Disadvantaged?

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I definitely think the beginning stages of your life would be considered disadvantaged, but as for the economic turmoil and having the car and house repossess, well that's pretty common now adays for Americans. I would just leave that out, because you're childhood experiences definitely shaped who you are ( learning abilities etc...) and you were in a dangerous environment.
 
You have a interesting/tragic upbringing, but the economic realities you enjoyed/enjoying in the US hardly qualifies you as "disadvantaged".
 
Cut the slack. From highschool on you had a nice living. Forget the crap before it. It feels like you're just wailing about your early childhood. Honestly, no offense, but I got bored reading 75% of what you wrote there. Your tough times can be summed up in one sentence. But I wouldn't even do that either, just because nothing of it made a lasting impact on your ability to go to dental school. ( 'Things were nice since highschool'.)
And the thing about your dad's business and car? Well, sorry to hear that, but again, that's not the type of hardships adcoms care to hear about in this section. Think about it. Your app should focus on giving reasons to pick you, not why they should mail you a box of Kleenex.

It's better to accent the good, rather than dwell on the bads. That said, you have some enviable accolades that has lots of potential to shine.
 
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Dude, you focused too much on the bad things and not enough on how this is making you a better person... the economic situation is not a bad thing to mention because there is a lot of us who do go through that problem. regardless, i think that its too much of a sad story and not enough of how this has helped you become better suited to do what you want to do...
 
This is what i was gonna write in the application to the question

"Provide any additional information about your background that can help clarify your disadvantaged student status"

This is not my personal statement where it needs to relate to how it made me a better candidate for dental school right?

I think I had through go through all that for about 10 years. I have been in the US for 5 years now so I think most of my life was spent in my own country where all of this happened so I cannot just forget it and move on and talk about the happy times, although I try to now mostly.

I still have family back there who are still going through all of it and they are not fortunate enough to just leave they can't.


Thank you for your comments Ill edit out the foreclosure parts but I think ill keep the stuff in the first 15 years of my life. I am 20 now.
 
coffinhaed said:
"Provide any additional information about your background that can help clarify your disadvantaged student status"
Click to expand...

About as disadvantaged as a person with a blue left eye and a brown right eye.
 
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Don't grasp for straws when trying to get into a school. If you truly believe you're disadvantaged, then put down your justification. If you just really want to get into a school and want to play the disadvantaged card, resist the temptation. It's poor taste.

When people refer to being disadvantaged, they usually mean having limited access to resources. Being poor could be having limited resources, but many times it's not because the public library is there. Being in a war-like environment could be being disadvantaged, but it isn't disadvantaged if there's a library nearby providing you with the educational resources you need. You be the adult on this one. Are you disadvantaged? or are you looking for an easier way to get into school?

If you want to include your story, then summarize it in a paragraph - but no more than 2 paragraps - in your PS. If you can find an angle to weave it into your entire PS, then it could make for a more interesting read.
 
YEah thats what I was thinking. Because i consider myself really fortunate than disadvantaged. The thing kept asking about my childhood before so I mentioned it . And that is why i came on the forums to get other opinions.

I think ill just talk about it in the PS and leave disadvantaged alone, I think i would be able to get in without that HOPEFULLY


Thanks everyone!
 
Which country was this? It better not be like France or something...:laugh:

If you are an under-represented minority then yes, put yourself down as disadvantaged because you probably came from a country that actually made it tougher on you to succeed.
 
im from PAkistan, every pakistani person I know is in med school or dental but most of them are from over here. Born n raised im not sure if im an under rep minority.
 
coffinhaed said:
im from PAkistan, every pakistani person I know is in med school or dental but most of them are from over here. Born n raised im not sure if im an under rep minority.
Click to expand...

Oh well, you are no where near under-represented. You are "white" and will be treated so.

I wouldn't even bother with the disadvantaged then in that case, but go ahead if it makes you feel comfortable. This is more of a personal statement thing. To be disadvantaged is to have a lower gpa or DAT or less EC's because something was hurting you. Like others said, nothing is really hurting you now.
good luck buddy 👍
 
PS it is 😀.

Thank you and good luck to you as well !
 
