Previously Undocumented Student/Low Income - Disadvantaged?

[Jay11jayjay]

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Hey guys, I am trying to figure out whether or not I should classify myself as a disadvantaged applicant. More importantly, I want to know what the ramifications are behind this decision. In my specific case, does it matter at all?

For most of my life, I have lived in the US as an undocumented immigrant because my parents brought me to this country as a child to flee war. When I entered college, I was not able to receive financial aid and was not able to attend any university. Instead, I attended community college for 2 years, received a national award that covers full tuition, and I miraculously was able to fix my immigration status and become a permanent resident. I then transferred to a university where I am working on my biomedical engineering degree (top 10 engineering school). My previous undocumented status and my parent's very low income level played a major role in my upbringing and I plan on conveying that to the adcomms. Thus, I'm probably going to label myself as "disadvantaged." I am Arab American (if that matters by any chance). Will labeling myself as disadvantaged make any difference?

Also, will mentioning my previous undocumented status help me or hurt me? In a sense, mentioning my previous undocumented status will allow me to highlight my diverse background. On the other hand, immigration is a controversial political topic in the US and I don't know if some members of adcomms will view this disfavorably.

Thank you guys so much!

 

[Catalystik]

1) Will labeling myself as disadvantaged make any difference?

2) Also, will mentioning my previous undocumented status help me or hurt me?

1) It might help at some schools, for the following reasons:

LizzyM said: ↑
1) It does add diversity the classroom and what you learn about the care of patients depends on part on your fellow classmates.

2) There is a hope that people who grew up with disadvantages will be comfortable serving those in underserved communities and will be accepted in those communities because they understand the culture.

3) There is a desire to make the opportunity to reach one's potential available to everyone, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. Kids who grew up in poverty often have a lack of shadowing opportunities (no doctors in the family, nor in their friends & classmates families, maybe no family physicians if care has been through free clinics & ERs) and no money for test-prep classes. Providing opportuities to college students from impoverished neighborhoods/families helps increase the pool of talented applicants to medical school that in turn helps to achieve goals 1 and 2.

2) That you were an immigrant and undocumented weren't choices made by you, so it shouldn't help or hurt to mention it.

 

[DokterMom]

Americans also love a good 'bootstraps' story, and your certainly qualifies.
I'd say go for it. It certainly shouldn't hurt.

 

[Patassa]

Hey guys, I am trying to figure out whether or not I should classify myself as a disadvantaged applicant. More importantly, I want to know what the ramifications are behind this decision. In my specific case, does it matter at all?

For most of my life, I have lived in the US as an undocumented immigrant because my parents brought me to this country as a child to flee war. When I entered college, I was not able to receive financial aid and was not able to attend any university. Instead, I attended community college for 2 years, received a national award that covers full tuition, and I miraculously was able to fix my immigration status and become a permanent resident. I then transferred to a university where I am working on my biomedical engineering degree (top 10 engineering school). My previous undocumented status and my parent's very low income level played a major role in my upbringing and I plan on conveying that to the adcomms. Thus, I'm probably going to label myself as "disadvantaged." I am Arab American (if that matters by any chance). Will labeling myself as disadvantaged make any difference?

Also, will mentioning my previous undocumented status help me or hurt me? In a sense, mentioning my previous undocumented status will allow me to highlight my diverse background. On the other hand, immigration is a controversial political topic in the US and I don't know if some members of adcomms will view this disfavorably.

Thank you guys so much!

Great story.
If you don't mind me asking, which country did you guys leave?
I personally see this as more of a refugee situation, maybe the adcoms will to.

 

[Lucca]

Your family had to overcome incredible challenges and you took that effort in stride and became a very successful student/engineer. You did face significant disadvantages as an undocumented immigrant and it is a great "American Dream" story. I doubt it alone will land you an acceptance but you will definitely provide diversity and perspective to any school and by the sound if it you are already a successful student.


Good luck!

 

[BlueCircle]

Are you kidding me? They'll probably love you haha. You should familiarize yourself with the story of Dr. Q who went from illegal alien (from Mexico) working as a gardener to Harvard medical school graduate now working as a brain surgeon.

http://www.readersdigest.com.au/illegal-immigrant-turned-brain-surgeon

 

[compstomper]

Hey guys, I am trying to figure out whether or not I should classify myself as a disadvantaged applicant. More importantly, I want to know what the ramifications are behind this decision. In my specific case, does it matter at all?

