Pre-Med Ethnicity Thread...

Started by UMP
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UMP

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Be as specific or vague as you want... me:

White-
3/4 Polish, 1/8 French, 1/8 Tatar

Anyone want to join in?
 
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100% American-born Indian. I feel like this has been a REAL disadvantage for me during this process. I think there are tons of Indian males that are more competitive than I am!

I would really like to see a list of percentage of applicants to percentage of acceptees by ethnicity. Also, I would love to see a set of data showing the average numbers of applicants sorted by ethnicity as well. I think it would be interesting to compare how hard it is for people of particular ethnicities to get in to mediical school. I also wish that race and ethnicity could be eliminated from the application process, but of course that might put some at a disadvantage and would not be fair. Yet, it isn't fair the way it is right now to some people either - I guess there just has to be a balance...
 
1/2 Polish
a fair % English
something like 1/16 Native American


So, yeah, I am a Polish Native American.....try that one on for size!
 
1/2 Polish
a fair % English
something like 1/16 Native American


So, yeah, I am a Polish Native American.....try that one on for size!

heh... you aren't aware of that old joke which ends with the line...
"I'm Tonto Kowalski" are you?
 
Ha ha, no never heard that one.

It's an old joke, but here it goes...

A businessman boards a flight and is lucky enough to be seated next to an absolutely gorgeous woman. They exchange brief hellos and he notices she is reading a manual about sexual statistics. He asks her about it and she replies, "This is a very interesting book about sexual statistics. It identifies that American Indians have the longest average penis and Polish men have the biggest average diameter. By the way, my name is Jill. What's yours?" He coolly replies, "Tonto Kowalski, nice to meet you."
 
or maybe I should've told you just to Google it ... :meanie:
 
It's an old joke, but here it goes...

A businessman boards a flight and is lucky enough to be seated next to an absolutely gorgeous woman. They exchange brief hellos and he notices she is reading a manual about sexual statistics. He asks her about it and she replies, "This is a very interesting book about sexual statistics. It identifies that American Indians have the longest average penis and Polish men have the biggest average diameter. By the way, my name is Jill. What's yours?" He coolly replies, "Tonto Kowalski, nice to meet you."

Ha ha ha ha ha!!! That is great!
 
my mother is american/european/jewish decent
my father is 7/8 mexican american 1/8 Pasqua Yaki indian.
 
33.4 % something.
27.5 % something else.
39.1 % something other.

= 100% human.

Seriously, I'm hispanic, and nobody really knows, since that's my culture, but my ethnicity is still a mystery to be solved. I would need to trace my ancestors back to Indians vs. Spaniards, but my time machine needs new batteries.
 
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me: black american, my grandmother is 1/2 native american and 1/4 french, 1/4 african, my other grandmother is 1/2 black, 1/4 german, 1/4 Irish...I remember seeing her mother (my great grandmother) and she looked nothing like me...she was blond haired blue eyes....eerie!!!!!!
 
I've been very interested in this on the interview trail...

If your parents are Nigerian but you are born in the U.S, are you considered African American? The reason I ask is that many schools say that have a certain percentage of African American students... But when you see the list of photos/names of the first year class, a large number if not all of the "black" students have names that are clearly Nigerian.

However, Nigerian americans and African Americans obviously have significantly different cultural backgrounds...
 
I've been very interested in this on the interview trail...

If your parents are Nigerian but you are born in the U.S, are you considered African American? The reason I ask is that many schools say that have a certain percentage of African American students... But when you see the list of photos/names of the first year class, a large number if not all of the "black" students have names that are clearly Nigerian.

However, Nigerian americans and African Americans obviously have significantly different cultural backgrounds...

yep...we are all considered one in the same...URM!!! Lots of people like weirdo Jessie Jackson are complaining about that...but I say who cares
 
I've been very interested in this on the interview trail...

If your parents are Nigerian but you are born in the U.S, are you considered African American? The reason I ask is that many schools say that have a certain percentage of African American students... But when you see the list of photos/names of the first year class, a large number if not all of the "black" students have names that are clearly Nigerian.

However, Nigerian americans and African Americans obviously have significantly different cultural backgrounds...

I actually had a conversation about that with one of my classmates, who is Jamaican. We both agreed that it does little for the African American community in this country if schools admit "African Americans" that are not Americans. Our solution was not to admit fewer foreign students, but rather to make sure actual African Americans were well represented in the class.
 
yep...we are all considered one in the same...URM!!! Lots of people like weirdo Jessie Jackson are complaining about that...but I say who cares

I understand the premise of Jesse Jacksons argument because of the following:

1. Nigerian Americans on average come from wealthier and better educated families. They aren't as socially disadvantaged as African Americans, hispanics, or native americans on average.

