How to Write the Disadvantaged Essay for AMCAS | Medical School Application
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- Опубліковано 6 жов 2024
- What counts as "disadvantaged" for AMCAS? And how do you write a good disadvantaged essay? Let's go over the guidelines and some real examples!
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Some points I cover in this video:
• What are some examples of ways you can be disadvantaged?
• Why did the AAMC leave the definition of "disadvantaged" so vague?
• Does AACOMAS or TMDSAS have disadvantaged essays?
• Who sees your disadvantaged essay-the AAMC, schools, or both?
• What counts as "underserved" for the disadvantaged essay?
• Should ALL students from underserved areas check the disadvantaged box?
• What counts as "family issues" for the disadvantaged essay?
• What are different kinds of "financial hardship" for this essay?
• What other struggles qualify as disadvantaged?
• Are you required to mark yourself as "disadvantaged" if you meet these qualifications?
• How can your disadvantaged essay help you?
• When will marking yourself as "disadvantaged" potentially hurt you?
• Does being a first-generation college student count as "disadvantaged"?
• How to go beyond just the negative in your essay?
• Should you worry about being pitied or sounding whiny?
• How to use statistics to make your disadvantaged essay more impactful?
Check out my other videos for more help with your med school application:
• Extracurriculars: • What You're Doing WRON...
• Personal Statement: • 8 Tips for Writing You...
The hardest part for me to mark myself as a disadvantage was when I compare my situation with other applicants who are even more at a disadvantage. I considered myself as fortunate despite coming from a broken family and fortunate to be in college despite delays in education...
I now feel more confident to do so after this video, so thank you, Dr. Gray.
i am in the same boat!
Same! I do think of myself as disadvantaged - we were on Medicaid our entire childhood, had immigrant parents who could not speak english, first gen in my family to go to college - but at the same time I consider myself fortunate for the opportunity to pursue higher education, an opportunity denied to my parents. I don't think I'm as disadvantaged as other applicants
Yes, but it’s not a comparative system. Your disadvantage doesn’t cancel out mine. Lol
This man is a God send. Thank you for all of the guidance you provide to us for FREEEE!
I know this is for premed students, however, as a pre-vet student the information and guidance you are providing has helped me out a lot. Thank you so much for all you do!!
I wish you made this before I submitted 😭
Did you get in?
Just wanted to tell you that you are amazing and a life saver. Your Podcasts keeps me sane at work and gives me hope. Thank you
I put it since I have Cerebral Palsy. My handwriting was bad so I got stuck in special education classes which put me at a huge disadvantage for college as I had to take remedial classes and attend community college.
No discussion on disability, such a shame. Disabled students face tremendous barriers due to chronic health condition flares, but also, structural barriers that are built for abled-bodied people. Take the MCAT. It is notorious for failing to grant medically vetted academic accommodations. How can do your best when you have not had your accommodations? Then, an enormous amount of your application success is place on the MCAT. It is really important that disabled people be remembered in these conversations. They are too often forgotten or left out discussions on equity - only highlighting how disadvantaged they truly are.
Well at least he is trying his best to give out free resources. He is not perfect so if he left out something it is not to deliberately do so. He is not employed by anyone to do this, just doing it out of his own free will. And place share your experience with the rest of us so we can learn. Mental health and trauma are also a disability and not to exclude people or anything but as someone who has gone through this, it is more glaring for me to share this when asked about a disadvantaged than maybe it occuring to me that hey, i come from a rural place where there aren't as many avenues to catch exposure and experience into the field of medicine as say a city. The high school I went to didnt have any clubs or programs for students interested in health care or the medical field. I took an interest in this and created the first club ever, It was a fulfilling endeavor and it didnt occur to me to talk about this as being a disadvantaged experience. The whole community that I live around has poor access to health care and being from a remote, impoverished place in another country, the circumstances around me here didnt occur to me. Again, I do wish that you inform us what your experiences with disabilities are and how other with disabilities are placed in various disadvantaged positions that others don't think/see of everyday. That helps others reflect on their stories.
