Skin color isn't an experience or accomplishment, it is a phenotype. If you would question the academic prowess of a white kid with a 3.55/30 you should apply that standard consistently. But you don't. And worse, AdCom members do intellectual gymnastics to deny the double standard.
They deny that they admit kids for skin color alone, yet that is what they do. I don't expect a real answer.
It takes an impressive wearing of blinders to the reality of the American experience to not recognize that said phenotype creates its own set of experiences, for better or worse.
But here's the thing, you're not looking at the big picture. How did these so called "mediocre minds" come about? Academic performance in the US in many cases is still segregated along racial lines. But does that mean that URM as a whole are somehow plagued by this "mediocre mind" phenomenon you speak of? Is that something you can say, that their academic performance is somehow inherent and didnt have anything to do with the resources they had/didn't have access to, or the kinds of prejudiced expectations from society about them? Not having money is only one part of the problem. At the point of the SAT or the MCAT the damage was already done, because of inequity in school systems, social stability, nutrition and health, etc. It's not a problem of throwing money at "mediocre minds." It's a system that never supported their full potential. Now, I see that you've overcome a great deal of financial challenges to get to where you are, and that shouldn't be discredited, but at the same time, not everyone is afforded the opportunity to give this a shot. Although a lot of things can be overcome even if you don't have money, it really does put extra physical and psychological stressor on that person and puts them at a disadvantage to those who don't have to worry about finances.
This is actually a problem for me. People assume that by wanting a career in medicine that I am playing into Asian stereotypes and being facetious about my true passion (like, you don't know my life!) I am also often pegged as a helicopter-parented robot.
I suppose for some reason I just haven't felt those stressors as acutely as everyone else who was responsible for financing their education. The fact that I pay rent with loans instead of parents really doesn't affect my daily life, but if someone else wants to say it gives them a disadvantageous stressor that impacts their grades or some such...who am I to judge
I can appreciate a healthy amount of humility. But I think we both know why you haven't felt the same pressures as the rest of us mr. near-80 LizzyM score
But I didn't know how MD-competative I would be until Junior year, I wasn't losing sleep over taking some subsidized loans as a freshman or sophomore. And it's above 80
I can appreciate a healthy amount of humility. But I think we both know why you haven't felt the same pressures as the rest of us mr. near-80 LizzyM score
Go read some literature. The SAT is extremely resistant to big study improvement. You can tell yourself you aren't at an Ivy because you didn't have money for Princeton Review, but the data shows that's a load of nonsense. There are plenty of academic services that exist because they make people feel better, not because they actually help you more than studying on your own can.
So Because a minority of minorities experience discrimination in the justice system (which is a debatable claim, at best), we must give the entire demographic a leg up in academia? That. Makes. No. Sense.
I mean it does make sense that if its harder for bright young minority members to get to academia for descriminatory reasons, you should boost the accessibility of academia...its just that AA doesn't do this, it does the opposite .
Running away from a reasoned, calm argument doesn't bode well for Goro.
Calm down. I'm not white, and I largely agree with you, but your moral outrage just inflames the argument. So please, chill.
Any thoughts on the study findings that AA was counterproductive to increasing minority representation in competitive fields post-grad? Regardless of all emotional perspectives on the issue, the fact that the method is damaging its own aims should point towards dismantling it at the undergrad level even for advocates of minority support initiatives, no?
Out of curiosity, what facts presented here do you believe were false?
You're going to be answering the question either way, why not just do it here so we can all see your accusations substantiated
I wasn't trying to grill him. I was just genuinely curious.
I know, I'm grilling
Or perhaps the internet has made the "i didn't know scholarships existed" scenario less common, especially for highly motivated and very bright students. In fact I recall getting spam mail from universities starting after the psat so even then there is some effort to contact you nowadays if you're in the dark. But that's a fair point I hadn't considered - if your parents toss out the mail that comes for you and you don't have any knowledge of scholarships then you'd never stand a shot.
Are you insinuating that you can't have it all: smart, hardworking and diverse? Are you suggesting that those who provide "diversity" are not smart and/or hard working??
Its a weird thing to argue about to begin with since URM is binary and MCAT/GPA have substantial ranges in the world of Med schools
