Disadvantaged?

[nieth]

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I am on the wait-list at U of Arizona medical school for this next year but I am assuming I wont get in so I am working on next cycle. I received some advice that I should apply as disadvantaged.

My family's income was above $75k most of my life but in college my parents got a divorce and my father's company went bankrupt. I had to pay for college myself and worked about 30 hours a week to do so.

My mother became an alcoholic and I wanted to shield my sister who was developmentally challenged as best I could. All these responsibilities overwhelmed me and I failed several classes once semester then dropped out a year later to join the Coast Guard so I could support myself and do some good while I was at it. I turned my grades around and decided to be a doctor.

I would say I had a situation that put me at a disadvantage compared to many but its not like I grew up living in poverty or in a war zone. My life was pretty much typical of a suburban kid though before all that happened.

P.S. My sister is doing great now and my mom is in AA so that is under-control now. But my dad is still dealing with his companies bankruptcy several years later.

 

[LifeTake2]

Search here or the AAMC site for guidelines on disadvantaged status.

I'm not going to do it for you, they are pretty clear and you have to decide if you fit.

But honestly, you grew up upper middle class and life fell apart as an adult. That sucks but I'm not sure if it fits the intent of this classification. Again, read the guidelines from AAMC and decide if you 1) you feel you meet what they lay out and 2) can you explain/defend your decision to an Adcom member?

 

[nieth]

Search here or the AAMC site for guidelines on disadvantaged status.

I'm not going to do it for you, they are pretty clear and you have to decide if you fit.

But honestly, you grew up upper middle class and life fell apart as an adult. That sucks but I'm not sure if it fits the intent of this classification. Again, read the guidelines from AAMC and decide if you 1) you feel you meet what they lay out and 2) can you explain/defend your decision to an Adcom member?

Thank you LifeTake2, I have read the AAMC guidelines several times and find them extremely vague. By this definition it doesn't sound like you would be considered disadvantaged even if you got shot in the head your freshman year of college...

Do you wish to be considered a disadvantaged applicant by any of your designated medical schools that may consider such factors (social, economic or educational)?

The following definitions/questions may help you answer the questions on this page:

Underserved: Do you believe, based on your own experiences or the experiences of family and friends, that the area in which you grew up was adequately served by the available health care professionals? Were there enough physicians, nurses, hospitals, clinics, and other health care service providers?

Immediate Family: The Federal Government broadly defines "immediate family" as "spouse, parent, child, sibling, mother or father-in-law, son or daughter-in-law, or sister or brother-in-law, including step and adoptive relationships."

State and Federal Assistance Programs: These programs are specifically defined as "Means-Tested Programs" under which the individual, family, or household income and assets must be below specified thresholds. The sponsoring agencies then provide cash and non-cash assistance to eligible individuals, families, or households. Such programs include welfare benefit programs (federal, state, and local) Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC or ADC); unemployment compensation; General Assistance (GA); food stamps; Supplemental Security Income (SSI); Medicaid; housing assistance; or other federal, state, or local financial assistance programs.

 

[mafunk]

I don't think you qualify as disadvantaged. But you can use your story in the section about overcoming obstacles.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

I agree with mafunk. You are not disadvantaged. It CLEARLY states in the guidelines that "Disadvantaged status" is childhood, the majority of your life 0-18. It doesn't count if at 18 your upper-middle class life stopped existing. This is a perfect topic to use for 'overcoming an obstacle' or even explaining some of the grades you had in college. Unfortunately, it is not disadvantaged... It also says that in order to qualify your family needed to have been on some income-regulated program, food stamps, medicaid, welfare, etc... and again 0-18.

 

[hopefuldoc97239]

I agree...

Bad things happen to everyone at some point in their life. Therefore, having something bad happen to you (like bankruptcy) is not a disadvantage in itself. It's just something that sucked.

If you made it through most of your life in a middle-class family then you had all the tools and social support growing up that you should need to overcome adversity as an adult. Congratulations, it sounds like you did overcome adversity.

 

[TriagePreMed]

I would caution you from applying disadvantaged. You may come off as some spoiled rich kid that doesn't even understand the plague of other people. You've been subject to something bad in your adulthood, but it clearly is nowhere near the definition of disadvantaged.

 

[n3xa]

I don't think you qualify as disadvantaged. But you can use your story in the section about overcoming obstacles.

Yeah and there are a ton of schools that have that prompt in their secondary essays.. not that I actually have already started thumbing through them or anything.

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

Yeah and there are a ton of schools that have that prompt in their secondary essays.. not that I actually have already started thumbing through them or anything.

Is it wrong that I've had them since last year saved on my flash drive??? 😱 hehe...

