Disadvantaged?

[missionarydoctorhopeful]

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I'm wondering if this would qualify as disadvantaged. Sorry to add to the plethora of disadvantaged threads. Not trying to exaggerate a deplorable state but just telling it as is:

First four years of my life I grew up in a trailer home in a run-down neighborhood in SC as my parents attended seminary. We moved overseas to Central Asia in a pretty hostile environment - parents taught at a university pro bono. We were about four hours away from any proper hospital/clinic. Family income was about less than 25k per year on support. Siblings and I attended Russian school and were homeschooled, though we did not receive as proper an education as most in the US may have. We were overseas for ten years until trouble brewed. Dad and a few other Americans were arrested and we left Central Asia ten years after we arrived because of a violent revolution and genocide.

Would you advise me to check yes for the disadvantaged status? Sometimes I feel as if people take advantage of the disadvantaged status, and I hope I am not one of them.

 

[doc05]

no. that's not disadvantaged.

 

[Goro]

Once you came back to the US, how were you opportunities to go to college???? ie, what was high school life like?

I'm wondering if this would qualify as disadvantaged. Sorry to add to the plethora of disadvantaged threads. Not trying to exaggerate a deplorable state but just telling it as is:

First four years of my life I grew up in a trailer home in a run-down neighborhood in SC as my parents attended seminary. We moved overseas to Central Asia in a pretty hostile environment - parents taught at a university pro bono. We were about four hours away from any proper hospital/clinic. Family income was about less than 25k per year on support. Siblings and I attended Russian school and were homeschooled, though we did not receive as proper an education as most in the US may have. We were overseas for ten years until trouble brewed. Dad and a few other Americans were arrested and we left Central Asia ten years after we arrived because of a violent revolution and genocide.

Would you advise me to check yes for the disadvantaged status? Sometimes I feel as if people take advantage of the disadvantaged status, and I hope I am not one of them.

 

[missionarydoctorhopeful]

Once you came back to the US, how were you opportunities to go to college???? ie, what was high school life like?

I came back to the US my senior year of hs right before college. It wasn't easy, but probably similar to any other student who went to public high school. College-wise, I was on government assistance the whole time.

I'm more asking about my upbringing - if that is a disadvantage?

 

[BigBoss]

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

 

[Kisangani]

The "disadvantaged applicant" question is honestly so subjective that it should be removed completely from the AAMC application.

 

[Goro]

Upbringing, no. College pathway, yes.

Disadvantaged box is not for the most pitiful sob story, nor a piss ing contest as to who had the worst life.

 

[Flashfan]

Government assistance I would count as a yes. The amount of people attending college on Pell grants are few and far between on SDN.

 

[Lost In Transcription]

Upbringing, no. College pathway, yes.

Disadvantaged box is not for the most pitiful sob story, nor a piss ing contest as to who had the worst life.

College pathway seems pretty closely related to the upbringing, no?

If you were below or near a poverty line, you basically automatically qualify for it. If you have experienced anything that puts you at an educational disadvantage compared to most applicants, then you should check it imo.

 

[Kisangani]

College pathway seems pretty closely related to the upbringing, no?

If you were below or near a poverty line, you basically automatically qualify for it. If you have experienced anything that puts you at an educational disadvantage compared to most applicants, then you should check it imo.

The issue is that because there is no exact definition as to what constitutes being disadvantaged, someone who is simply overly dramatic can call themselves disadvantaged even if they aren't.

 

[TryingToDoc]

Hi,

I am going to piggyback on this thread so as not to start another one. I've been struggling with this question myself and would enjoy a bit of feedback if at all possible.

I grew up in a rural area and when I was 12, my parents got divorced. My father was unemployed for over a year and was not really around at all. My brother and I had to live with my mother who worked 2-3 jobs at any given time earning $20k-$24k a year. She worked her hardest to keep us off of welfare though we had to have medicaid to pay for any health problems like my emergency appendectomy. I worked while in HS but it was for my own pocket money.

 

[Lost In Transcription]

The issue is that because there is no exact definition as to what constitutes being disadvantaged, someone who is simply overly dramatic can call themselves disadvantaged even if they aren't.

I totally agree. But this one sounds pretty legit. Just because some people can use the system (and will probably get caught during interviews) doesn't mean no one should apply.

