SES disadvantaged

[c1785844]

greetings - hoping to get some advice from adcoms here.

i think i will be designated as SES disadvantaged on amcas b/c my family lived off of food stamps and other govt. assistance while growing up (rural town). i answered questions about income, federal/state assistance and college fin. aid on the application, so is it be repetitive to check yes for applying disadvantaged and write the essay? the essay lets me flesh out my background but i also think my situation is obvious based on the SES q's

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[piii]

Just check it and write the essay

 

[Med Ed]

greetings - hoping to get some advice from adcoms here.

i think i will be designated as SES disadvantaged on amcas b/c my family lived off of food stamps and other govt. assistance while growing up (rural town). i answered questions about income, federal/state assistance and college fin. aid on the application, so is it be repetitive to check yes for applying disadvantaged and write the essay? the essay lets me flesh out my background but i also think my situation is obvious based on the SES q's

Yup, check it and write the essay. The question exists in part because data like income and parent's education, while informative, can also be misleading.

 

[c1785844]

many thx to you both! the amcas app has two different sections - disadvantaged and SES disadvantaged. sinnce my disadvantage status is mainly due to our SES status, it is not redundant? i just assumed the other disadvantaged section (w/ essay) was for those who are disadvantaged in ways OTHER than SES.

many thx for any additional clarification on this topic, just don't want to have it seem like i'm shoving my SES status every where i can

 

[Med Ed]

many thx to you both! the amcas app has two different sections - disadvantaged and SES disadvantaged. sinnce my disadvantage status is mainly due to our SES status, it is not redundant? i just assumed the other disadvantaged section (w/ essay) was for those who are disadvantaged in ways OTHER than SES.

many thx for any additional clarification on this topic, just don't want to have it seem like i'm shoving my SES status every where i can

It may seem redundant, but (for example) one person might have grown up poor in an area with decent schools, while another may have been middle class in an area with rotten schools. Both could potentially be disadvantaged, albeit in different ways. My suspicion is that SES is going to become the new URM.

 

[c1785844]

thx for the thoughtful responses, Med Ed and piii. i decided to not fill out the essay based on what i found in the amcas app manual:

Disadvantaged Status:
You will then be asked if you wish to be considered a disadvantaged applicant by your designated medical schools. You might consider yourselfdisadvantaged if you grew up in an area that was medically underserved or had insufficient access to State and Federal Assistance programs. Click Yes to be considered a
disadvantaged applicant.
​

since my family had access to food stamps etc., the essay seems inappropriate for my situation and redundant. i would appreciate any additional thoughts on this, but amcas makes it clear that their other yes/no questions should fully capture my experience

 

[Med Ed]

thx for the thoughtful responses, Med Ed and piii. i decided to not fill out the essay based on what i found in the amcas app manual:

Disadvantaged Status:
You will then be asked if you wish to be considered a disadvantaged applicant by your designated medical schools. You might consider yourselfdisadvantaged if you grew up in an area that was medically underserved or had insufficient access to State and Federal Assistance programs. Click Yes to be considered a
disadvantaged applicant.
​

since my family had access to food stamps etc., the essay seems inappropriate for my situation and redundant. i would appreciate any additional thoughts on this, but amcas makes it clear that their other yes/no questions should fully capture my experience

There is no hard letter of the law here. Applicants self-determine if they consider themselves to be disadvantaged, explain why, and then medical schools decide if the information is useful to them. I would say 90% of the disadvantaged essays I have read involve the applicant growing up on government assistance/food stamps. Considering the financial straits one usually has to be in to qualify for such aid, it is easy to make a compelling case.

 

[c1785844]

There is no hard letter of the law here. Applicants self-determine if they consider themselves to be disadvantaged, explain why, and then medical schools decide if the information is useful to them. I would say 90% of the disadvantaged essays I have read involve the applicant growing up on government assistance/food stamps. Considering the financial straits one usually has to be in to qualify for such aid, it is easy to make a compelling case.

thx again for your insight, Med Ed. it looks like i will end up writing the essay afterall. may i ask how adcoms view this kind of information? do they compare disadvantaged kids against each other, rather than the total applicant pool? my main concern i suppose is that adcoms might see this as a 'pity' consideration for the sake of diversity

 

[Med Ed]

my main concern i suppose is that adcoms might see this as a 'pity' consideration for the sake of diversity

It's not about pity, it's about context. We're not asking for a sob story, you can just lay out the facts and move on.

Having said that, nobody has a gun to your head over this. If you feel your application is strong enough without checking the box then go ahead and let it ride. I am guessing your parents' SES indicator will come out EO1 or EO2, which will also point to an economically disadvantaged childhood.