URM chances!
Started by Julia5
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Community?
Language skills?
State?
Evidence of commitment to service?
How many MCAT tries
Language skills?
State?
Evidence of commitment to service?
How many MCAT tries
Florida
I'm not fluent in Spanish, as my parents immigrated here before I was born, though I can speak conversationally.
2 tries- first was 24
I was very active growing up in the hispanic community, although the college I went to had only a handful of Hispanic students overall, so not much in college.
I'm not fluent in Spanish, as my parents immigrated here before I was born, though I can speak conversationally.
2 tries- first was 24
I was very active growing up in the hispanic community, although the college I went to had only a handful of Hispanic students overall, so not much in college.
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Which community?
Learn Spanish, stat. Give us evidence of your commitment to service.
Why do Hispanic applicants have to speak fluent Spanish? Just because I don't speak fluent Spanish doesn't make me any less Mexican. I'm just saying that because it's placing more an onus of burden on us, when people that identify as Asian don't have to speak their respective languages. And I have extracurricular involvement in the community, but not any clubs in college for my community.
Only if you have indicated that you are fluent.
What do you think about MD?
Depends upon the level of service to the Hispanic and/or underserved community. You need to walk the walk instead of merely talking the talk.
I said that I have done a lot with my community. I just don't speak fluent Spanish. So is it really a toss up for MD, like 50/50?
How every school evaluates URMs and what characteristics they are looking in them will vary in a way that isnt predictable. How much a particular ADCOM will put emphasis on speaking spanish or service to the less fortunate for a URM also isnt something you will get a stable consistent answer on. YMMV
All of that is part of what makes using the AAMC GPA/MCAT grid for Hispanics somewhat difficult. Having said that, youre a reasonable candidate for the programs in your state. You can also take a look at this chart and see what schools show a track record of taking Hispanic minorities(ie UIC) and perhaps come up with a few more potential target schools(that are reasonable OOS) from there.
https://www.aamc.org/download/321540/data/factstableb5.pdf
Use MSAR to also target some OOS friendly schools with an MCAT median roughly around a 31-32. Do all that, I think youll get IIs.
All of that is part of what makes using the AAMC GPA/MCAT grid for Hispanics somewhat difficult. Having said that, youre a reasonable candidate for the programs in your state. You can also take a look at this chart and see what schools show a track record of taking Hispanic minorities(ie UIC) and perhaps come up with a few more potential target schools(that are reasonable OOS) from there.
https://www.aamc.org/download/321540/data/factstableb5.pdf
Use MSAR to also target some OOS friendly schools with an MCAT median roughly around a 31-32. Do all that, I think youll get IIs.
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The "UiM boost" is not for your benefit. It's for the benefit of others. The two ways we validate this potential is in language skill and commitment to service. Someone with actual evidence of commitment and verified language skills is reliably a good bet, even when they are not a member of the under-represented group.
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Sorry, what does that mean?
So because I can't speak fluent Spanish i'm not a URM? I guess the wording of your phrase is confusing to me.
Applicants from under-represented groups (like Mexican Americans) are highly sought after because of their potential benefit to a community sorely lacking in physicians. UiM stands for Under-represented in Medicine. It is not your minority status but your potential to help your community that interests us.
You are still Mexican-American.
Ahh I see. Well even though I don't speak fluent Spanish, I have been involved in the Mexican community from high school throughout college. And I aspire to be a primary care physician, so hopefully my message is conveyed through my application.
I hope so.
I still recommend language acquisition.
Have you considered any Spanish-language immersion programs?
I have never thought about that...I can read fluently, although I mix up tenses when i'm speaking sometimes.
Looking at my scores alone, do you think I have a shot though? Ignoring non fluent language?
You can be interviewed with those gpa's.
It's likely that your Spanish would improve substantially if you were to dedicate at least 6 months to fine tuning it. You probably don't even need a formal program. Just immerse yourself in as much Spanish as possible in your everyday life.
At both DO and MD?
Yes.
I'd say your chances are best at every med school in FL, and then some. Commitment to service shows you're walking the walk.
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It will depend on the state, the school and the community.
Service to your community in this context means to your cultural/ethnic community. E.g. if you're Mexican-American, help your fellow Mexican-Americans in need and in less fortunate situations than you. If you are URM and only help affluent whites, you don't demonstrate what schools are looking for when they recruit URMs.
