I was wondering about the disadvantaged question on AMCAS. I am looking to reapply and did not say I was disadvantaged because my family is of mostly mid SES. My AMCAS indicates Im from an undeserved area and I grew up in a rural farm town and went to a public school that didnt really prepare students for college and had to undergo a lot of budget cuts to stay afloat. The area didnt really have much in terms of medical resources (closest hospital/urgent care was about 25 min away). Ours resources impacted some of my scholastic decisions so I could get a better education but I am unsure if that is significant to be considered disadvantage or if one would have to overcome huge adversity to be able to identify as disadvantaged. Ive gotten conflicing viewpoints on this because my parents dont fit the SES definition of disadvantaged but where I was raised and my pre college education and resource availability does according to others. Is there a set of requirements that must all be met?
What factors determine disadvantages in AMCAS?
- Thread starter buckoh24
- Start date
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2005
- Messages
- 28,472
- Reaction score
- 53,323
If adcoms believe that you are self-identifying as disadvantaged to gain an advantage over other applicants when, in fact, you were not disadvantaged, then you will not be treated kindly.
I recall an applicant who grew up in a small town in the rust belt where there were a substantial proportion of people on public assistance and in low wage jobs. The town was in an underserved medical area. But, the applicant's parents were the town's doctors! How do you expect the adcom responded to that?!
Don't be this guy
I recall an applicant who grew up in a small town in the rust belt where there were a substantial proportion of people on public assistance and in low wage jobs. The town was in an underserved medical area. But, the applicant's parents were the town's doctors! How do you expect the adcom responded to that?!
Don't be this guy
Thats what I figured the case would be. I was thinking more in terms of not really having anything available at our school (shut down a couple elementary schools and doubled the class size to cram us all into one) and my how factors like that had an impact on preparing for college but I dont want it to come off as a woe is me type of thing because I know others in my community werent as fortunate and probably had it much worse. And my PS talks about wanting to spread medical resources to these areas, especially to help LGBTQ+ people in rural and underserved areas cuz I had 0 growing up. But again I dont want to come across as as the applicant you mentioned above (my parents werent both physicians and by no means rich but were better off than the average family in our area)If adcoms believe that you are self-identifying as disadvantaged to gain an advantage over other applicants when, in fact, you were not disadvantaged, then you will not be treated kindly.
I recall an applicant who grew up in a small town in the rust belt where there were a substantial proportion of people on public assistance and in low wage jobs. The town was in an underserved medical area. But, the applicant's parents were the town's doctors! How do you expect the adcom responded to that?!
Don't be this guy
