URM students and TX Schools

[mddoc]

Just putting a discussion question out there:
I'm from Texas and most public Texas schools are partially funded by the state. There are some notable advantages to this, namely that TX med schools pay some of the lowest tuition in the U.S. But on the flip side, I was looking into the stats of minorities (i.e. URMs) in medical schools and unsurprisingly the stats of URMs still remains quite low. This is also the same issue across the U.S., but my question is, with such low stats for URMs, it is justified for TX schools to receive so much funding, especially when there is a push now to produce doctors that will serve underserved communities (many of which are minority communities)? Studies show that minority doctors actually come back to those communities to practice, more than ORMs in comparison. Yet, one medical school I found admitted only 2 African-American doctors in its class last year. I personally find this unacceptable and I don't feel that schools like this should receive funding without direct benefit to the state. Shouldn't they work on increasing minority enrollment instead of building more medical schools, so that they can address the primary care physician shortage, for example? JMT. Look forward to your replies or any perspective I might be missing.

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[emergentmd]

Texas Schools are subsidized in order to accept majority Texas residents. Texas funding from all Texans = Accept majority Texans. The funding didn't come from URMs earmarked to accept a % of URMs.

Schools should accept the most qualified and should not accept a less qualified URM. If I were an URM, I would be offended that I got in over more qualified students. If applicants were similar, then taking an URM should be the way to go to increase diversity without lowering standards. But in no way will I ever agree that URM students should be taken over more qualified students.

There are a majority of URMs in basketball. Should the NBA be required to draft more white players to fit the national demographics? Of course not.

I am a minority and I rather outwork other students than be given an easier path. People think that all of these programs helps minorities, but in the long run it hurts more.

 

[mddoc]

Texas Schools are subsidized in order to accept majority Texas residents. Texas funding from all Texans = Accept majority Texans. The funding didn't come from URMs earmarked to accept a % of URMs.

Schools should accept the most qualified and should not accept a less qualified URM. If I were an URM, I would be offended that I got in over more qualified students. If applicants were similar, then taking an URM should be the way to go to increase diversity without lowering standards. But in no way will I ever agree that URM students should be taken over more qualified students.

There are a majority of URMs in basketball. Should the NBA be required to draft more white players to fit the national demographics? Of course not.

I am a minority and I rather outwork other students than be given an easier path. People think that all of these programs helps minorities, but in the long run it hurts more.

I see your points and I also would not want to be seen as getting in b/c of my status as a URM, but...we have real issues in this state when it comes to shortage of physicians in lower socioeconomic areas. And if we are not investing in those areas, can we really say that Texans are getting what they are paying for?
Also, there are systemic inequalities that have to be accepted when it comes to those that are getting to medical school. The fact is that URMs have a harder time getting in for a variety of reasons. Medical schools are already taking this into account. They know that they have to increase the number of Hispanic and Black physicians, for example in TX not just on paper but for the reasons I already mentioned.

My real question is, is TX doing their due diligence to recruit minority students? I don't think we have to explore the question with the idea that others are being 'denied' in the process.

 

[emergentmd]

Then to your questions, I believe schools bend over backwards to recruit minority students. The pool just is not as large or strong compared to other races.

The pool of black BB players are so much larger and better than asians. Blacks poplulation outnumber asians 2:1 in the US. But in the NBA blacks are 81% and asians are a slither of 1%. I would never say that they need more asians in the NBA given the accepted well known systemic genetic inequalities. I am sure having more asians would greatly grow the popularity of the sport in the asian countries/communities but would produce an inferior product and unjustly discriminate against better black players.

If our country stop using race as a criteria, the black community would rise up and compete. Blacks are just as hard working, smart, driven as any other race. My PCP is black. I have many friends that are black. They are just as bright/well spoken as any other race. But when you tell the black community that they can achieve their goals even though they are not as qualified, you are creating a crutch that does not serve the black community well.

Many of my Black friends are disgusted when they see less qualified blacks put in positions over more qualified people.

 

[mddoc]

"I believe schools bend over backwards to recruit minority students. The pool just is not as large or strong compared to other races." - I'm not sure about this.

When you have a situation in this country there are less Black male doctors in 2011 than there were in 1978, I don't really see how that quote really is true.

Meanwhile we still have a primary physician gap when it comes to underserved communities.

