Minority?

[kypreos]

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I know this is a little far fetched but i wanna look for ay angle that i can to accomplish my goal, so here goes. I have lived in t he US for most of my life. I was born in Nicosia Cyprus and we came over here right b4 my brother would have to be drafted into the military(i was 3 months) but I have dual citizenship frequently visit and BOTH of my parents were born there. I am also fluent in Greek considering thats all we spoke in the house and 80 % of my family primarily resides in Cyprus. So my question is am I considered a minority? and would that help me out at all?

 

[niranjan162]

simply being a minority isnt going to help. You have to be an UNDERREPRESENTED minority for it to help in the admissions process, which I do not think you would qualify for as european/white.

 

[Barts]

I tend to agree with the above poster--you probably aren't going to get much help from the whole URM aspect.

I don't know, I think AA and treatment based strictly on race is pretty stupid. I think if such programs have to exist they should be based on economic status.

Of course I had a great grandmother that was supposedly from Mexico, so I applied as an URM. I never met her, and as far as I know she was the only one in my family that wasn't of white/European descent. So I suppose I'm a hypocrite...oh well.

When I did contact any schools or AACOMAS about it, I was told that I should apply however I want--that if I had some distant relatvie that might have been from Mexico, and that made me feel as though I should apply as URM, then I should do so--and apply as URM. Even though I look about as Mexican as....I dunno..Pamela Anderson, I was never asked about it at one interview, and I continue to check the appropriate box when asked.

 

[DrMidlife]

Just so we're clear:

If you are of a demographic (call it "blue") where there is a substantial "blue" patient population in the US, with vastly disproportionate underrepresentation in the number of "blue" doctors, then you belong to an underrepresented minority with respect to medical school, and may be eligible for admissions and/or financial consideration.

The "representation" we're talking about here concerns the HUGE amount of federal funding that goes into medical education, and the concept of "taxation without representation." Which, you know, started this whole US thing.

Unless I missed a memo, there's no substantial Cypriot, or Mediterranean, patient population in the US that can argue they're being underrepresented in medicine.

Regardless, Marcos Baghdatis is extremely hot, and extremely fun to watch.

 

[kypreos]

well Im really not looking for any financial aid type of benefits(altho hey if they did that would be cool) I was looking for something that made me stand out from other applicants. like a wow factor that admissions would look at and be like this kids different.

 

[PlAnEjaNe]

Just mention it in your personal statement then. That is usually the place where you say things that make you stand out as an applicant.

 

[DrMidlife]

well Im really not looking for any financial aid type of benefits(altho hey if they did that would be cool) I was looking for something that made me stand out from other applicants. like a wow factor that admissions would look at and be like this kids different.

Oh, definitely. You want to play up the fact that you are legitimately multi-cultural, because that is legitimately interesting. You'll want to talk about how you've seen the way medical care works (or doesn't) in a not-wealthy country. And about how your experiences help you feel empathy for all immigrant cultures here. You'll want to carefully allude to how you represent the American dream and how grateful you are for the opportunity you have to be a doctor here (blah blah blah just make sure you understate it, it's inherent in the born-elsewhere story). And figure out a way to tie it all in to make a unique story about how badly you want to be a doctor and how great you'll be at it.

 

[kypreos]

nice im liking the way u guys think😎
thanx for the help

 

[matlabsux]

So far I have been on 7 interviews. 2 MD, 5 DO. To date (out of 40+ applicants met) I have yet to see a sinlge African American DO interviewee. I have seen a total of 1 Latino/Hispanic DO interviewee. In all the school tours I have never seen an AA or Hispanic/Latino student rep.

Where are all the minority DO applicants? Do they have an easier time going MD and thus do not end up applying to DO schools?

Anybody else notice this?

As far as the above posts go, I agree underrepresented/minority quota can be a double edged sword. If this AAction thing were purely cut down the line as to # of patiens in country and then trying to find a proper # of students, Indian Americans and Jewish Students would not nearly be as prevalent in medical school as they are, thus we would not have as strong a student body as we could have.

Not to turn this thread into a pro/anti AAction rant, I agree that it should all be based on economics. If you're AA, Latino or whatever and you grew up going to private school and being wealthy/well off, your race/ethnicity should not automatically put you above other more qualified applicants.

Flame on!

