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www.studentdoctor.net

"Overrepresented Minorities": A Brief History | SDN

As a health professions advisor and admissions professional, I have found myself connecting with the frustrations of Middle Eastern/North African (MENA)
www.studentdoctor.net www.studentdoctor.net

With which culture do you feel more closely associated? Pakistani or African?
 
You can elect to say "Other." There won't be a correct answer as long as you are comfortable with how you identify and can explain.
muslimgirl.com

Here’s What You Should Know About the South Asia’s Sheedi Community - Muslim Girl

The Sheedi’s, or Siddi’s are an ethnic group in South Asia, with large populations in Pakistan and India. The Sheedis are the descendants of East African slaves, merchants, soldiers, and sailors who were brought to the subcontinent between the 8th and 19th centuries. The majority are Muslim...
muslimgirl.com muslimgirl.com

I personally would be wary of checking off "Black," but I don't know what your family identifies as (i.e., don't use this to game the admissions process, especially if we are not allowed to use the checkbox for admissions decisions). I'm not a sociologist to go into a debate about what the term "Black" means and whether your family personally experienced discrimination (as described in the article I referenced) or whether it's comparable to the Black American experience. Yes, the African diaspora is complicated and long, but if you think you can articulate your answer in the "what else to know about you" essays you will confront, the better you can back up why you identified as Black and Asian
 
timothy786 said:
thanks for the response. So 2 questions I have 1. Why not just tick off both asian and african and 2. since i only ticked off asian in my undergrad app will that be a bad thing if i now tick off asian and black since i dont want med schools to think i am bsing
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No med school adcom will check what you said in your undergrad application. It matters how you identify now. Consider many undergrad freshmen/people who may have learned and reflected more about their gender identity to the point they do not consider themselves as a binary-gender member. Thanks to SCOTUS, we may have to redact how you identified with the race/ethnicity box. (For whatever reason, we may be compelled to redact the preferred pronouns field, but that's for another discussion.)
 
timothy786 said:
so i am asian but i am also partly sheedi which is a tribe in pakistan that is from africa but came to pakistan due to slavery. I always put asian because my parents told me to for college but wanted to put both black and asian. i was wondering if putting this now will make me look bad or if the med schools look at my undergrad app.
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Nope
 
timothy786 said:
thanks so i will be putting down black and asian. BTW is there a difference between half urm and half orm or full urm
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Do you have any service to communities of color?

If the admissions Dean sees that you checked off the black checkbox, and sees that your pakistani, how do you think the admissions committee is going to feel about that?
 
I’d just check off multiracial then, and that way you can explain why you chose it. I think if you have to ask us if you are yourself are considered URM you don’t identify as Black. I also think you should ask your dad if he identifies as Black. Sounds like he doesn’t if he’s telling you to just put Asian. If he’s partly sheedi, you are even less. I’m just saving you the looks and judgement you’ll get if you walk into an interview with Black on your application and they see an Asian man/woman.
 
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timothy786 said:
I might be a little selfish right now but my logic is my low mcat score and asians have to have higher ones so if i am partly sheedi why should i use that to my advantage especially since i look neither south asian nor black, my friends say i look mexican and number 2 since i have helped both groups throughout my premed journey doing volunteering for both
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I suggest a little different mindset. One of the big problems with your thinking is that you are buying into the fallacy of a homogeneous Asian "race" or community. You likely have already prepared yourself to explain what it means to be Sheedi and how you have lived your life with that culture (I have already shared one article on this). Not all Asians are high-scoring test-takers; not all Asians have great health outcomes.

With the dismantling of DEI offices across colleges and universities (including medical schools I will anticipate), you must make sure you can talk about your background and find a receptive learning community who won't lump you back to the "model minority Asian" group. Do you know where there are large centers of Shiddi/Siddi communities? Where do those communities go for health care or social needs? What are their barriers? If you have solid evidence-based answers, you don't need to worry about "looking" Asian or Black/Mexican. You can be the witness for your community in search of a learning community who would embrace you as a future professional and peer. If you don't have the answers, it will just be a question how you can assimilate and subsume this aspect of your heritage.


www.taaf.org

TAAF Data & Research | Our Work

Together we build trusted insights to grow our impact. We're partnering with research organizations to use data to learn more about the state of the AAPI community.
www.taaf.org www.taaf.org
www.cascadepbs.org