 

[Carmencitas]

Then to your questions, I believe schools bend over backwards to recruit minority students. The pool just is not as large or strong compared to other races.

The pool of black BB players are so much larger and better than asians. Blacks poplulation outnumber asians 2:1 in the US. But in the NBA blacks are 81% and asians are a slither of 1%. I would never say that they need more asians in the NBA given the accepted well known systemic genetic inequalities. I am sure having more asians would greatly grow the popularity of the sport in the asian countries/communities but would produce an inferior product and unjustly discriminate against better black players.

If our country stop using race as a criteria, the black community would rise up and compete. Blacks are just as hard working, smart, driven as any other race. My PCP is black. I have many friends that are black. They are just as bright/well spoken as any other race. But when you tell the black community that they can achieve their goals even though they are not as qualified, you are creating a crutch that does not serve the black community well.

Many of my Black friends are disgusted when they see less qualified blacks put in positions over more qualified people.

What exactly makes these black people unqualified? Because when other low stat applicants of other races get in with low stats they’re congratulated. If these people were unqualified don’t you think they’d be failing out of school at higher rates? Why would adcoms admit students THEY think are under qualified? Hmmm probably because THEY don’t think they’re under qualified and understand they bring unique traits and skills to the class. When ORMs start treating underserved populations the same as other populations and racial inequalities stop happening in medicine just then will they remove race as a factor. Also for most classes, Black people make up less than 10% of the class. So how are adcoms bending over backwards to admit them? At the end of the day, applicants are more than just numbers people with perfect stats are not entitled to an acceptance just because of that. Sometimes these people are simply just not people you want to be your doctor.

Also, I’m not sure why you came to the URM thread to discuss this. This is not the purpose of this forum.

 

[Carmencitas]

Just putting a discussion question out there:
I'm from Texas and most public Texas schools are partially funded by the state. There are some notable advantages to this, namely that TX med schools pay some of the lowest tuition in the U.S. But on the flip side, I was looking into the stats of minorities (i.e. URMs) in medical schools and unsurprisingly the stats of URMs still remains quite low. This is also the same issue across the U.S., but my question is, with such low stats for URMs, it is justified for TX schools to receive so much funding, especially when there is a push now to produce doctors that will serve underserved communities (many of which are minority communities)? Studies show that minority doctors actually come back to those communities to practice, more than ORMs in comparison. Yet, one medical school I found admitted only 2 African-American doctors in its class last year. I personally find this unacceptable and I don't feel that schools like this should receive funding without direct benefit to the state. Shouldn't they work on increasing minority enrollment instead of building more medical schools, so that they can address the primary care physician shortage, for example? JMT. Look forward to your replies or any perspective I might be missing.

OP I found this to be the case in states like Mississippi as well, in my opinion I just think less Black students apply than other races or end up going to HBCs.

 

[mddoc]

That may be true, but we did have an occurence in 2014 where less Black men became physicians than in 1978...there is a serious problem here and the AAMC imo has not done enough. To me, it's almost inexcusable.

OP I found this to be the case in states like Mississippi as well, in my opinion I just think less Black students apply than other races or end up going to HBCs.

 

[ArdorAyurveda]

Then to your questions, I believe schools bend over backwards to recruit minority students. The pool just is not as large or strong compared to other races.

The pool of black BB players are so much larger and better than asians. Blacks poplulation outnumber asians 2:1 in the US. But in the NBA blacks are 81% and asians are a slither of 1%. I would never say that they need more asians in the NBA given the accepted well known systemic genetic inequalities. I am sure having more asians would greatly grow the popularity of the sport in the asian countries/communities but would produce an inferior product and unjustly discriminate against better black players.

If our country stop using race as a criteria, the black community would rise up and compete. Blacks are just as hard working, smart, driven as any other race. My PCP is black. I have many friends that are black. They are just as bright/well spoken as any other race. But when you tell the black community that they can achieve their goals even though they are not as qualified, you are creating a crutch that does not serve the black community well.

Many of my Black friends are disgusted when they see less qualified blacks put in positions over more qualified people.

1) Could you explain further? Would love to hear about the specific genes, biochemical pathways and the evolutionary pressures that cause one race to excel at an anthropological phenomenon such as sports.

2) So non-black person has black friends (many!!) and is therefore qualified to speak on behalf of the black community.