2. Nigerian Americans are probably overrepresented in medicine compared to their population in the U.S. (There are approx 40 million African Americans in the U.S compared to approx 1 million Nigerian Americans.

3. Nigerian Americans do not have the same cultural background as African Americans and can not truly understand the legacy of racism and disenfranchisment that exists in the U.S.

Don't get me wrong, I support the concept of URMs and diversity in medicine, but the implementation is suspect.
 
I'm Chinese.

I feel so boring compared to you guys.

Actually - "Chinese" is not some homogenous ethnicity but a mix of different ethnicities, with physical attributes varying greatly as you move from the north to the south. Also, throughout history - there was a lot of inter-"racial" mixing between foreign merchants and the Han Chinese people in the capitals - so you could have some Indo, Euro, Afro, SE Asian, Mongol, and Turkic blood in you from centuries ago and you wouldn't know it.

I am also Chinese btw.
 
Nigerian Americans do not have the same cultural background as African Americans and can not truly understand the legacy of racism and disenfranchisment that exists in the U.S.

oh really? not to beat the racism horse as i'm the last person who likes these confrontational topics but i feel this is wrong. a nigerian american has black skin and therefore is identified as black to the racists in america still. racists don't differentiate based on country of origin i'm afraid.
 
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Nigerian Americans do not have the same cultural background as African Americans and can not truly understand the legacy of racism and disenfranchisment that exists in the U.S.

oh really? not to beat the racism horse as i'm the last person who likes these confrontational topics but i feel this is wrong. a nigerian american has black skin and therefore is identified as black to the racists in america still. racists don't differentiate based on country of origin i'm afraid.

The argument I have heard is that if you want to help African Americans in this country, giving them preferential admission to professional programs is a way to accomplish that. Now you either believe in that or you don't. But if you do believe in it, it stands to reason that it will help break the chain of socioeconomic inequality, etc., that plagues the black community. So I understand the dismay when admissions committees give the preferential treatment that is reserved for URMs to "minorites" from other countries. In the grand scheme of things, it does little to alleviate the problems facing the African American community, especially if that person leaves the united states.

I think what you have to realize is that URM status is not handed out based on whether or not you have ever experienced racism. It is handed out b/c you are underrepresented. Yes, foreigners will experience racism, but what does that have to do with URM status unless we are trying to make sure all foreigners are represented in our medical school admissions, which is obviously not the case.
 
The argument I have heard is that if you want to help African Americans in this country, giving them preferential admission to professional programs is a way to accomplish that. Now you either believe in that or you don't. But if you do believe in it, it stands to reason that it will help break the chain of socioeconomic inequality, etc., that plagues the black community. So I understand the dismay when admissions committees give the preferential treatment that is reserved for URMs to "minorites" from other countries. In the grand scheme of things, it does little to alleviate the problems facing the African American community, especially if that person leaves the united states.

I think what you have to realize is that URM status is not handed out based on whether or not you have ever experienced racism. It is handed out b/c you are underrepresented. Yes, foreigners will experience racism, but what does that have to do with URM status unless we are trying to make sure all foreigners are represented in our medical school admissions, which is obviously not the case.
First of all most of the African you will see at your interviews are also AMERICANS… In fact if some one from Nigeria or Ghana or Kenya becomes an American citizen they become African-American(even if they don’t want to be)… The census counts them as African American so why would they not be?? Secondly, if we go by strict definitions Colin Powell, Barak Obama etc will not be AA’s under your definition since Powell is from Jamaica and Obama’s African Ancestry is from Kenya… Lastly, when we add all black people together they make up only ~6 percent of medicine… Thus, if we start to break up black people into little groups it does nothing since we need every competent black person we can get!
 
First of all most of the African you will see at your interviews are also AMERICANS… In fact if some one from Nigeria or Ghana or Kenya becomes an American citizen they become African-American(even if they don't want to be)… The census counts them as African American so why would they not be?? Secondly, if we go by strict definitions Colin Powell, Barak Obama etc will not be AA's under your definition since Powell is from Jamaica and Obama's African Ancestry is from Kenya… Lastly, when we add all black people together they make up only ~6 percent of medicine… Thus, if we start to break up black people into little groups it does nothing since we need every competent black person we can get!

I should have added the disclaimer that the people I am talking about are foreign-born and are coming here for medical school. If you're an American citizen and black, that makes you African American. And don't tell me what my definitions are without asking. If that was how I defined African American then NO blacks in this country could be African American since they had an African ancestry at some point. That is obviously not what I was saying.

