Question for Current Med Students, does American Indian make me better off??

[AntGod22]

Hey guys, wanted to ask do you think that I would have a chance at being accepted to any med school in NY state with this list:

1) GPA 3.47
2) Science GPA 3.55
3) Mcats = not taken yet
4) Research published in Journal
5) Volunteer service in PT clinic and hospital
6) And the big question im part Sioux native american indian. Im 25% and i have a tribal number and everything. Was wondering will this give be any advantage when it comes to getting accepted. I dont care where i go im not picky i just want to make it bad!!!
thanks alot
Anthony
Vice President -NYIT- Pre-Med Association

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[PMPMD]

Just do well on the MCAT...with those stats and ECs you won't have to rely on any other factors.

 

[Doctor Wyldstyle]

Will it help? Hey, why not...but your stats aren't bad. I had similar stats and I'm in. I'm not a URM and I didn't have a stellar MCAT at all. Keep everything up, good luck.

 

[Doctor Wyldstyle]

Will it help? Hey, why not...but your stats aren't bad. I had similar stats and I'm in. I'm not a URM and I didn't have a stellar MCAT at all. Keep everything up, good luck.

 

[gower]

Having Native American ancestry is not enough, but you have something that makes it enough: tribal registry! You should mention it on your application and bring a copy with you when you go to interviews. There were and are enough phonies trying to claim Native American ancestry that the Registry evidence became required.

 

[Medic171]

yeah, if you have tribal registrty than you are a shoe in. Native Americans are way underrepresented from what I have been told.

 

[AntGod22]

Really??
I never thought being native american would ever of helped me out. I dont wanna be some loser that is relying on my just my bloodline to get in but getting into med school is just way to important for me. I used to be a Physical Therapy Major but in my fourth year of college I transfered into the Pre-Med program and got demoted to a sophmore in that program. So I gave up a lot to try to become a doctor and I just hope that i made the right choice. So I cant really afford not to make it in next year. Well anyways i woke up late today jeez 12:30 in the afternoon, God i love having fridays off from class. Oh well off to study my organic chem Mcat review book,
later
Anthony

 

[dlbruch]

You will have to check about what percentages you need to be qualified for American Indian ethnicity. If you qualify, you can probably write you own ticket- there are so few American Indians in medicine that you probably have a good shot at the best med. schools!

 

[mpp]

I agree with previous posters. Do a decent job on the MCAT (25+) and you will have no difficulty getting into some of the top medical schools with your tribal registry. University of Washington has an excellent <a href="http://staff.washington.edu/polly/nacoe/" target="_blank">Native American Health Program</a>. If you show an interest in primary care in a Native American area, you would probably be accepted on the spot.

Just our of curiosity, what is your major and from what part of the country are you?

 

[AntGod22]

I am a pre-Med major at New York Tech, Im from queens in New York City. My mom is 75% sioux indian. My grandmothers last name was BearShield. But my dad is 100% Italian hence the name Anthony for me. Ive always used the native american thing when applying to college, SAT's, and other scholarships. Now i just pull out a like 27-29 on the MCAT's. I would love to go to a great MD school . By grades dont do me justice since I never used to study as a PT major. It wasnt until my senior year that I actually started to study and then i went from a 2.3 GPA to a 3.35 that I have now. After this semester I almost probably will have a 3.45 something.
Anthony <img border="0" alt="[Laughy]" title="" src="graemlins/laughy.gif" /> <img border="0" alt="[Pity]" title="" src="graemlins/pity.gif" />

 

[Ligament]

yeah, if you have tribal registrty than you are a shoe in. Native Americans are way underrepresented from what I have been told.

I agree with the above. You have good enough numbers as it is. However you are a shoe in

I'd say you were a shoe in with any bachelor's degree, regardless of your numbers grades and MCAT.

Best of luck!

 

[Orthodog]

Dear AntGod22,

In today's world, never rely on your minority status to get what you want in today's world. As time progresses, many states are refusing to use Affirmative Action rules to admit students. Your grades are good, and I believe that they are well earned. However, many other Native Americans have the same grades or better. If you use Affirmative Action as a means to get in medical school, this makes it actually harder to achieve admission. many people have the misconception that Affirmative Action (AA) makes the process easier. For example, if X-med school admits 100 people. Let's say AA says that 15% of the class has to be under-represented minorities. X-Med has 650 URM apllications. The ratio now is 650 to 15 slots. In short, don't count on your race to get you in. The grades still matter. In some institiutions, minorities have problems passing the USMLE exams. So the URMs that do get accepted are the ones with the best grades and scores. Please, race is no reason to think that your competitive. Leave that misconception at the Door.

 

[mpp]

Underrepresented status is not the only factor but it is a major, major factor when you are a Native American with competitive stats (the GPA is already there). The only reason I asked where you were from is that it the Native American medical programs I know of all have a preference for rural applicants as well Native American applicants. If you were a Native American from a rural area you would not only be ultra competitive for admittance but probably sought after and wooed with scholarship money. Good luck with everything...

 

[gel1]

A dean at U. Michigan told me that the state of Michigan offers scholarship money if you can prove that you are at least 25% native american, even if you are from out-of-state. UMich is a top ten school, you may want to consider applying there.

 

[MacGyver]

gower,

What if I told you that you could get legitimate tribal registry on most Native American tribal rolls with as little as 1/32 blood percentile?

Its very easy to get a tribal card and official tribal citizenship, even if you have very little indian blood, as long as you have the death certs, birth certs, and other basic info about your ancestors. I believe AMCAS needs to explicity state what level of blood percentile is necessary to claim URM native american status (i.e. at least 25%)

 

[AntGod22]

THANKS GUYS,
I HAVE HAD A TRIBAL REGISTRY NUMBER FROM THE
SIOUX INDIANS IN SOUTH DAKOTA NOW FOR ATLEAST 15 YEARS NOW. NEVER HELPED ME OUT BEFORE, BUT MAYBE THAT ALL WILL CHANGE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

 

[Bandit]

AntGod22, GOD I hope it does not help you. I am sick of people (not singling out you my friend) trying to get somthing for free. I too am part Sioux (only about 12%), but no number. IF it would have heloped me, I suppose I would have taken the help as a younger man. But now as I get older I think I would have been ashamed of myself for the help. You ARE good enough to get in based on the merits. Personally, I am just plain sick and tired of people wanting more for poor reasons. Please, do not take any offense to this post -- I truly meant none.

 

[none]

No...I'm very much against any sort of blood percent stuff. We did that with the Dawes Act and it is very demeaning to any culture. You need to simply mark it on AMCAS and be able to discuss it in interviews. And yes, it will help you get in. American Indian communities are some of the most underserved in the country and med schools are quite eager to admit anyone who has a very high chance of actually being able to relate to the culture and work there. Further, they're looking for community role models. Orthodog...I don't totally understand your math, but med schools don't have some sort of URM quota system. They just admit the qualified URM applicants.