URM status

[Chemdude]

If someone's parents are from North Africa, can they claim URM status as an African American? North Africans are Arabs/Berbers and are usually considered Caucasian.

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[honker]

This has been discussed before. Unless you are black, you are best advised not to use the African-American designation. Schools may think you are trying to mislead them as to your background if you are caucasian and use that category to identify yourself.

 

[archimedesxx]

If someone's parents are from North Africa, can they claim URM status as an African American? North Africans are Arabs/Berbers and are usually considered Caucasian.

Dude you have answered your own question. Being from North Africa doesn't qualify you as URM. According to the AAMC designation, Arabs are caucasian. Besides there is no URM box and so the school determines whether or not you are. Imagine ticking Black on the form and going for an interview. Your interviewer sees you're Arab. What are you going to say?

 

[redlight]

typically, people don't transform into urms after 2 decades of being something else.

just identify yourself as you've been doing all your life (or choose other or something).

leave the urm debate to adcom.

 

[Chemdude]

I'm not North African. One of my medical student acquaintances, who happens to be Moroccan, said that he had claimed URM status. I just wanted to know if he was BSing...

 

[guestdoc]

I'm not North African. One of my medical student acquaintances, who happens to be Moroccan, said that he had claimed URM status. I just wanted to know if he was BSing...

+1 to your friend

 

[MegaProjectile]

I'm not North African. One of my medical student acquaintances, who happens to be Moroccan, said that he had claimed URM status. I just wanted to know if he was BSing...

Your friend is BSing. First of all, adcoms have been around quite a while to know most of the tricks on the book. You are required to present a photo of yourself with your secondary at most schools. So it hard to slip through the crack when your photo ID differs from your AMCAS representation.

 

[pakola]

Your friend is BSing. First of all, adcoms have been around quite a while to know most of the tricks on the book. You are required to present a photo of yourself with your secondary at most schools. So it hard to slip through the crack when your photo ID differs from your AMCAS representation.

There are plenty of North Africans that are dark-skinned, so they won't automatically assume the person is BSing. Secondly, it seems wrong to tell someone who's family is originally from Africa but migrated to America, that he/she is not African-American. And many people in North African countries are not full Arab, even though they speak Arabic. Who is to say that one person has some African in him/her vs. the other. What about South Africans? Regardless, adcoms are going to judge you if you put African-American and you're from North Africa, so it's probably wise not to do so.

 

[FutureScaresMe]

There are plenty of North Africans that are dark-skinned, so they won't automatically assume the person is BSing. Secondly, it seems wrong to tell someone who's family is originally from Africa but migrated to America, that he/she is not African-American. And many people in North African countries are not full Arab, even though they speak Arabic. Who is to say that one person has some African in him/her vs. the other. What about South Africans? Regardless, adcoms are going to judge you if you put African-American and you're from North Africa, so it's probably wise not to do so.

While having origins in Africa may seem like you could consider yourself "African American," realize the root of the term came from black people in the 60s who grew tired of being called negros and wanted a new self-identifying term. Americans with Arab roots in North Africa or Caucasian roots in South Africa are not African American, despite being from Africa.

 

[pakola]

While having origins in Africa may seem like you could consider yourself "African American," realize the root of the term came from black people in the 60s who grew tired of being called negros and wanted a new self-identifying term. Americans with Arab roots in North Africa or Caucasian roots in South Africa are not African American, despite being from Africa.

Well, I'm not too sure anymore how AMCAS does it, but many applications that I have seen have the ethnicity listed as "African/African-American". This includes people who identify themselves as African as they may have recently migrated. Would it be wrong for an individual with a North African heritage to select this ethnicity?

 

[erdavis]

Just because you are from Africa that doesnt make you an African American if you move to America.

Their nationality maybe African but their race and ethnicity is still White or Arab or Asian. URM is based on race and ethnic group. I dont recall AMCAS ask for your nationality

 

[KeyzerSoze]

Just to make it abundantly clear, African-American is a euphemism for black.

 

[Chemdude]

Just to make it abundantly clear, African-American is a euphemism for black.

Ok. Then how is possible to literally differentiate between a black person and a person who's not black but comes from Africa?

 

[batman1983]

I'm not North African. One of my medical student acquaintances, who happens to be Moroccan, said that he had claimed URM status. I just wanted to know if he was BSing...

Technically, he could be black and arab. Look at Sudan and Somalia.

 

[WannaBePreMed]

If someone's parents are from North Africa, can they claim URM status as an African American? North Africans are Arabs/Berbers and are usually considered Caucasian.

Yeah, you're not a URM. It might look bad when you show up to the interview and the interviewer expects a black person.