For most of my life, I have lived in the US as an undocumented immigrant because my parents brought me to this country as a child to flee war. When I entered college, I was not able to receive financial aid and was not able to attend any university. Instead, I attended community college for 2 years, received a national award that covers full tuition, and I miraculously was able to fix my immigration status and become a permanent resident. I then transferred to a university where I am working on my biomedical engineering degree (top 10 engineering school). My previous undocumented status and my parent's very low income level played a major role in my upbringing and I plan on conveying that to the adcomms. Thus, I'm probably going to label myself as "disadvantaged." I am Arab American (if that matters by any chance). Will labeling myself as disadvantaged make any difference?

Also, will mentioning my previous undocumented status help me or hurt me? In a sense, mentioning my previous undocumented status will allow me to highlight my diverse background. On the other hand, immigration is a controversial political topic in the US and I don't know if some members of adcomms will view this disfavorably.

Thank you guys so much!

I personally feel that this was a tremendous challenge that you had to overcome, and it it were up to me, you would get a significant advantage in admissions.

A very good friend of mine also grew up as an undocumented immigrant, but has since sorted out the situation and has successfully applied to medical school. He chose however not to disclose his previous status. His reasoning was that this could be a double edged sword, whereby some people would view this favorably, but others would not (more conservative members of adcoms perhaps). I can sympathize with his position, as throughout his whole life he had to be very cautious about this status, who to disclose it to, etc. He chose instead to emphasize his background as an economically underprivileged student, which worked out for him.

While I personally wholeheartedly support you OP, keep in mind that not everyone has such a favorable view of undocumented immigrants (or immigrants in general for that matter), including adcom members.

 

[LizzyM]

Did you feel that you were at a disadvantage as a new college student in comparison with the average student? Did you have fewer resources upon which to draw? If so, it could be reasonable to self-identify as "disadvantaged". The only time I'd suggest not doing so is if you were an undocumented refugee who was also exceptionally wealthy.

 

[lejeunesage]

I was in a similar situation, but by the time I was applying, I had a decent job and had been working for 2 years... I didn't want to be considered disadvantaged. Still got lots of interviews and acceptances.
I don't think it mattered in the end.

 

[choyphin]

During high school and throughout college, I worked 20-30 hours every week as a full-time student to help out with bills. It definitely wasn't easy, and I haven't always been able to engage as deeply in my extracurriculars/clinical-experiences as I would've liked, but it's also taught me to work hard and prioritize, instilling a staunch determination to seek out and take advantage of all available opportunities to further myself and my education. Overcoming odds, whether it's your legal status or SES, demonstrates character that will inevitably come off in your application and interview, and applying as disadvantaged is great because it can provide context to your story and be a discussion springboard.

 

[LizzyM]

I was in a similar situation, but by the time I was applying, I had a decent job and had been working for 2 years... I didn't want to be considered disadvantaged. Still got lots of interviews and acceptances.
I don't think it mattered in the end.

Disadvantaged refers to 0-18 years. I had an applicant who grew up in very disadvantaged circumstances (mom on drugs, foster care, etc), served in the military before and after college and was making almost six figures by the time he applied. in his 30s No one questioned that his situation up thorugh HS was disadvantaged.

 

[Jay11jayjay]

Did you feel that you were at a disadvantage as a new college student in comparison with the average student? Did you have fewer resources upon which to draw? If so, it could be reasonable to self-identify as "disadvantaged". The only time I'd suggest not doing so is if you were an undocumented refugee who was also exceptionally wealthy.

Dear LizzyM, My father's income is very low and my mother did not work. During high school I worked part-time to help pay for the bills. When I graduated from high school, I was not able to attend the University that I got accepted to because I did not have access to financial aid and my father was not able to help. Also, because of my status, I was not able to receive my driver's licence until I was 20 years old (this played a role in limiting my educational resources both in high school and during community college).

Besides checking a "disadvantaged" box, is there a section on the application where I can convey my background in some detail? I also plan on mentioning my situation in my personal statement because it did relate to why I decided to pursue medicine.

Also, since I did not officially exist in this country, my father was not able to list my name as a dependent on his taxes. He also has a different last name than me. Will I need to submit my father's old taxes to show my family's income level history? I did submit my father's latest taxes for FAP and that worked out fine.

