Reverse Discrimination

[thundercat77]

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Hello all you SDNers out there. It's so nice to have a community of people who are very supportive and honest about their feelings.

I have a situation for all of you to think about....

I applied to a private, U.S. medical school (M.D.) for this current year. I did a post-bacc with them because I was borderline of getting accepted last year, and I was advised to try this program. I took medical anatomy, medical neurology, and medical biochemistry this passed year. I passed all the national board subject exams and all the classes. Unfortuatenly, I received a decision last week and I was wait-listed. When my advisor told me about what happened, he said that my race (I am Asian-American) hurt my chances. My advisor said that there are too many Asian Americans at this medical school and that if I were black or Hispanic, I probably would have gotten in.

I know there are more sides and spins to this story and I am leaving out other things. However, what do you guys think? What should I do?? What viable options do I have??

Thanks.

 

[migs54]

I would really consider going to a attorney and ask about the possibility of a lawsuit. I know they want to have diversity, but to say the reason you didnt get in is because there are to many asians is ridiculous. But if you were a minority race you would've been accepated. Imagine if it was the other way around if you were a minority and they said the only reason you didnt get accepted is because you are a minority, jesse jackson and al sharpton wouldve been there the next day. go to a lawyer

 

[MacGyver]

Well from a legal standpoint even with your advisor's testimony I think you have a tough case, the reason being because your advisor is not on the admissions committee (or did i miss somehting)?

If he was speaking from the official position of an admissions committee representative, that carries MUCH more legal weight than an advisor (who was not privy to the reasoning behind the admissions decisions)

Sorry about what happened though. Good luck with whatever you decide to do. You might want to contact a lawyer that does not charge for the first visit, and they could give you a better idea of where you stand.

 

[MD'05]

Thundercat,

I am sorry to hear this ... I knew an asian fellow who wasn't getting any interviews. He was a California resident and applied to alot of Calif schools. I think his advisors contacted a medical school he was interested in and it helped to get him an interview. You might talk to your advisor and see if he or she has any connections that might help.

Also, I wouldn't let what your advisor said stop you from writing a very nice letter to the admissions committee to express your interest in attending their school.

 

[thundercat77]

Is a lawsuit something I really want to pursue? I mean, can I litigate my way into medical school? Anybody know anyone (other than the Bakke decision) who pressed legal action on the basis of reverse discrimination??

Lionel

 

[Ryo-Ohki]

Bakke. Hopwood. University of Michigan.

The UM case in particular, looks like it will go to the Supreme Court.

The worst thing you can do is to be quiet.

 

[omores]

Thundercat:

I do sympathize with your situation. You're clearly academically qualified to attend the school, and it must be really frustrating to have gotten waitlisted. If I'd gone through what you had, I'm sure I'd feel cheated. But I think the situation may be a little bit more complicated than that. First of all, medical schools will freely admit that they turn away hundreds of perfectly qualified applicants because they don't have enough places for everyone. I think it would be very difficult to make a convincing case that your race was the sole factor responsible for the school's decision.

And second, •••quote:•••Originally posted by thundercat77:
•My advisor said that there are too many Asian Americans at this medical school and that if I were black or Hispanic, I probably would have gotten in.
•••••If there are already "too many" Asian Americans at the school, I think you'd have a tough time proving that there's a discriminatory institutional policy in place.

This isn't to say that a large number of very qualified Asian American applicants didn't make it harder for you to stand out. But randomness is built into this process, and it's impossible to say that you should have gotten in but didn't.

I do wish you the best of luck, though. It sounds as if you're smart, hard-working and determined, and that should ultimately pay off.

 

[UCLA2000]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by thundercat77:
•Hello all you SDNers out there. It's so nice to have a community of people who are very supportive and honest about their feelings.

I have a situation for all of you to think about....

I applied to a private, U.S. medical school (M.D.) for this current year. I did a post-bacc with them because I was borderline of getting accepted last year, and I was advised to try this program. I took medical anatomy, medical neurology, and medical biochemistry this passed year. I passed all the national board subject exams and all the classes. Unfortuatenly, I received a decision last week and I was wait-listed. When my advisor told me about what happened, he said that my race (I am Asian-American) hurt my chances. My advisor said that there are too many Asian Americans at this medical school and that if I were black or Hispanic, I probably would have gotten in.

I know there are more sides and spins to this story and I am leaving out other things. However, what do you guys think? What should I do?? What viable options do I have??

Thanks.•••••Since your advisor does had nothing to do with the commitee he cannot say for certain that the reason that you got denied is that you're asian. The bottom line is that if there are too many asians at some particular medschool then how are you going to say that they are discriminating against asians.

You'd have a better case as a latino or african american seeing as how they make up over 40% of the US population and only like 5% of the medical school student bodies (this was posted in an article in one of the other threads).

 

[Ryo-Ohki]

Yes, and why are they only 5% of medical school admits?

Merit, what the heck is that?

 

[omores]

Ryo-Ohki: I'm a wee bit confused by your previous post. What are you asking?

 

[Ryo-Ohki]

I'm confused as well. Asians make up 3% of the population and take up 30% of the slots. Therefore all medical schools should admit 3% Asians.