sorry if I offended, it was not my intention.
 
He just entered a random number in the MDApps field (notice how he also has a DDSapps?). If he had an MDApps number of 12, he would have been one of the first people to make an account after paul created MDApps.

I have no idea who has the same name as me on either of those sites but I've never used either of them
 
I just recently had a girl, who is Hispanic (URM!), complain to me how poor she and her family is.

Guess what she's been up to the whole summer?

Traveling 5 European countries!!
 
I just recently had a girl, who is Hispanic (URM!), complain to me how poor she and her family is.

Guess what she's been up to the whole summer?

Traveling 5 European countries!!

How do you know where she got the money or funds to do that traveling? Maybe it was free or she had rich friends...could be a million things. Maybe it was a subsidized trip or maybe she had savings put away. Why are you so quick to assume/judge?
 
native americans get free rides? News to me.....and I'm native american

There are certain tribes that do get scholarship money from the tribe. However most don't. I've always been told that I had it luck because I had my college degrees paid for because I'm "indian". Well I did get scholarships, they were ones that I applied for and were based on many factors other than just purely being native. Many of my native friends didn't receive the same scholarships I did because they were competitive to get.

So I guess it's a yes and no kinda thing. I know Harvard has tuition waivers for Native Americans so does Yale and Dartmouth, or at least they used to.
 
I knew a pretty poor black dude that got into Harvard Medical School. He had an MCAT of 37, some pretty good EC's, and a stellar GPA. Even though he was a good applicant, what about all of the qualified poor Asian/White applicants that had better MCAT scores, better EC's and better GPA's? Where is the love for them? :bigtears:

Oh that's right :eek:, they're probably working hard with their classmates at Yale, UPenn, UCSF, and Johns Hopkins.
 
AAMC fee assistance is based on income, not race. You can earn up to 300% of the official poverty line and still be eligible. If you've earned approx. $32,000 in 2013, you can apply for the program.
 
I knew a pretty poor black dude that got into Harvard Medical School. He had an MCAT of 37, some pretty good EC's, and a stellar GPA. Even though he was a good applicant, what about all of the qualified poor Asian/White applicants that had better MCAT scores, better EC's and better GPA's? Where is the love for them? :bigtears:

Oh that's right :eek:, they're probably working hard with their classmates at Yale, UPenn, UCSF, and Johns Hopkins.

That's a poor example.
 
It could be worse --
You could be working class Asian
Or working class Middle Eastern Muslim Female (no SES help, no URM status, religious restrictions)

If only the 1 most disadvantaged person in the world deserved help, wouldn't that be an easy problem to solve! Many people need and deserve help who are not in the #1 most terrible position.
 
How do you know where she got the money or funds to do that traveling? Maybe it was free or she had rich friends...could be a million things. Maybe it was a subsidized trip or maybe she had savings put away. Why are you so quick to assume/judge?
Maybe because one explanation is more likely than what you listed (i.e., okhams or gilletes razor or whatever it is). Why do you jump to her aid, but when OP said something similar everyone is like "you're really not that poor".
 
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