 

[LizzyM]

Dear LizzyM, My father's income is very low and my mother did not work. During high school I worked part-time to help pay for the bills. When I graduated from high school, I was not able to attend the University that I got accepted to because I did not have access to financial aid and my father was not able to help. Also, because of my status, I was not able to receive my driver's licence until I was 20 years old (this played a role in limiting my educational resources both in high school and during community college).

Besides checking a "disadvantaged" box, is there a section on the application where I can convey my background in some detail? I also plan on mentioning my situation in my personal statement because it did relate to why I decided to pursue medicine.

Also, since I did not officially exist in this country, my father was not able to list my name as a dependent on his taxes. He also has a different last name than me. Will I need to submit my father's old taxes to show my family's income level history? I did submit my father's latest taxes for FAP and that worked out fine.

Your application will automatically include the location of your birth, and there is an optional section that almost everyone completes with parents' names, current locations, highest education attained and where, type of job held now (there is a drop down menu of categories). Family income when you were growing up (by broad category) is also asked along with how you paid for college and whether you worked when you were under 18. That's information that everyone is asked to provide.

If you self-identify as "disadvantaged" (and I think you have legitimate reasons to do so), then you also have a space (one paragraph, maybe 400 words?? I don't know the exact amount) to describe why you think you were disadvantaged as a kid. Being disadvantaged due to being undocumented and unable to borrow for college, get a driver's license at 16 and use that to take advantage of opportunities beyond your neighborhood, would be reasonable reasons to self-identify as disadvantaged.

 

[lejeunesage]

Disadvantaged refers to 0-18 years. I had an applicant who grew up in very disadvantaged circumstances (mom on drugs, foster care, etc), served in the military before and after college and was making almost six figures by the time he applied. in his 30s No one questioned that his situation up thorugh HS was disadvantaged.

My personal feeling was that I didn't want to be given what I considered an unfair advantage vis-a-vis others. Anyway, like I said, worked out anyway.

 

[LizzyM]

My personal feeling was that I didn't want to be given what I considered an unfair advantage vis-a-vis others. Anyway, like I said, worked out anyway.

I don't know if it gave anyone an "unfair advantage" but it helped explain why this guy served 3 yrs with the Marines before going to college and why he listed 3 parents (teen mom and 2 grandparents who served as foster parents). It placed the application in a context that was helpful to the reviewers.

 

[lejeunesage]

I don't know if it gave anyone an "unfair advantage" but it helped explain why this guy served 3 yrs with the Marines before going to college and why he listed 3 parents (teen mom and 2 grandparents who served as foster parents). It placed the application in a context that was helpful to the reviewers.

Not familiar with any particular case other than my own. I only wanted to be considered as an applicant on the merits of my stats. Not sure if it would have given me any leg up; I just wanted there to be no doubt that race/socioeconomic status/previous hardships (which by the time of my application I considered utterly irrelevant) had played no part in my admission to med school. Not a criticism of anyone else. Just a personal pride thing.

 

[caffeinemia]

Hey guys, I am trying to figure out whether or not I should classify myself as a disadvantaged applicant. More importantly, I want to know what the ramifications are behind this decision. In my specific case, does it matter at all?

For most of my life, I have lived in the US as an undocumented immigrant because my parents brought me to this country as a child to flee war. When I entered college, I was not able to receive financial aid and was not able to attend any university. Instead, I attended community college for 2 years, received a national award that covers full tuition, and I miraculously was able to fix my immigration status and become a permanent resident. I then transferred to a university where I am working on my biomedical engineering degree (top 10 engineering school). My previous undocumented status and my parent's very low income level played a major role in my upbringing and I plan on conveying that to the adcomms. Thus, I'm probably going to label myself as "disadvantaged." I am Arab American (if that matters by any chance). Will labeling myself as disadvantaged make any difference?

Also, will mentioning my previous undocumented status help me or hurt me? In a sense, mentioning my previous undocumented status will allow me to highlight my diverse background. On the other hand, immigration is a controversial political topic in the US and I don't know if some members of adcomms will view this disfavorably.

Thank you guys so much!

When I hear this I just think about what a killer personal statement you could write. This is the kind of stuff that autobiographies are made of.