Does Afr. Amer. change things

[driven]

Hey guys,

I was reading all this stuff on being URM and stuff, but in all seriousness, does being Afr. Amer. really increase your chances, and if yes, by how much. I mean most schools say they don't even read that. How much is that true?

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[Jalby]

Yup. By about 2.4

 

[Mystique]

Yes, it does change things. It works in your favor. Med schools want more of you in their classes, so they go that extra step to recruit you.

 

[lola]

it helps you. nobody can say for sure by how much. if you're a horrible applicant, it probably won't help much. if you're a fair applicant, it will help some. if you're a good applicant, it might help you quite a bit.
there will always be african americans who had decent stats but didn't get in for some reason. on average, this is less likely to happen for african americans than whites, asians, etc...

 

[souljah1]

there is an affirmative action thread floating around in the preallopathic forum (i saw it on the 28th or 29th, i think) and i posted some info on ucsf's student breakdown. at ucsf, african americans and mexican americans had a higher acceptance percentage and a lower avg.gpa/mcat than their asian and caucasian counterparts. if you want to see the specifics - dig up the thread. it is pretty interesting.

caveat - many people think that if you are african american and have good stats - you are in ..i wouldn't bet on your ethnicity. i think that strong candidates (well rounded with a strong overall application) who happen to be african american are very sought after. i don't think it is as simple as, 'hey, she is african american. she's in'.