 

[Eik Ooc]

Conversely...I spent age 0 to 18 in going-to-bed-hungry poverty. As a non-traditional adult applicant, however, I'm now comfortably upper middle-class. It feels almost dishonest to apply disadvantaged at this point in my life; but AMCAS instructions imply that they examine disadvantaged status within the context of early academic impediments. The AMCAS application includes so very many questions in this section about childhood that I think self-selection is almost irrelevant.

 

[nieth]

Ok everyone thank you for the advice. I honestly agreed with everyone here before I even posted the question.

The advice came from a faculty member on a medical school's admission comity and he almost had me convinced myself that I was disadvantaged. Just, had to check with you all to make sure I was just as spoiled as the rest of us!

 

[mafunk]

I would caution you from applying disadvantaged. You may come off as some spoiled rich kid that doesn't even understand the plague of other people. .

👍 QFT

 

[mafunk]

Conversely...I spent age 0 to 18 in going-to-bed-hungry poverty. As a non-traditional adult applicant, however, I'm now comfortably upper middle-class. It feels almost dishonest to apply disadvantaged at this point in my life;

I feel you. I'm in the same boat. I was born to a Mexican migrant worker and a poor teenage immigrant. Most of my childhood we were poor or very working class in a poor (gang) neighborhood. Of course i didn't know I was poor, it was just the way it was.

BUT... now I'm upper middle class. So I'm very conflicted. As I type this poolside at an expensive resort I wonder if it is legit to claim disadvantaged. Yet, I grew up in the 'barrio' and definitely overcame obstacles. I was even an aspiring 'chola' at one time (wasn't too successful at it). It's a tough call. What did you decide to do?

 

[Prncssbuttercup]

If you fit the description, use it to your advantage, describe your childhood and what you went without... I gave up because I'm only applying to two MD schools and it's not worth the hassle...

 

[kitty1234]

Do you think i can apply as an disadvantage student? Does it increase ones chances to get accepted?
1) I went through the worst man made nuclear disaster in 1986, and as the result lost half of my family including my mother.
2) I was raised by one parent in a poor country with hard political and economic situation.
3) Never received any government help and was forced to work hard to make money to pay for my food and school supplies.
4) At the age of 19 I came to the US looking for an opportunity for a better life. I have spend last 8 years in this country cleaning houses to pay for my school. I have never used any US governmental help. (Also, English is my second language.)

 

[QofQuimica]

Do you think i can apply as an disadvantage student? Does it increase ones chances to get accepted?
1) I went through the worst man made nuclear disaster in 1986, and as the result lost half of my family including my mother.
2) I was raised by one parent in a poor country with hard political and economic situation.
3) Never received any government help and was forced to work hard to make money to pay for my food and school supplies.
4) At the age of 19 I came to the US looking for an opportunity for a better life. I have spend last 8 years in this country cleaning houses to pay for my school. I have never used any US governmental help. (Also, English is my second language.)

Yes, I think it is reasonable for you to apply as disadvantaged. As for how it will affect your app, it depends. The point of claiming disadvantaged status is to make this information available to the medical schools so that they can understand the full context of your app. Each school's adcom will then decide how they want to use it. Some may consider it heavily, while others may not consider it at all.

 

[kitty1234]

Thanks.

 

[LifeTake2]

Do you think i can apply as an disadvantage student? Does it increase ones chances to get accepted?
1) I went through the worst man made nuclear disaster in 1986, and as the result lost half of my family including my mother.
2) I was raised by one parent in a poor country with hard political and economic situation.
3) Never received any government help and was forced to work hard to make money to pay for my food and school supplies.
4) At the age of 19 I came to the US looking for an opportunity for a better life. I have spend last 8 years in this country cleaning houses to pay for my school. I have never used any US governmental help. (Also, English is my second language.)

Kitty, first of all I want to tip my hat to anyone that survived and has fought to hard to overcome.

That said, while I suspect it was for some level of anonymity, when you write your actual application don't elude to what you have experienced. While Adcoms SHOULD know/remember, most people on this site weren't even alive when Chernobyl occurred. For those who were, it is not something quickly forgotten so use it to your advantage, the name screams disadvantaged just by uttering it.

Good luck!

 

[kitty1234]

Thanks for your advise.

 

[flodhi1]

I agree with mafunk. You are not disadvantaged. It CLEARLY states in the guidelines that "Disadvantaged status" is childhood, the majority of your life 0-18. It doesn't count if at 18 your upper-middle class life stopped existing. This is a perfect topic to use for 'overcoming an obstacle' or even explaining some of the grades you had in college. Unfortunately, it is not disadvantaged... It also says that in order to qualify your family needed to have been on some income-regulated program, food stamps, medicaid, welfare, etc... and again 0-18.

👍