Not disadvantaged, but kinda?

[mabuakar]

Hey everyone,

I’m applying for the 2021 cycle and when I did my AMCAS app, I selected “no” when asked if i believed I was a disadvantaged student. To my surprise, AAMC designated me as disadvantaged when my app was verified. Although I am a first-generation American born to immigrant Arabic-speaking parents who did not complete their college education and we had to rely on some social services when I was younger, my parents worked hard to still give my siblings and I good lives and helped us succeed. I saw the struggles that many others around me faced and I didn’t feel like my struggles were nearly as significant as others who are considered disadvantaged. I didn’t think I should “play that card”.

A lot of secondary apps ask a generic question like “is there anything else you want the admissions committee to be aware of?” Does anyone have any recommendations about whether or not I should talk about this and how might be the best way to approach it?

Any help would be extremely appreciated! Best of luck to everyone else applying!

 

[gyngyn]

The fact that you did not check the disadvantaged box (despite being designated EO1) is completely fine, even excellent.
You can use other places in the application to talk about your experience as a 1st generation American.