Do I qualify for disadvantage status?

[hrana6320]

---

Members don't see this ad.

I was just wondering if I qualify. I was born in India and lived there for 8 years and then moved to the US (been here for 12+ years). English was not my first language and because of that I had to take ESL for several years. Also, my family is Sikh, which means my father wears a turban. Many time I have been discriminated for being associated with him. Especially when we first arrived to America in 2002. Otherwise, my father has a bachelors and a few certificates that collectively are considered a master and my mother is a high school grad. I haven't had to work and my father makes good money. DO you think I qualify?

 

[samac]

Did your living arrangements cause you to not do well in college? Did you go to a poor school with little college prep?
If you answer no to these questions then I wouldn't say you do.

 

[LizzyM]

I was just wondering if I qualify. I was born in India and lived there for 8 years and then moved to the US (been here for 12+ years). English was not my first language and because of that I had to take ESL for several years. Also, my family is Sikh, which means my father wears a turban. Many time I have been discriminated for being associated with him. Especially when we first arrived to America in 2002. Otherwise, my father has a bachelors and a few certificates that collectively are considered a master and my mother is a high school grad. I haven't had to work and my father makes good money. DO you think I qualify?

It sounds more like the American dream and a nearly universal American immigrant experience for more than 150 years than "disadvantage". It will not give you any advantage in admissions and could hurt you if adcoms think that you are whining.

 

[johnnytest]

I never realized how disadvantaged I was from an educational aspect until I started teaching kids whose parents were very well off. The kids (most who go to magnet schools) I teach are between the ages of 8-12 and I teach them advanced things such as computer programming, how to make apps with their phones, and I do physics/chemistry experiments with them. Now, those lessons are expensive and it's something only the rich can afford. Heck, I hadn't learned about programming or physics until I entered undergrad but these kids are learning it at such a young age. But that's the kind of things other applicants may have grown up with and I think the term disadvantage is referring to situations or circumstances in your life that prevented you from receiving the same type of education or resources as others. For me, I felt I was disadvantaged because growing up I lived (and still do) in an community with limited resources. I went to public schools that did not have enough money to offer much. The after-school activities we had were very limited compared to the things other kids are able to do. My high school curriculum was very lackluster. I only had 1 AP course in high school, no Calculus, no physics, etc. I lacked mentors in high school. No one in my immediate family is a physician and my high school did not do much to expose us to the realities of medicine. Furthermore, my dad being the sole breadwinner in the family had to feed a family of 4 as well as take care of his medical bills due to surgery. Growing up we simply did not have money to participate/experience in all the things other kids are able to. My parents being immigrants were trying to learn English themselves and so with the limited income we had being proactive about education is not something my parents simply could afford or even knew about. They relied on what the public schools would give us. Once I attended college, things got better and hence I did not feel that disadvantaged during my undergrad times. A part of that was because I was more mature and took the responsibility to seek out opportunities. But, I felt I could have been better prepared for college if I was not disadvantaged. Anyway that's my personal example and I hope it helps you and others too.

There's always going to be someone who had it better or worse than you but there is a definitely a distinction between the different classes. I have read a couple of disadvantage essays where the applicant's parent passed away early on and that led to disarray in their life/family and hence affected their school performance. I am definitely blessed that growing up I had a roof over my head whereas others didn't but in the end everything is relative and I just felt strongly about filling out that section. But, as LizzyM said there are very few people who even fill out this section. Most accepted students are from families who are well off and I truly realized that when I attended my revisit weekend. I'm just grateful to have an acceptance and an underdog story.

 

[teambert]

@johnnytest

There's a big difference between attending magnet schools and run of the mill public schools, I agree. Parents with the means and desire can greatly improve the chances their children have. And kudos to them, I'd hope all children would have such advantages. That being said, I don't know that if I'd call myself disadvantaged if I went to average or somewhat below average public schools. Disadvantaged relative to other applicants, who are typically better off than the average American? Somewhat. Disadvantaged relative to average Americans? Not really.

I wondered last year whether I put something about being disadvantaged on my app. I did, I'd been homeless for a couple years and that's something that made my path harder.

I think at the end of the day most people know if they're disadvantaged or not. If you can write a sentence that says it, you probably are. If you have to compose an essay to persuade people why they shouldn't disagree with your sentence, you're probably not. This isn't directed at any one person, but I think it's a fair rule of thumb.

And most of this is silly since the boost it gives your application is negligible. I don't think it played any part in where I got in (or didn't).

 

[NickNaylor]

Doesn't strike me as something that should be included specifically as a disadvantage but should be included in your app if you feel like those experiences have provided you with insights that you think would be valuable or if it steered you in the direction of becoming a physician.

 

[johnnytest]

@johnnytest

There's a big difference between attending magnet schools and run of the mill public schools, I agree. Parents with the means and desire can greatly improve the chances their children have. And kudos to them, I'd hope all children would have such advantages. That being said, I don't know that if I'd call myself disadvantaged if I went to average or somewhat below average public schools. Disadvantaged relative to other applicants, who are typically better off than the average American? Somewhat. Disadvantaged relative to average Americans? Not really.

I wondered last year whether I put something about being disadvantaged on my app. I did, I'd been homeless for a couple years and that's something that made my path harder.

I think at the end of the day most people know if they're disadvantaged or not. If you can write a sentence that says it, you probably are. If you have to compose an essay to persuade people why they shouldn't disagree with your sentence, you're probably not. This isn't directed at any one person, but I think it's a fair rule of thumb.

And most of this is silly since the boost it gives your application is negligible. I don't think it played any part in where I got in (or didn't).

I agree but the average American does not become a physician. Upon reflection, I just felt for medical school, I was not in the same situation as others. Granted, my situation may be like the general applicant but I guess I was thinking more towards how I compared to the accepted applicant, which is my way of thinking after going through this whole process. I remember deciding to write that section without much hesitation. Maybe since I'm from NYC where the seats are being fought for by some of the most competitive applicants, my viewpoint is a little distorted.

But yeah, who knows how much it affected my outcome.

 

[Affiche]

moved.

 

[deleted393595]

I was just wondering if I qualify. I was born in India and lived there for 8 years and then moved to the US (been here for 12+ years). English was not my first language and because of that I had to take ESL for several years. Also, my family is Sikh, which means my father wears a turban. Many time I have been discriminated for being associated with him. Especially when we first arrived to America in 2002. Otherwise, my father has a bachelors and a few certificates that collectively are considered a master and my mother is a high school grad. I haven't had to work and my father makes good money. DO you think I qualify?

If it didn't impact your academics, it's not a disadvantage.

 

[mehc012]

If it didn't impact your academics, it's not a disadvantage.

There are many ways in which growing up low SE or underserved can put you at a disadvantage in pursuing medicine other than directly hindering your academic capabilities. There's lack of exposure to the field, the difficulty of overcoming the cultural expectations about what careers are available to you and your peers, the culture shock and feelings of being an outsider when you start down a path primarily populated by the very privileged, etc.

Whether those are appropriate for the disadvantaged essay is another question...but it seems to me that if coming from a medically underserved area is considered a disadvantage, this classification is intended to extend beyond pure academic difficulties. I don't think ever heard someone argue "well, I really struggled in high school because it could take over a month to get a doctor's appointment."