How do schools use the SES on verified apps? I've heard the more socioeconomically screwed up you are the more likely you will struggle in med school? Is that true to some degree? I'm in the lowest level and worried schools might use it against me?
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- Thread starter moto_za
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It is not used as a indicator of potential performance, but to ensure that the school is accepting a diverse applicant pool and to maybe reflect some of the challenges you have had in your life.
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^ I agree. It may also be used to identify admitted students who may need extra help and to reach out proactively to make that help available.
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Yes. AAMC crunched the numbers (info from AMCAS applications and data from the schools on proportion of students repeating a year, board scores, etc) and found that parents' relatively low educational attainment as a proxy for SES was a predictor of a struggle in med school. However, it is believed that diversity of SES is desirable and therefore the message from AAMC was not to screen out these applicants but to use the information to identify students who should be provided with additional resources (eg. one on one tutor). I think that some schools might just offer these resources to everyone but gauge demand in advance by counting the number of students who fall in the lower SES category or who might otherwise be flagged as needing help (eg. non-native English speaker, low MCAT, non-science major, etc depending on the med school course).