 

[niranjan162]

So far I have been on 7 interviews. 2 MD, 5 DO. To date (out of 40+ applicants met) I have yet to see a sinlge African American DO interviewee. I have seen a total of 1 Latino/Hispanic DO interviewee. In all the school tours I have never seen an AA or Hispanic/Latino student rep.

Where are all the minority DO applicants? Do they have an easier time going MD and thus do not end up applying to DO schools?

Anybody else notice this?

As far as the above posts go, I agree underrepresented/minority quota can be a double edged sword. If this AAction thing were purely cut down the line as to # of patiens in country and then trying to find a proper # of students, Indian Americans and Jewish Students would not nearly be as prevalent in medical school as they are, thus we would not have as strong a student body as we could have.

Not to turn this thread into a pro/anti AAction rant, I agree that it should all be based on economics. If you're AA, Latino or whatever and you grew up going to private school and being wealthy/well off, your race/ethnicity should not automatically put you above other more qualified applicants.

Flame on!

well thats precisely y, they are underrepresented.

 

[matlabsux]

well thats precisely y, they are underrepresented.

That is precisely why what?? Who is the "They" you refer to?

 

[andexterouss]

I'm URM and I'm waitlisted in a school that I'm qualified to attend. So I don't think my status/race has helped me out at all. There has been this myth that all you need is to be AA and a pulse and you'll get into medical school. Not true at all. Schools use URM to encourage minorities to apply but they still pick TOP qualified URMs applicants from the pool. My friend from college(URM) with a 3.5 gpa and 33 mcat was waitlisted or rejected in all the schools she applied to(20) and only got accepted to one(state school).

Being an URM is way overblown on SDN. I have a 28 mcat/ 3.5 gpa and I applied DO because I thought my stats were too low for MD schools, so if anyone knows any MD school that will accept me please let me know cos you must know something that I don't!!

 

[RySerr21]

I'm URM and I'm waitlisted in a school that I'm qualified to attend. So I don't think my status/race has helped me out at all. There has been this myth that all you need is to be AA and a pulse and you'll get into medical school. Not true at all. Schools use URM to encourage minorities to apply but they still pick TOP qualified URMs applicants from the pool. My friend from college(URM) with a 3.5 gpa and 33 mcat was waitlisted or rejected in all the schools she applied to(20) and only got accepted to one(state school).

Being an URM is way overblown on SDN. I have a 28 mcat/ 3.5 gpa and I applied DO because I thought my stats were too low for MD schools, so if anyone knows any MD school that will accept me please let me know cos you must know something that I don't!!

If the rest of your app is solid, you should have applied MD as well.

 

[HALIVE]

Interesting... another twist on affirmative action/minority status has resurrected.

 

[andexterouss]

If the rest of your app is solid, you should have applied MD as well.

I was making a rhetorical point 😉. I like the DO philosophy and I've been out of school for 3 years so I'm non-traditional and I thought DO schools were more fitted for guys like me.

Anyways, congrats on Loyola. Was in the area last weekend. Nice school but don't think I can survive the freezing cold in Chicago! Have you made a choice yet?

 

[RySerr21]

I was making a rhetorical point 😉. I like the DO philosophy and I've been out of school for 3 years so I'm non-traditional and I thought DO schools were more fitted for guys like me.

Anyways, congrats on Loyola. Was in the area last weekend. Nice school but don't think I can survive the freezing cold in Chicago! Have you made a choice yet?

Ooo, in that case, you did good only applying DO 😀.

Yea i feel ya on the coldness of Chicago....but I cant really say too much about it b/c im considering going to Des Moines as well, which isn't much better weather, haha. No, I havent made a decision. I'm still waiting to hear back from UC Irvine (i should sometime in December). If I hear good news from them it may make my decision pretty easy. Of the schools I have been accepted to right now, I have no idea where I'll end up

 

[DrMattOglesby]

ryserr...i HOPE you get UC Irvine, I think that would be amazing(-ly cheap!). Des Moines and Chicago are far too cold for my liking, and I don't know if a sunny socal man can like yourself can survive in those conditions! jk, it looks like whatever you end up choosing, you will get a great education as those are all great institutions. 👍👍

 

[BlitzSleep]

simply being a minority isnt going to help. You have to be an UNDERREPRESENTED minority for it to help in the admissions process, which I do not think you would qualify for as european/white.

*gasp* That is so racist!

/sarcastically offended