Trouble with the Disadvantaged Section

[Phoenix Rising]

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So I've been having some trouble writing the disadvantaged section on AMCAS. I want to make it strictly informative (without being whiny) and based on my family/past, but I have some colleagues who say you should say something about how you grew from these experiences and what you plan to do with your medical education. Well here is what I have so far, so please let me know what I can improve on (thanks!):


Economic instability has always been a part of my life, which really began to affect us when my father gambled away our savings in the stock market in the mid 1990s. My father has not been able to hold down a job for more than 2 years, which has forced our family to move around many times in search of my father’s next job. My father had to work and live in other states far from where my family and I lived. Because of that, I grew up separated from my father from grades 7-10, which was very tough on me. When my father would lose his job, we would have to move out of our house to settle in a lower-income neighborhood or move into a studio apartment. This made it hard for me to readjust and hampered my schooling. The most recent example was when my father lost his job at the beginning of my senior year of high school. He liquidated his 401k so he could pay for our family’s expenses that year, but eventually we were forced to move out to a home in a rural area. This was where we lived for over 3 years, which includes the first 3 years of my college education. While I have worked part-time since I was 16, I had to take extra jobs and sometimes work full-time to help out with my family’s expenses. Although this heavy schedule made it hard to study for my classes, I truly learned the value of time and struggle.

 

[DoctaJay]

From a cursory reading I feel that you focus a little too much on the misdeeds of your dad and less on how it directly affected you because that is really what they want to hear. How did his actions ( which you can probably summarize in 1 sentence) cause you to be at a disadvantage economically and academically? And once you talk about that, try to mention a little more how you managed overcome these obstacles, but why you might still need help.

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[Avoidthetiger]

I agree with the post above. I also think you should get rid of the part about being separated from your father from grade 7-10... it doesn't add much nor does that statement make you disadvantage. Plenty of families have parents that live in different states/countries, these families can be well off or not so well off. Plenty of kids grow up in single-parent homes. Honestly, I would try to rewrite the first three sentences -- shorten it to the basics. I also am not a fan of the example. Three years in a rural area... in a house that sounds like you own.. I don't know if that makes you disadvantaged.

I could be wrong with my suggestions, as I did not answer this section. I would really focus on the affects your father's lack of job had on you growing up (did you use food stamps? Where you school meals discounted/free? Did you share a bedroom with you siblings? your mother? Could you not afford basic things at some point in your life? Did your mother work during this time? Did this limit your ability to have ECs/after-school activities/access to prep material? Did you have to take care of your siblings? other relatives?) I hope these questions help somewhat, because people I know who are disadvantaged, would have a yes to almost all of these. I don't see it in your description.

 

[Phoenix Rising]

Thank you for your reply DoctaJay and Avoidthetiger. I have taken your words into consideration and have edited my paragraph. However, I would like to give some more background on me, as this small piece cannot summarize my life. My dad works in the telecom business: sometimes he does good, sometimes he does bad. After the 1990s, its been all downhill. My dad tried to make it big on wall street, but ended up burning everything we had, even funds he had saved for my college education (and that of my sister as well). When he gets laid off/fired, it would be hard for him to find a similar job because the whole industry is either hiring or firing: aka when they let him go, no one else would take him. My dad has tried to support our family in a multitude of ways, including fastfood, taxi/limo service, and installing screws on aircraft. I have also taken part in helping my family, doing fastfood, ice cream making, construction, gardening, and sales. On and off, we have received alot of social services like TANF, food stamps, basic health plan, and Medicaid. We have had our electricity shut off during the dead of winter due to unpaid bills, and could not afford heating oil in recent winters. We have never owned a home, just rented. Thankfully, my father has a job right now, but it is on contract, meaning that in a few months, he can be offered to renew or be let go completly, restarting this terrible cycle all over again. Anyways, im not bitter 🙂 I could have it worse off , just like the rest of the world. Below is an updated draft. I hope I was able to work on what you recommended:


Economic instability has been a part of my life, which began when my dad gambled away our savings in the stock market in the 1990s. My dad has not held down a job for more than 2 years. When my dad would lose his job, we would have to move out to settle in a lower-income neighborhood or into a studio apartment, which is difficult for a family of five. This made it hard for me to readjust and hampered my schooling. The latest example was when my dad lost his job at the start of my senior year in high school. He liquidated his 401k and we received TANF, Medicaid, and food stamps. While I have worked part-time since I was 16, I had to take extra jobs and sometimes work full-time to help out with my family’s expenses. I had to go without prep courses and buying books to save money for my family. This reduced my studying time and prevented me from attending review sessions or going to office hours to get extra help. I would often study at while at work as well, simply because school workload was so heavy. Although this heavy schedule made difficult for me, I truly learned the value of time and struggle. I appreciated the opportunities given to me, and tried my best to succeed in my arena. I understand the sacrifices made by low-income families and my experiences have strengthened my resolve to serve them.

 

[HappyMe]

From a cursory reading I feel that you focus a little too much on the misdeeds of your dad and less on how it directly affected you because that is really what they want to hear. How did his actions ( which you can probably summarize in 1 sentence) cause you to be at a disadvantage economically and academically? And once you talk about that, try to mention a little more how you managed overcome these obstacles, but why you might still need help.

Do you have to be disadvantaged both economically AND academically to be considered disadvantaged?

 

[Avoidthetiger]

Do you have to be disadvantaged both economically AND academically to be considered disadvantaged?

No; but usually being economically disadvantage impacts you academically. Such as not being able to afford tutoring or act/sat/mcat prep classes, or having to work part/full time at 16+ and not 100% able to focus on your studies. Or coming home to take care of your siblings. OR maybe you economic situation got you access to free services that helped you get into a better college OR made you believe in yourself and achieving your dream of being an MD.

Examples help.