I myself have a learning disability that was diagnosed during my time at college. I greatly struggled with reading and writing which made tests very difficult. I also was denied accommodations on my MCAT because I was diagnosed too recently and have not had accommodations at college long enough to prove that I needed them on the MCAT. Luckily after multiple attempts I was able to get a score slightly above average. I am extremely proud of my gpa and MCAT score I was able to obtain but now applying I feel like I will be filtered out from many schools and unable to attend. Having a learning disability and trying to get into medical can be frustrating. Any advise on how to address this on the application?
@@ethanwoodruff9873 - Off your comment, what about disabilities like processing speed disabilities or autism spectrum disorders? Consider that the processing speed disability might create significant hurdles in getting similar amounts of work accomplished but overcoming this circumstance to succeed? In the case of autism spectrum disorders, consider having to learn ways to cope with the limitations of the disability, namely, difficulty memorizing or looking at faces and difficulty in social situations, yet in spite of this observing people and learning their habits so as to improve their ability to socially function, to the point where people no longer notice their difficulties? Do these count or no?
Do disabilities not count here?
@Medical School Headquarters - Any comment on this? Can you perhaps get feedback from adcoms about this topic? I think it would really help some people get some peace of mind.
I noticed this too :/
It's so funny how you post videos answering my AMCAS and AACOMAS questions right after it pops up in my mind XD
Saaaame though
Thank you! My visa status completely prevented me from working or volunteering due to the lack of an SSN for background checks. I didn't know where to mention that information.
I am in this exact same situation! Do you think I could talk to you regarding my application ?
I was JUST filling out my CASPA and was wondering about this!!! Thank you!!!
Sir also plz make a video on how international students can take admission in US medical schools. Plz don't forget that.
Thank you, Thank you so much. I thought I knew what to write but you pointed me to parts of my story that I didn't realize placed me in disadavtanged place but I worked to present myself recourses.
This is an incredible and articulate explanation
Finally, an abusive father and multiple divorces/fathers/adoptions has one single upside other than forced harder work.
Hi. Can you please make more videos about admissions to US medical schools for international students (under student visa) with a Bachelor degree in the US? I am not sure how having a BA in the US/ outside of the US affect your disadvantage essay and in general.
hope to see the application book out for the 2022 cycle!!! 👀👀
This was incredibly informative. Thank you so much for uploading it.
1325 is 1/4 the number of characters allowed for the personal statement (5300). I"m not sure why it's 1/4 though
Would growing up with a severely ill sibling be considered a disadvantage? My reasoning is that my parents had to focus most of their energy on him so I was in a “fend for yourself” situation most of the time.
I’m wondering the same
Would like to see some examples medical conditions. I could not drive due to medical reasons thus forfeiting clinical, shadowing, and volunteer opportunities for 2 years due to lack of transportation
That was extremely helpful! Thanks So much!
Hi Dr Gray. Have you ever worked in admissions? If so, how many applicants have you made decisions on. Thanks so much!
I'm curious about this. What if up to age 18 and even in college, you were disadvantaged and grew up on food stamps, but then you went to graduate school and your sibling and parents in the meantime went to medschool and college respectively. So now that you're applying as a non-trad, are you still considered disadvantage? does disadvantage only matter up to age 18?
I think that is still a part of your story regardless of your age. Maybe don't mark the box, but talk about it in your personal statement
I’m seeing some comments that say you don’t have to mark the disadvantaged box but you can still write a disadvantage essay; is this true?
Thank you so much for making this video, it was so helpful!!
I'm curious about non-trads. I came from a pretty gnarly household with drug abuse, moving around a lot, even when I tested out of high school and went to college (at 16) my own family stole my college books before my finals in my first semester for drug money, I still got A's and B's, and I had to move away on my own at 18. I'm 32 now and a software engineer and finally finishing my undergrad to prepare of medical school. The household was definitely the reason for the delay when I was younger, but I have a very successful career and wonderful family now. If I applied at 21 or 22 for medical school, I would definitely consider myself disadvantaged, but would that still apply today? Should I use the field to help explain why I finished my undergrad much later than others, or is there another field for that use case?
