Diversity and disadvantaged students.

[Jyggaswoop]

I know diversity is a core value of many dental schools, and am wondering how schools approach this during the application process. As an asian, I feel I am i have to do everything perfectly; I must apply early, get good shadowing etc, because a minority with the same/lower stats might get in just because he is a minority. I might sound ignorant right now, but I honestly want to know how this works.

I know schools such as Howard and Meharry accept a lot of black applicants with very poor scores relative to other schools and they make this very clear which is okay.

A theory i have is they look at disadvantaged status rather than ethnicity, and since disadvatanged folk often are minorities they are likely to accept them if they have good scores etc. Which honestly I have no problem with if they are truly disadvantaged. But I definetly have a problem with it if diversity is based on ethnicity and say an Asian who applied later with better stats doesn't get in but a minority with lower stats gets in but applied during the same time etc.

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[aj30]

It's based on ethnicity, plain and simple, though I'm not sure how much weight schools really give it. There are plenty of disadvantaged white folks in America, and most schools don't give 2 hoots about them. A bunch of Asians recently sued Harvard over this issue. Regardless of the outcome, it's textbook racism, though of a politically correct form.

As to your comment about being "ignorant"-as one famous political commentator once said, "you have to be educated to be this stupid". You having to work harder because of your race is racism, and racism is wrong. It's that simple. Only ivory tower academics can convince themselves otherwise.

 

[chasing5ym]

It's not about socioeconomic status, it's about representation in health. The dental school demographics don't reflect the nation's population. Thus, URMs are in high demand to disrupt that discrepancy.

 

[chasing5ym]

It's not about socioeconomic status, it's about representation in health. The dental school demographics don't reflect the nation's population. Thus, URMs are in high demand to disrupt that discrepancy.

Anyway, does this really affect you? A URM isn't going to steal your spot, because it's no ones spot to begin with. No ones entitled to a spot and people earn them through different strengths-- stats or ECs or life experiences etc. I've seen threads like this before, and they can get pretty ugly. If you put in the work, something good is going to happen. Good luck to everyone!

 

[wengerout]

I know diversity is a core value of many dental schools, and am wondering how schools approach this during the application process. As an asian, I feel I am i have to do everything perfectly; I must apply early, get good shadowing etc, because a minority with the same/lower stats might get in just because he is a minority. I might sound ignorant right now, but I honestly want to know how this works.

I know schools such as Howard and Meharry accept a lot of black applicants with very poor scores relative to other schools and they make this very clear which is okay.

A theory i have is they look at disadvantaged status rather than ethnicity, and since disadvatanged folk often are minorities they are likely to accept them if they have good scores etc. Which honestly I have no problem with if they are truly disadvantaged. But I definetly have a problem with it if diversity is based on ethnicity and say an Asian who applied later with better stats doesn't get in but a minority with lower stats gets in but applied during the same time etc.

1. Stats aren't the end all be all to get in. While they are a large component to being accepted, you've got another thing coming if you think a high GPA + a high DAT = auto admission. You need to bring much more to the table.

2. In all reality, at most schools there aren't enough black people applying to realistically hurt your chances. I interviewed at over 18% of the dental schools in the US (waste of money trust me) and at half they had 1-3 black people per class tops. Even at the schools who "care" about diversity, the numbers of URM that matriculate don't really represent the same level of tangible impact that these type of post warrant.

I'm not here to say whether URM preferences are right or wrong, but I can almost assure you that if you don't get in it's going to be because of what you were missing, and not because another person who happened to be URM "stole" your seat.


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[yaya97]

"Affirmative Action"-The Myth Behind the Impact on ds Admission.

Here you go. It's a nice read.


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[PredentalPrincess]

1. Stats aren't the end all be all to get in. While they are a large component to being accepted, you've got another thing coming if you think a high GPA + a high DAT = auto admission. You need to bring much more to the table.

2. In all reality, at most schools there aren't enough black people applying to realistically hurt your chances. I interviewed at over 18% of the dental schools in the US (waste of money trust me) and at half they had 1-3 black people per class tops. Even at the schools who "care" about diversity, the numbers of URM that matriculate don't really represent the same level of tangible impact that these type of post warrant.

I'm not here to say whether URM preferences are right or wrong, but I can almost assure you that if you don't get in it's going to be because of what you were missing, and not because another person who happened to be URM "stole" your seat.


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This. Read over what wengerout said many times. Not trying to be mean but seriously, everyone works hard with what they're given and schools will respect you for that. Stop looking in other people's yards and water yours. You'll be fine.


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[Jyggaswoop]

Thanks everyone for your input and information.

