historically black university med schools and racial preference

[kankshi]

I was thinking about applying to Howard, Morehouse and Meharry, and I'm wondering if they prefer Black applicants. I am Asian Indian, so although I am a minority, I don't think I am considered one for med school admissions purposes. But I am committed to working with underserved populations. In any case, I just want to know if my chances are very low, because I don't want to waste money/time. Also, what are the racial demographics of these schools. I couldn't find any of this info on their websites, and I never got a response when i emailed admissions, so I thought you all might have some insights.

Thanks.

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[rpkall]

I'm sure they appreciate diversity just as much as the next school, it's just that they don't have the privilege of hand-picking the applicants they want because of their locations in poorer neighborhoods (at least in DC this is the case with Howard, as compared to GWU or Georgetown). I'm sure they look specifically for applicants with a committment to underserved/minority populations as well as people willing/wishing to stay in urban areas. I think that matters more than race, personally.

It should be touched on, though, that a lot of this has to do with you and your preferences--your identity as an American, culturally and individually. Do you relate more to white folks or black folks, or do you relate equally to both? Do you prefer to be in a good sized Asian student body for support/cultural interations? You have the right to apply anywhere you think you'll be most comfortable.

There are many other places you could go for the "urban medical experience" if you prefer a larger Asian student community. Even if your stats are so-so, you probably still stand a chance of getting in if you speak about diversity issues and your committment to underserved populations.

You might want to look for the Princeton Review guide to medical schools in your local bookstore or Amazon.com, and check out stats that way. It has the ethnic breakdown of the student body for each school, the average MCATs, average GPAs, etc, etc, etc. There are a few paragraphs about student body, admissions criteria, student life, common complaints and pros/cons from the point of view of the students.

Good luck! 👍

 

[bababuey]

I was thinking about applying to Howard, Morehouse and Meharry, and I'm wondering if they prefer Black applicants. I am Asian Indian, so although I am a minority, I don't think I am considered one for med school admissions purposes. But I am committed to working with underserved populations. In any case, I just want to know if my chances are very low, because I don't want to waste money/time. Also, what are the racial demographics of these schools. I couldn't find any of this info on their websites, and I never got a response when i emailed admissions, so I thought you all might have some insights.

Thanks.

Hey in medical school you are definitely not a minority!!!!!

 

[riceman04]

I'm sure they appreciate diversity just as much as the next school, it's just that they don't have the privilege of hand-picking the applicants they want because of their locations in poorer neighborhoods (at least in DC this is the case with Howard, as compared to GWU or Georgetown). I'm sure they look specifically for applicants with a committment to underserved/minority populations as well as people willing/wishing to stay in urban areas. I think that matters more than race, personally.

It should be touched on, though, that a lot of this has to do with you and your preferences--your identity as an American, culturally and individually. Do you relate more to white folks or black folks, or do you relate equally to both? Do you prefer to be in a good sized Asian student body for support/cultural interations? You have the right to apply anywhere you think you'll be most comfortable.

There are many other places you could go for the "urban medical experience" if you prefer a larger Asian student community. Even if your stats are so-so, you probably still stand a chance of getting in if you speak about diversity issues and your committment to underserved populations.

You might want to look for the Princeton Review guide to medical schools in your local bookstore or Amazon.com, and check out stats that way. It has the ethnic breakdown of the student body for each school, the average MCATs, average GPAs, etc, etc, etc. There are a few paragraphs about student body, admissions criteria, student life, common complaints and pros/cons from the point of view of the students.

Good luck! 👍

That's real cool that you are interested in working in underserved communities. If you mention that on your app you those schools will consider you for sure.

Be careful of TPR review guide to med schls b/c some of the 411 is not accurate. I would use it in conjunction with another source as a backup

 

[Shredder]

insight: dont do it

But I am committed to working with underserved populations.

come on, were not adcoms

 

[rpkall]

Be careful of TPR review guide to med schls b/c some of the 411 is not accurate. I would use it in conjunction with another source as a backup

Didn't know that--glad someone pointed it out. I knew it was incomplete (like some of the info on MCAT/GPA for some schools is blank or 'not reported) but didn't know there were inaccuracies in other info.

I guess your best bet is a guidebook like TPR or Kaplan makes, combined with the MSAR and other statistics you can find online at places like the US News and World Report med school profiles.

P.S. It's good that you've been e-mailing the schools; I wonder why they haven't gotten back to you. Keep doing that. But do it in a tasteful, respectful way. Write e-mails that are well thought out, politically correct, well researched, and descriptive of your future goals with the underserved.

 

[MadameLULU]

That's real cool that you are interested in working in underserved communities. If you mention that on your app you those schools will consider you for sure.

Saying you desire to work with underserved communities is one thing. Having experience is another. If you don't have experience, I don't think they will take you seriously. Just my $.02

 

[andrew88]

Saying you desire to work with underserved communities is one thing. Having experience is another. If you don't have experience, I don't think they will take you seriously. Just my $.02

Ya talk is cheap..... you better back that statement up with some volunteering or sumthin.

I'd say for info on the schools racial demographics, go to the web site and read their mission statement. Also give admissions a call and ask the same question you just asked us.

 

[etudiante04]

I was thinking about applying to Howard, Morehouse and Meharry, and I'm wondering if they prefer Black applicants. I am Asian Indian, so although I am a minority, I don't think I am considered one for med school admissions purposes. But I am committed to working with underserved populations. In any case, I just want to know if my chances are very low, because I don't want to waste money/time. Also, what are the racial demographics of these schools. I couldn't find any of this info on their websites, and I never got a response when i emailed admissions, so I thought you all might have some insights.

Thanks.

I don't know the exact demogrpahics, but they are at least 50% black. So to attend these schools, you not only want to show your committment to underserved communities - you also want to show your comfort level with these populations. Some of my indian friends do attend Howard University SOM, and they are comfortable there. They went to predominantly black high schools (like mine) and so these HBCUs reflect their high school composition. Perhaps the adcoms take that into consideration - I don't know.

These students probably also grew up in predominantly black communities. They probably know what is feels like to be a minority. If you can convey that to adcoms, you may be set.

 

[kankshi]

I grew up in a predominantly white community, with few minorities, Asian, Black or otherwise. So I have spent the most time with white people. However, I don't think I should refrain from applying to schools that are predominantly Black, just because I have had more exposure to white people. When applying to colleges for undergrad, I was a bit nervous applying to women's colleges because an all-female environment was one I was not used to. But now, I couldn't be happier that I went.

Similarly, I feel uncomfortable with myself if I don't apply to historically Black med schools just because the situation would be new, or because I would experience some amount of culture shock. Especially since these schools are focused on underserved populations..

 

[KingTutATL]

Morehouse, the college itself is over 95% black

 

[etudiante04]

I grew up in a predominantly white community, with few minorities, Asian, Black or otherwise. So I have spent the most time with white people. However, I don't think I should refrain from applying to schools that are predominantly Black, just because I have had more exposure to white people. When applying to colleges for undergrad, I was a bit nervous applying to women's colleges because an all-female environment was one I was not used to. But now, I couldn't be happier that I went.

Similarly, I feel uncomfortable with myself if I don't apply to historically Black med schools just because the situation would be new, or because I would experience some amount of culture shock. Especially since these schools are focused on underserved populations..

Sorry, I am not saying you should apply to HBCUs simply because you are comfortable with black people. I should not have made any assumptions about where you grew up. But these schools want to see your committment to underserved populations. If you are interested in these populations the HBCUs provide plenty of opportunities to see these patients.