Very good question
just my thoughts... I don’t think amcas needs non trads to explain why they finished undergrad later as if it’s a negative thing. You would talk about it for sure since it’s apart of your story but I don’t think it’s something that should be framed as a drawback bc it’s not one, it’s just your path.
anyways I don’t really know if you should mark yourself as disadvantaged or not
@@GlamGoddes101 More like the drug addiction and split family in the house being the reasons that undergrad was finished later. The upbringing part of the story.
Because of COVID, we were able to change any C or lower letter grades to Pass/Fail. How does Pass/Fail effect medical school? Do you recommend doing Pass/Fail or keeping the letter grade as is?
Pass is better than a C
I have been in seeing your videos I found that maybe I can apply to medical school, I come at 19 with my older brother, my dad work in a factory so we both have to start to work full time while we learning English and go into the community college take part time classes, I get good grades but my extra curricular have been difficult to get bc the time. And I still have a research internship this summer
Well, too late. I already submitted my AMCAS. I thought I had a decent one but now I wonder if I didn't present myself well enough
Hello Dr. Gray, I have a question about how to write an experience for a publication. By simply putting the details about the paper (The location and where it’s published and title) takes up most of the space.
Your shirt... I need it NOW.
Thank you SO much as always, Dr. Gray!!
do you have a video talking about withdraws?
Hi Dr.Grey i had a question. I'm a type one diabetic, I'm currently going to be in my last year of highschool. After finishing college and when I old be applying to med school, would that count as a disadvantage?
Thank you for clearing this up. While I could be consider "disadvantaged", I would rather not look at myself that way. Yes, I was abused, came from a poor home, fought myself through everything, dropped out of school, and got diagnosed with a mental illness. But to me it just feels like a cop-out. I didn't fight so hard and many other "disadvantaged" people didn't fight so hard to get to their path just to give themselves a pat on the back and say "Well we worked hard, but just in case they don't see my hard work I'm disadvantaged". If they don't like me the first time then I'll try again and again and again until they see just how resilient and persistent I am.
To any other "disadvantaged" out there:
You did not work years or maybe your whole life just to be a check mark in a box and an essay of excuses. You fought because you are tough, strong, resilient, and nothing, NOTHING, will stand in the way between you and your white coat. Remember your journey and hardships make you who you are and while they suck and they hurt; they should never be able to tear you down.
I'm going to go to medical school. No one from my past, my present, or the future will stop that. I'm a fighter and I will never make excuses to no one.
Hey Asher! Also from a very difficult home (extensive physical abuse, "traditional" views on women, instability, etc). I got rejected my first cycle and I asked for feedback from schools. As my parents are both educated, the schools who gave me feedback told me "oh you must have taken an MCAT course to get this score" etc. They don't understand what it takes to survive this shit. Of course I didn't get money. I realized that unless you say it, they assume you had everything going for you. I hate it too. I didn't apply as disadvantaged the first time. I do agree -- we will be better physicians for it. But unfortunately they don't understand unless you explicitly explain.
basically lay it on thick
Thank u
All three of the examples were about people that were immigrants... Should have given examples of different spectrums rather than people not from the US.
I made a big mistake. I thought this was the section to weak parts of my application, so I mentioned how in 2019-2020 I got a concussion which caused my grades to drop. I spent 75 hours on my application, and followed all the advice from the other videos, except for this issue. I'm not going to lie... I feel like an idiot
Will applications reject me because they think I can't follow simple instructions? What will be the ramifications of my ill informed actions?
family cultural norm is a bit of a convoluted way of saying " yea my family didn't care about me going to school but lemme just assume all hispanic families are the same ". I couldn't disagree more.
Will these always be confidential? I ask because Dr. Jill Biden's dissertation is being spammed by Fox News and I want to make sure what I write about won't be disclosed from this essay to the public.
Someone who graduated from Michigan.... (haha go buckeyes)
This was a great video but your s’s in this video straight up hurt my ears
Would you be open to providing feedback on mine?
Are you iron deficient lol your fingers look kinda purple and my fingers get purple
The parsimonious roadway karyologically charge because thing admittedly spoil including a sulky stopsign. childlike, heavenly heavy hellish architecture
The used drake formally drag because daisy developmentally bounce since a grumpy beauty. empty, irritating gondola
How is being Hispanic a disadvantage? I cannot see how disproportionate numbers equates to an advantage or lack thereof. "I didn't see Hispanic physicians growing up". So what?