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well you can make a case for the earlier years for this to be included in disadvantaged, but good highschool + 3000 squarefoot house + father having good job doesn't really equate to disadvantaged when you've had it for 4+ years now. It's like if Oprah listed herself as disadvantaged if she applied to dental school this point in her life, even though her upbringing was horrible. After a certain point, you can't play the disadvantaged card anymore, although I'm not sure if you've passed that point or not. If you don't think you have, then put it.

What I WOULDN'T do is put this in your personal statement. I only say this becuase there was nothing in there that explained what you learned from this experience, or how it contributed to you as a person/ you as a dentist.
 
americanpierg said:
well you can make a case for the earlier years for this to be included in disadvantaged, but good highschool + 3000 squarefoot house + father having good job doesn't really equate to disadvantaged when you've had it for 4+ years now. It's like if Oprah listed herself as disadvantaged if she applied to dental school this point in her life, even though her upbringing was horrible. After a certain point, you can't play the disadvantaged card anymore, although I'm not sure if you've passed that point or not. If you don't think you have, then put it.

What I WOULDN'T do is put this in your personal statement. I only say this becuase there was nothing in there that explained what you learned from this experience, or how it contributed to you as a person/ you as a dentist.
Click to expand...

How do you know he didn't learn from this? What he wrote was for why he is disadvantaged, not what he learned from it.
So, it is a GREAT PS topic to help you stand out.
 
doc3232 said:
How do you know he didn't learn from this? What he wrote was for why he is disadvantaged, not what he learned from it.
So, it is a GREAT PS topic to help you stand out.
Click to expand...

Becuase he stated, "That is what I have is it too long I was planning on adding this to my Personal statement too if I put it in this section would it look like im constantly complaining about where I come from?"

And what he currently has right now shows no relation of that experience to his growth as a person. Obviously if he elaborated upon that, then he could put that in his PS. The way he has it right now does not belong in a PS.
 
doc3232 said:
Oh well, you are no where near under-represented. You are "white" and will be treated so.

I wouldn't even bother with the disadvantaged then in that case, but go ahead if it makes you feel comfortable. This is more of a personal statement thing. To be disadvantaged is to have a lower gpa or DAT or less EC's because something was hurting you. Like others said, nothing is really hurting you now.
good luck buddy 👍
Click to expand...

Disadvantaged has no relation to GPA or DAT scores. There may be correlation, and some people with low scores may play the disadvantaged card to gain an edge, but because youre disadvantaged does not mean you will have lower scores. Some disadvantaged individuals may have 4.0s, and their disadvantaged status may show adcoms at Harvard what theyve overcome and give them that extra push to get accepted when they might have been rejected for being "normal."


Being disadvantaged does not mean that you have to be sufferring at this point in, it just means there was something detrimental in your upbringing that negatively affected your path towards becoming a dentist. What you have to do, is not just say that this and that happened, but WHY that was detrimental to you and therefore through that you will be explaining WHY you feel you are disadvantaged. Anyone can say they grew up poor or whatnot. What they are looking for when they said "clarify" and which doc toothache pointed out, is that you have to explain and elaborate on why growing up poor made you disadvantaged or negatively affected your academic goals. Hope you understand this OP.
 
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americanpierg said:
Disadvantaged has no relation to GPA or DAT scores. There may be correlation, and some people with low scores may play the disadvantaged card to gain an edge, but because youre disadvantaged does not mean you will have low scores. Some disadvantaged individuals may have 4.0s, and their disadvantaged status may show adcoms at Harvard what theyve overcome and give them that extra push to get accepted when they might have been rejected for being "normal."


Being disadvantaged does not mean that you have to be sufferring at this point in, it just means there was something detrimental in your upbringing that negatively affected your path towards becoming a dentist. What you have to do, is not just say that this and that happened, but WHY that was detrimental to you and therefore through that you will be explaining WHY you feel you are disadvantaged. Anyone can say they grew up poor or whatnot. What they are looking for when they said "clarify" and which doc toothache pointed out, is that you have to explain and elaborate on why growing up poor made you disadvantaged. Hope you understand this OP.
Click to expand...

What dental school do you go to if you don't mind me asking?
 
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