I have a friend who made a similar comment to me today. He asked me how much debt I have accrued thus far in my undergraduate studies (I am in my fourth year). I told him I have none: my family is poor so I have a decent Pell Grant and I was a good high school student (graduated at the top 10% of my class while holding a job since 16 years of age) so I receive a sizable scholarship from the school I attend. I asked him how much he was indebted and he replied, I have A LOT of debt; I dont qualify for scholarships because I am a middle class, white male. He said it with enough disdain for me to realize he was challenging me.
Now this boy lives with his parents. Still, he pays for all of his own bills. So I asked him, oh well how much do you make?
I only make $11,000.
Oh really, because until last year my mom only made $4,000 more than that a year
and shes supporting three children without any financial assistance from my dad, I said in a vain attempt to justify my Pell Grant.
Yeah, but one of them contributes to that, he claimed, hinting to my income contribution.
At this point I was so infuriated that I needed to walk away. I simply could not look this boy in the eyes for over an hour. I make $7,000 per year before taxes. Do you know what my money has always gone to? FEEDING MY FAMILY. Thats right: until last year I paid for all of the groceries in the house for my two younger brothers, my mother, and I. Why? My mom was not making enough money to feed us; hence, I was forced to get a job at 16 to do it for us. It was state of living in which we were so poor that:
1. Oftentimes utility bills were paid only when someone was sent to the house to turn off said utilities.
2. Dentists and doctors were not actually visited unless for emergencies (you have no idea how much you people take insurance for granted).
3. Thrift stores are not even an option anymore, clothes are worn until the holes cannot be re-sewn anymore.
Those were given simply to provide a general idea of the hell we were living. For me specifically:
1. I have needed eyeglasses since I was 16. We found out when I had a physical (the only time I saw a doctor outside of an emergency) required for my working papers. I was unable to afford them, however, until this past summer and I am currently nearly 22.
2. My body began shutting down on me when I was 19. I had various medical problems which, due to lack of insurance, ran me upwards of $2,000+ in one year (all of which my family did not have). The irony is that it all could have been prevented had I seen a doctor regularly.
3. While my father had been physically, emotionally, and mentally abusive towards my immediate family (my mother and I especially) throughout my childhood, my mom slid into a deep depression when I was 14 upon their divorce. My father moved immediately to another state and we have not had contact with him since. I was immediately forced to take on the mother role at that young age as my mom literally shut herself away from the world (including us even though we lived with her) and barely spoke to us for 4-5 years.
This boy did not maintain the grades that I did, nor was he as involved in high school as I was. In addition, NEWS FLASH: being female does not qualify you as a minority!!! Yes the FAFSA system, in which those who are in reality not dependents of their parents are forced to put their parents income on the form anyway, sucks! But guess what? That does not mean you were discriminated against because you are a middle class, white male.
I hope you can all see now why I was just slightly enraged at his attempt to compare our situations for financial aid, meanwhile complaining about how he was being shafted, for lack of a better word, for being a middle class, white male. No matter what, he still lives with his middle class parents
if he falters, he has a safety net. If I falter, I (still) do not have a safety net.
How does this apply? It applies because I hear this excuse all too often when it comes to higher education, occupation, etc
and quite frankly I am sick and tired of hearing it. Of course, my train of thought applies not to those minorities who grew up with a silver spoon in their mouth. Nevertheless, there are far more minorities who have lived through what I have and in general they most certainly do deserve their medical school acceptance much more than you if they have lived through all of that in addition to obtaining the same grades/scores as you. Altogether, I beg of you to hold this in mind: it is oh-so-easy to be the picture perfect applicant when you sleep upon a bed of roses; it is an entirely different ball game to be the picture perfect applicant when you sleep upon a bed of thorns.
P.S. By the time I graduate college I will have a B.A. in Psychology, a B.S. in Biology, a minor in Law, a Concentration in Pre-Medical studies, and a Concentration in Honors studies. All that while having worked full-time and/or part-time despite taking 18+ credits per semester, and while having participated and/or been an officer for just about every applicable organization on-campus. I have volunteered and/or worked in hospitals since 12 years of age. I have volunteered for more miscellaneous activities in the past few years than I can actually account for (because I enjoy it) and am considering joining AmeriCorps before medical school. My GPA is currently a 3.86. I have not yet taken the MCATs.
When I get into a good medical school it will be due to my hard work and not due to my sex or race.
😡
BS 