Furthermore, "It's not in my 'culture'." Again I don't see race as playing any role in determining fitness to be a physician. It's not like different races have completely different biology that need to be treated by a physician of the same race. It does not make any sense to me.
Hey I understand what you're saying but I don't think you're considering it thoroughly. Young kids and adolescents have role models, and these role models often influence the careers many people choose to pursue. If you are a Hispanic/latinX individual and you are never exposed to other Hispanic and latinX physicians you are much less likely to even consider being in the field. Of course this doesn't apply to every Hispanic individual but I think you shouldn't dismiss it as you seem to be doing. Remember, institutional discrimination is a thing in this country my friend.
@@michelpadillamazzeo8139 Plenty of white kids and adults idolize Michael Jordan. Plenty of black kids idolize Spiderman and Ironman. In fact, kids are much more likely to look past race than last generation's adults. I think exposure to medicine in any sense is much more influential than exposure to one's own race in the field.
I can see how my sentiments can come across as insensitive and dismissive. That is not my goal and I apologize for that. I just cannot get behind the idea that race alone is some advantage or disadvantage. When it comes to choosing to pursue a profession there is NOT any evidence institutional racism. In fact, on the contrary, our institutions make racial discrimination illegal. That is not to say it does not still happen, but that is from racist individuals, whether they recognize it or not, whether they have malicious intent or not. And that there will never be gotten rid of completely. Affirmative action has that intent, but is itself, by definition, discriminatory.
Whether you like it or not, objectively some minorities have it harder in life. In health, their outcomes are worse compared to their white counterpart with comparable salaries and socioeconomic status(Go to pubmed and look up this journal, Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care). When it comes to standardized testing and education again, they are at a disadvantage with lower scores across the board. Generally this is attributed to wealthier families having access to more resources (i.e- tutors/SAT/ACT Prep Programs/parents with higher education experience). I promise you that does not stop when you go through college, leading many minority students to work(30+hr ) and go to school simultaneously. This results in lower GPA and academic accolades. Then when you get to the MCAT and it is the same problem with the ACT/SAT, your counterparts having 3-6.5k to drop on a MCAT prep program, 3-8k to drop on the travel/1° & 2° applications/AMCAS materials and test. Minorities from a low income background have the capacity but yet have another hurdle to overcome for medical school struggling to find money to take the MCAT and apply. 6-14.5k is a lot to someone who is SES disadvantaged, making 21k pre tax, 13k post tax, with living expenses you will have nothing left and can surely not afford to go to medical school. Being a Latino who has worked in healthcare for 5 years I can tell you race has an effect. Growing up I had to watch my parents struggle to understand what the doctor was telling them because their was inadequate translators, with me being a rough translator at times. This led to them getting sub-par treatment. The ability to be able to connect via language, and understanding culture specific health issues (i.e increased obesity in latino communities due to diet) helps a health professional have the ability to help those communities more directly to their needs. I.e my Aunt at the age of 42, very slim (5'5",~ 115 lbs), had a heart attack, the doctor suggested she stopped using manteca(Lard) as the primary fat source and suggested she use avocado oil or other lighter alternatives. If you don't see why these things are important, I really hope you never pursue a degree in healthcare. Get educated, and please become aware.*** Also, realize for brevity there is a lot of things that I am excluding.
Elloboppit laid it out nice for you.
The reason race matters is due to racial concordance amd improved health outcomes. And to say no objective measures demonstrate systemic racism is comical. I could send you over 50 papers demonstrating the severity of this issue.
A couple book recommendations: Medical Apartheid and The New Jim Crow. This is a good baseline for someone wanting to enter medicine who has no basis in understanding why great disparities exist amongst different groups.
@@htrrsprings2103 So then, is it the race that puts them at a disadvantage? I would argue that the observable trends and "disparities" should be assessed by their direct effect on an individual applicant, not that applicant's race. That leads to generalizations.
I’m disadvantaged because I don’t have affirmative action helping me out. Does that count?
Cry about it 😢