The model-minority myth is dangerous in health care

Asian Americans are perceived as the "model minority": wealthier, better educated and healthier than other minority groups. But this preconception hides many health disparities, in some cases worse than those of any other racial group.
www.cascadepbs.org www.cascadepbs.org
 
timothy786 said:
I might be a little selfish right now but my logic is my low mcat score and asians have to have higher ones so if i am partly sheedi why should i use that to my advantage especially since i look neither south asian nor black, my friends say i look mexican and number 2 since i have helped both groups throughout my premed journey doing volunteering for both
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You being 1/8th black (or any portion of black, for that matter) is not an excuse in itself for you to have a lower MCAT score. Minorities usually have lower scores because they are disadvantaged, not purely because they are minorities. Yes you are right, it is selfish. I would recommend focusing on getting your MCAT score up instead of trying to take advantage of a system built for a specific group of people. But good luck with your decision.
 
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Frankly, I doubt that checking any specific box will help at all. We can now program the software to mask items that the adcom is not privy to and any admissions office that is paying attention will do that so as to avoid big problems down the road with the feds. The info can still be important to the accrediting body and anyone who needs to see that a diverse student body has been recruited but admissions has to be colorblind.
 
timothy786 said:
Not to sound rude but then how come i am seeing sankeys of orms vs urms and i clearly see how urm with lower mcat are accepted at higher volumes than the same mcat and orm
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Individual samples may not tell the whole story. Data are for the current M1 class, not the incoming class.
www.aamc.org

New AAMC Data on Medical School Applicants and Enrollment in 2024

New AAMC data on applicants, matriculants, and enrollment for 2024-2025
www.aamc.org www.aamc.org
  • In 2024-25, there were gains in applicants among two groups historically underrepresented in medicine: Black or African American (up 2.8%), and Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish Origin (up 2.2%). However, there was a significant decrease in American Indian or Alaska Native applicants, down 15.4%.
  • Matriculants from all groups that are historically underrepresented in medicine declined compared to 2023 data, most by a percent change in the double digits.
    • Black or African American matriculants declined 11.6%, the third year in a row of declines. Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish Origin matriculants fell 10.8%.
      • Black and Hispanic matriculant numbers are back to pre-pandemic levels.
    • American Indian or Alaska Native matriculants declined 22.1%. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander matriculants declined 4.3%.
  • Total medical school enrollment is more racially and ethnically diverse since 2017-18:
    • The proportion of Black or African American students rose from 7.9% to 10.3%.
    • The proportion of Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish Origin students rose from 9.9% to 12.3%.
Proportion of self-identified Asian applicants rose by +3.8%, and matriculants by +8.4%. Gains are also seen among "Other race/ethnicity" with +5.7% applicants, +12.7% matriculants and "unknown race/ethnicity" +3.1% applicants, +9.3% matriculants.
 
LizzyM said:
Frankly, I doubt that checking any specific box will help at all. We can now program the software to mask items that the adcom is not privy to and any admissions office that is paying attention will do that so as to avoid big problems down the road with the feds. The info can still be important to the accrediting body and anyone who needs to see that a diverse student body has been recruited but admissions has to be colorblind.
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507 mcat looks like im cooked R.I.P
 
timothy786 said:
507 mcat looks like im cooked R.I.P
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You can believe whatever reddit tells you, I guess. With that attitude, I think you're more baked in your mindset. You need a growth mindset to be successful in medical school... or to have faculty enjoy having you around. Good luck!
 
Most schools are cancelling DEI initiatives and practices (Umich being the most recent example), so not sure how this will actually affect your application. I will say it sounds disingenuous to identify with an URM group just to try and be lumped in with a lower MCAT score. If you can actually speak to your identity and how it’s a part of it though I see no issue.
 
Being ancestrally 1/8 URM is not something we would pay attention to—if you were a Siddi refugee fleeing oppression in your home country, that might be a different story.
 
timothy786 said:
507 mcat looks like im cooked R.I.P
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Do you think that committees are so simple that checking a single box would magically change how your application viewed in it's entirety? If I interviewed you as another student (who receives your portions of your primary and secondary), and logged onto zoom to see a very clearly asian appearing student checking "black" or "hispanic" I would 100% scrutinize your application further to see why you did that. I would look at family income, how you funded your college education, the jobs your family had, and even see what type of neighborhood you listed for primary address. Then give my findings to the committee if I thought you were being "genuine" or trying to "game the system" thinking it would give you a leg up.
 
timothy786 said:
But i am 1/2 urm. That is literally the story of my father that u pointed out
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He himself is only partly Sheedi and both your parents have said your family's identity is Asian.

Seems there has been enough information and advice provided regarding this topic. It is up to the OP how they wish to proceed.

Closing.
 
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