I am just saying that IF you give someone preferential treatment when it comes to acceptance to an AMERICAN medical school, I would rather it be someone who is actually African American rather than someone who is NOT African American. And the thing about needing as many black people as possible in medicine since as a group they are so underrepresented: I agree with you. I just think it is a little absurd that sometimes Africans that are not African American take the spots of African Americans since they have the same color skin. Those spots [if they were gained through affirmative action acceptance practices] should go to true African Americans.
 
I should have added the disclaimer that the people I am talking about are foreign-born and are coming here for medical school. If you're an American citizen and black, that makes you African American. And don't tell me what my definitions are without asking. If that was how I defined African American then NO blacks in this country could be African American since they had an African ancestry at some point. That is obviously not what I was saying.

I am just saying that IF you give someone preferential treatment when it comes to acceptance to an AMERICAN medical school, I would rather it be someone who is actually African American rather than someone who is NOT African American. And the thing about needing as many black people as possible in medicine since as a group they are so underrepresented: I agree with you. I just think it is a little absurd that sometimes Africans that are not African American take the spots of African Americans since they have the same color skin. Those spots [if they were gained through affirmative action acceptance practices] should go to true African Americans.


what proof do you have that they are taking anybodys spot?? 😴 :idea: If a person is an immigrant and they get in they earned it!!!!:scared:
 
what proof do you have that they are taking anybodys spot?? 😴 :idea: If a person is an immigrant and they get in they earned it!!!!:scared:

You're absolutely right. To clarify since this is obviously not making sense: What I am talking about is a person who is not american, who happens to be black, and who gets preferential treatment at medical schools as an URM. In this case, it is my opinion that the preferential treatment should go to someone who is African American. I am not sure how much this actually happens, but if/when it does happen, I do not agree with it. If affirmative action is to have its intented effect in our society, we need to target those who actually need it [and not target foreigners that have nothing to do with the African American community other than having the same skin color].
 
100% Nigerian though I did become a US citizen a few weeks ago.
Glad to see Nigeria getting this much attention/love from sdn!
 
im dominican
3/4 straight out of spain
the rest is black but like anybody knows where from.
 
I understand the premise of Jesse Jacksons argument because of the following:

1. Nigerian Americans on average come from wealthier and better educated families. They aren't as socially disadvantaged as African Americans, hispanics, or native americans on average.

2. Nigerian Americans are probably overrepresented in medicine compared to their population in the U.S. (There are approx 40 million African Americans in the U.S compared to approx 1 million Nigerian Americans.

3. Nigerian Americans do not have the same cultural background as African Americans and can not truly understand the legacy of racism and disenfranchisment that exists in the U.S.

Don't get me wrong, I support the concept of URMs and diversity in medicine, but the implementation is suspect.

Very true
 
You're absolutely right. To clarify since this is obviously not making sense: What I am talking about is a person who is not american, who happens to be black, and who gets preferential treatment at medical schools as an URM. In this case, it is my opinion that the preferential treatment should go to someone who is African American. I am not sure how much this actually happens, but if/when it does happen, I do not agree with it. If affirmative action is to have its intented effect in our society, we need to target those who actually need it [and not target foreigners that have nothing to do with the African American community other than having the same skin color].

Okay lol... I still don't understand the purpose of your rant about something that might or might not be happening... Most immigrants are not allowed to apply to many medical schools... Schools that accept them understand that they may or may not serve in America etc… Lastly if I may ask, what is your race/ ethnicity and, why do you care so much about something that might now even be occurring:laugh: ??
 
Chinese. Don't know what mix...wish I did.

UTPremed is:
"1/2 Polish
a fair % English
something like 1/16 Native American"

I think what UTPremed is saying is that one of the purposes of AA is to increase medical care for disadvantaged, urban communities. Thus, African-Americans who are from said communities would be the ones most likely to serve there.

OK i got baited into that convo. everyone else stay on topic! 😡
 
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I've been very interested in this on the interview trail...

If your parents are Nigerian but you are born in the U.S, are you considered African American? The reason I ask is that many schools say that have a certain percentage of African American students... But when you see the list of photos/names of the first year class, a large number if not all of the "black" students have names that are clearly Nigerian.

However, Nigerian americans and African Americans obviously have significantly different cultural backgrounds...
Don't ask Mr. Obama

I'm a Slavik mutt, mostly Czech
 
Pure mutt. Italian, Swedish, Dutch, English, Scottish, French and German.