Since it is so ambiguous, I would say do it? I would ask LizzyM though. She's pretty good about this.

 

[Kisangani]

I totally agree. But this one sounds pretty legit. Just because some people can use the system (and will probably get caught during interviews) doesn't mean no one should apply.

Since it is so ambiguous, I would say do it? I would ask LizzyM though. She's pretty good about this.

Perhaps it should be a strictly financial question then. Ex.....If you come from a family making less than (insert amount) than you can call yourself disadvantaged.

@TryingToDoc
People on this site would probably classify you as a disadvantaged applicant based on your financial background. I wouldn't expect them to care much about growing up in a rural area or having divorced parents. I shared my own background with others on this site (growing up in Zimbabwe, being forced to leave with essentially nothing, etc) and many of them thought I was an overprivilaged applicant simply because my parents now enjoy a comfortable financial status many years later after establishing themselves in the US (they are physicians). My point being is that (based on my experience with this forum and viewing the posts of other users with similar inquiries) that the disadvantaged question seems to only apply to your current situation.

 

[TryingToDoc]

Perhaps it should be a strictly financial question then. Ex.....If you come from a family making less than (insert amount) than you can call yourself disadvantaged.

@TryingToDoc
People on this site would probably classify you as a disadvantaged applicant based on your financial background. I wouldn't expect them to care much about growing up in a rural area or having divorced parents. I shared my own background with others on this site (growing up in Zimbabwe, being forced to leave with essentially nothing, etc) and many of them thought I was an overprivilaged applicant simply because my parents now enjoy a comfortable financial status many years later after establishing themselves in the US (they are physicians). My point being is that (based on my experience with this forum and viewing the posts of other users with similar inquiries) that the disadvantaged question seems to only apply to your current situation.

That's why this situation is so confusing to me. I am able to feed myself and put a roof over my head, though, to do so, it's put a large strain on my time. I've had to spend three years working in the morning before class, going to class, and then going back to work after class and working late to make up for missed time. All of this to make roughly, $25k a year. Would you consider this to be disadvantaged?

 

[Kisangani]

That's why this situation is so confusing to me. I am able to feed myself and put a roof over my head, though, to do so, it's put a large strain on my time. I've had to spend three years working in the morning before class, going to class, and then going back to work after class and working late to make up for missed time. All of this to make roughly, $25k a year. Would you consider this to be disadvantaged?

Yeah, I would and so would most people who comment on this forum. I'm not sure where the poverty line falls in this country, but I think 25k is either very close to it or under it.

 

[missionarydoctorhopeful]

Okay, thank you for your responses. I did not know disadvantaged status referred to college pathway, not upbringing. In that case, I received full grants all the way through undergraduate. Very grateful for that!

 

[LizzyM]

Hi,

I am going to piggyback on this thread so as not to start another one. I've been struggling with this question myself and would enjoy a bit of feedback if at all possible.

I grew up in a rural area and when I was 12, my parents got divorced. My father was unemployed for over a year and was not really around at all. My brother and I had to live with my mother who worked 2-3 jobs at any given time earning $20k-$24k a year. She worked her hardest to keep us off of welfare though we had to have medicaid to pay for any health problems like my emergency appendectomy. I worked while in HS but it was for my own pocket money. I had to borrow to go to school but ended up with Pell Grants and FSEOG grants (https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/grants-scholarships/fseog, for extreme financial needs). I managed to graduate with two degrees. Went abroad and did government volunteer service, Peace Corps. I'm in a really rural and poor area working right now making ~$25K a year depending on how much overtime I get. I completely support myself while paying student loans, health insurance, etc. I'm working anywhere between 50-60 hours a week. I have to work weekends and late nights to work around finishing my pre-reqs at a local community college over the last few years.

So, disadvantaged?

disadvantage covers the period from 0-18 so some of the material in your essay needs to go. There is a section to complete about how you paid for college. There is a section for volunteer and employment.

You end up with:

I grew up in a rural area and when I was 12, my parents divorced. My father was unemployed for over a year and was unavailable for financial or emotional support. My brother and I lived with my mother. She worked 2-3 jobs at any given time and earned $20,000-$24,000 per year. She worked hard to keep us off of welfare though we qualified for Medicaid which covered health problems such as my emergency appendectomy.