Would this be qualified as URM?

[Hassm1990]

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To start off, I did not apply as disadvantaged/URM. I lived in Jordan with three sisters and my mom in an apartment with less than $25,000 income(not exactly sure how much) but it was just enough to get us by. I came to New york when I was 13 years old and I am now currently living in Brentwood,NY. Since hispanic/black applicants qualify as URM and I would say more than 80% of Brentwood is hispanic/black, does it make me qualified. I mean why would someone who lives next door to me qualify as disadvantaged while I would not. Also, my dad only completed a high school education ( first time I saw him was when I came to NY), my mom did not complete high school. I also have two brothers who I have not seen in years due to some financial debate between them and my dad. One of them was a college dropout, while the other completed a mechanical engineering degree. My sister recently completed an MLT degree and I was the third kid to graduate college. My stats are not bad, 3.71 cGPA 3.84 sGPA, but my MCAT 28 (11BS,9PS,8VR) worries me. I am currently a Fire Lieutenant after 4 years of volunteering at my local FD. I was averaging 32 on my practice MCATs but I think what got to me on test day was a fatal train/vehicle accident the day before.I will spare you guys the gruesome details. Thanks.

 

[AdrianVeidt]

To start off, I did not apply as disadvantaged/URM. I lived in Jordan with three sisters and my mom in an apartment with less than $25,000 income(not exactly sure how much) but it was just enough to get us by. I came to New york when I was 13 years old and I am now currently living in Brentwood,NY. Since hispanic/black applicants qualify as URM and I would say more than 80% of Brentwood is hispanic/black, does it make me qualified. I mean why would someone who lives next door to me qualify as disadvantaged while I would not. Also, my dad only completed a high school education ( first time I saw him was when I came to NY), my mom did not complete high school. I also have two brothers who I have not seen in years due to some financial debate between them and my dad. One of them was a college dropout, while the other completed a mechanical engineering degree. My sister recently completed an MLT degree and I was the third kid to graduate college. My stats are not bad, 3.71 cGPA 3.84 sGPA, but my MCAT 28 (11BS,9PS,8VR) worries me. I am currently a Fire Lieutenant after 4 years of volunteering at my local FD. I was averaging 32 on my practice MCATs but I think what got to me on test day was a fatal train/vehicle accident the day before.I will spare you guys the gruesome details. Thanks.

URM =/= disadvantaged status. You can't be a URM because you're not black/indian/hispanic. You're caucasian.

You can however apply as a disadvantaged applicant. It's under the 'biographical information' part of the AMCAS application.

 

[LizzyM]

Every school makes its own determination regarding what is URM for its school. https://www.aamc.org/initiatives/urm/

A school might ask, "Are their shortages of Jordanian-American physicians in the US in relation to the proportion of Jordanians in the area we serve (which could be a region, a state or the entire US)?"

Disadvantaged is a different question. You will provide some objective information such as the highest level of education your parents acheived, the number of siblings you have, where your parents live, their occupations, your household income during your childhood, how you paid for college, where you were born, where you graduated college, etc. From that, an adcom member reading your application can get something of a picture of your family's socioeconomic status (SES). I've not seen any AMCAS applications this year but it is my understanding that AAMC is noting an SES classification on the application just as it notes (U) for underserved area and (R) for rural.

 

[RocknRhoLim]

I don't think you qualify. URM status is pretty clear and Arabs (regardless of nationality) are over-represented in the physician population. Where I live, many of the doctors are Arab and are well off. On the other hand I have only seen 2 Black doctors. I see a lot of posts on SDN by people saying they are Egyptian/Palestinian/etc and asking if that counts as URM. I actually know a girl who is from Libya and put down African-American on her amcas application. I might get flamed for this but I think that is messed up. I have had many interactions with Arabs and (not to generalize, just based on my observations) in a culture where fairness of skin (like many other cultures) is prized I think people use the AA designation when it helps them. Just my thoughts.

 

[Hassm1990]

Thanks for the replies. I guess you are all right. I already submitted my application without disadvantaged status anyway, I was just curious about the process.

 

[LizzyM]

. I see a lot of posts on SDN by people saying they are Egyptian/Palestinian/etc and asking if that counts as URM.

The US Census uses the US Office of Management and Budget definitions of race and notes that "The racial categories included in the census questionnaire generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country and not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically. In addition, it is recognized that the categories of the race item include racial and national origin or sociocultural groups. People may choose to report more than one race to indicate their racial mixture, such as “American Indian” and “White.” People who identify their origin as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish may be of any race.

"OMB requires five minimum categories: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. "

The definition of "white" in terms of race does not necessarily refer to skin color but is defined as "A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. " (emphasis mine)

 

[Narmerguy]

The US Census uses the US Office of Management and Budget definitions of race and notes that "The racial categories included in the census questionnaire generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country and not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically. In addition, it is recognized that the categories of the race item include racial and national origin or sociocultural groups. People may choose to report more than one race to indicate their racial mixture, such as “American Indian” and “White.” People who identify their origin as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish may be of any race.

"OMB requires five minimum categories: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. "

The definition of "white" in terms of race does not necessarily refer to skin color but is defined as "A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. " (emphasis mine)

Wasn't familiar with this, thanks for that 👍