 

[Medin2017]

I know diversity is a core value of many dental schools, and am wondering how schools approach this during the application process. As an asian, I feel I am i have to do everything perfectly; I must apply early, get good shadowing etc, because a minority with the same/lower stats might get in just because he is a minority. I might sound ignorant right now, but I honestly want to know how this works.

I know schools such as Howard and Meharry accept a lot of black applicants with very poor scores relative to other schools and they make this very clear which is okay.

A theory i have is they look at disadvantaged status rather than ethnicity, and since disadvatanged folk often are minorities they are likely to accept them if they have good scores etc. Which honestly I have no problem with if they are truly disadvantaged. But I definetly have a problem with it if diversity is based on ethnicity and say an Asian who applied later with better stats doesn't get in but a minority with lower stats gets in but applied during the same time etc.

Well be glad you're not applying to medicine then. It's a lot worse over there if you're white than in dentistry.

 

[setdoc7]

Dental schools clearly do not seek diversity in their classes. Numerous sections have been attended at the National ADEA conferences to address diversity issues with no clear cut policy to ever come out of these sometimes lively discussions. Let's face the facts, large universities actively recruit students they are interested in. If they were interested in having a diverse D school class, they would go out and get one. After all, they have no issue recruiting "ball players". Of course one would like to argue the winning teams put alumni dollars in the coffers as well as big TV money, but that aside, there does not seem to be any real movement towards affirmative action in D schools (Meharry and Howard are HBSU. UPR admits from its own home as do most state schools). I would be more concerned with legacy and faculty related applicants. The very few URM seats go to deserving individuals.

 

[HatInTheCat]

It's based on ethnicity, plain and simple, though I'm not sure how much weight schools really give it. There are plenty of disadvantaged white folks in America, and most schools don't give 2 hoots about them. A bunch of Asians recently sued Harvard over this issue. Regardless of the outcome, it's textbook racism, though of a politically correct form.

As to your comment about being "ignorant"-as one famous political commentator once said, "you have to be educated to be this stupid". You having to work harder because of your race is racism, and racism is wrong. It's that simple. Only ivory tower academics can convince themselves otherwise.

Then what does one say about legacy applicants? There are many of those who outweigh the negligible 10% of all dental school applicants who self identify as "URM", per the OP.

I'm not too confident that the number of applicants who identify as URM are enough to overshadow the "disadvantaged white folks" you mention in your post either. If they did, then all 1,100 or so applicants would matriculate in, which would be a stark increase over the 500-600 that do every year.

In a nutshell, the number of applicants increase yearly, as most people see healthcare as a way into high income, but it's nefarious to say schools focus on race as a deciding factor of who's in or out. I mean, look at the ADEA guide--some schools list as many as 400 Asian applicants to a meager 100 for African American and Hispanic students combined!

And a side note: schools like Howard and Meharry take chances on some applicants who may have lower-than-average numbers because they know some of the applicants aren't a) in social or cultural positions to be mentored into the profession, so b) these schools build a culture to foster that type of professional acumen.






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[HatInTheCat]

If they were interested in having a diverse D school class, they would go out and get one. After all, they have no issue recruiting "ball players".

Ditto to this!


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[Life of Pablo]

Diversity goes beyond being disadvantaged or being a minority. It's about what makes you uniquely you. People tend to think diversity strictly pertains to socioeconomic background and race/ethnicity - it doesn't. You have to be able to present yourself to admissions committees in a way that will make them see how you are diverse in your own way, regardless of whether you are rich, poor, asian, white etc. It's all about selling yourself.

 

[D1Bound]

I know diversity is a core value of many dental schools, and am wondering how schools approach this during the application process. As an asian, I feel I am i have to do everything perfectly; I must apply early, get good shadowing etc, because a minority with the same/lower stats might get in just because he is a minority. I might sound ignorant right now, but I honestly want to know how this works.

I know schools such as Howard and Meharry accept a lot of black applicants with very poor scores relative to other schools and they make this very clear which is okay.

A theory i have is they look at disadvantaged status rather than ethnicity, and since disadvatanged folk often are minorities they are likely to accept them if they have good scores etc. Which honestly I have no problem with if they are truly disadvantaged. But I definetly have a problem with it if diversity is based on ethnicity and say an Asian who applied later with better stats doesn't get in but a minority with lower stats gets in but applied during the same time etc.

This has been settled by the supreme court and for the most part I think has been eliminated. I learned about this in my poli sci class last semester. This type of racism still happens, however, I don't think it's prevalent enough for one to lose sleep over. Do your absolute best and be the greatest applicant that you can possibly be. After that, put it in God's hands or what ever higher authority that you believe in. Best of luck to you I know that'll do fantastic!