What is an URM, and how do I know if I am one?

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dseattle

dseattle

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"The definition of URM has an enormous impact on the diversity and ultimately the cultural and linguistic competency of the health care workforce. We strongly recommend that AAMC revise the definition of URM to include all AAPI [Asian American Pacific Islander] sub-populations that are currently underrepresented. It is clear that when lumped together (their numbers "aggregated"), the true physician-to-population ratios are masked, resulting in a very misleading indication of appropriate physician supply. We urge the AAMC to review and potentially revise the databases that it uses in order to capture the necessary race/ethnicity information. We urge AAMC to seek out the data on all the AAPI groups (such that their numbers are "disaggregated" as much as possible)."

-source-

thoughts?
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Interesting.

What was the AAMC's response to the letter that was sent back in 2002?

It may be something worth sharing with APAMSA and/or the AAMC-OSR.

Let us know how it progresses or has progressed.:luck:
 
i was actually hoping someone else knew. also, does anyone know about AACOM's policy as well?

just curious.

also this would be a good place to dialogue for API's, mostly not east-asian and south-asian, that suffer from being lumped into this overly broad category.
 
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In addition to lumping API into a big category, students from the Middle East are also lumped, but with no category. Some could argue that the Middle East IS in asia, but middle easterners are not asian in the typical sense. So, what do they put? White? They clearly are not white. The are not hispanic, even though that race is the closests phenotypically.

AAMC should work on representing people from all areas of the world because right now they are doing a crappy job of it.
 
So I am getting ready to take the MCAT....again. I was stumped by the question asking for minorities to be placed on a list. I have searched this site for the bonus/drawback of being labeled URM. I am still somewhat confused....mostly by if I am one. That may sound funny- I consider myself hispanic. But I am from Spain/Honduras origins and not the ones listed on the URM details (puerto rico/ mexico). I would imagine I fit in a category that is even less represented..... But am I not in this category since I am of hispanic origin of "other"? Or am I? Does the MSAR service work? Thanks for any suggestions.....
 
Hey everyone,

Just wondering what applying with URM means exactly. I am a full hispanic applying this summer, and I have never heard of URM until recently. If anyone could fill me in that would be great, just post or even PM me.

Thanks!
 
yeah I wanna know if I am too. IS there a list of races that are considered URM?
 
bluesTank said:
Hey everyone,

Just wondering what applying with URM means exactly. I am a full hispanic applying this summer, and I have never heard of URM until recently. If anyone could fill me in that would be great, just post or even PM me.

Thanks!
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Chargers said:
yeah I wanna know if I am too. IS there a list of races that are considered URM?
Click to expand...



Check out this link: http://www.aamc.org/meded/urm/start.htm

There is an e-mail link from this page where you can post your question directly. There is also a PDF file that you can download.
 
hey yall,

im graduating in june 08 and am signed up for the mcat this august. im really short on money and dont come from money so i was trying to debate whether to apply right off the bat this year and see what happens or wait a year and have more time to prep for the mcat. quite a few questions...

1. does being a URM (hispanic) make any difference when applying? (i.e. lower acceptable gpa or mcat scores?)

2. having a 3.1 cum gpa with a 2.8 science what would be a respectable mcat score to recieve to get accepted into a MD or DO school? (gen chem and bio 2.6 -2.8, ochem and physics 3.7-4. including labs)

3. im taking a full credit load this summer, (schools on quarter systems) so i wont have a lot of time this summer to prep for mcat but am doing the best i can thus far. but im just kind of wondering where i should apply too and how many schools? i have about 8 DO schools in mind and about 10 MD schools, all of broad range averages for gpa mcat etc.

4. i was also wondering how MD and DO schools calculate out ug gpa, i was told for some schools they take your freshman gpa cum times 1 and soph times 2 and junior times 3 and that makes up your ug gpa. is this true for all schools? (frosh gpa 2.8 so 3.0 jr 3.7 )

5. kind of not related but for lors, is it better to have a professor that doesnt know me that well write me a letter or should i have a ta whom has known me for a few years now write one and have a professor cosign it? i was told this was also acceptable. my university has science class sizes around 300+ avg even in upper division biochemistry courses.

thanks for takin the time to check this out its greatly appreciated, any advice/info would be awesome!

have a good one.
 
The URM getting in with lower grades and MCAT scores is something of a myth. No matter what your ethnicity, you are going to be screened out at schools that do an automatic screen based on GPA/MCAT. Go to the AMCAS website and look at the averages of ethnic minorities matriculating into medical school for 2005. You can make your own conclusions from those numbers but largely, don't count on your ethnicity to get you into medical school if you are well below average for matriculants (3.6 GPA/30 MCAT).

Many schools will take an upward trend in GPA into consideration as many people get off to a slow start at university. Just make sure that you are not applying to a school that automatically screens by GPA. In that case, your overall GPA might not be high enough for you to get past their screen. How do you find this information? It may be on their website but generally, schools that have high GPA averages are screener schools.

Don't take the MCAT unless you can devote plenty of time for preparation and are ready to take the exam. If you feel that your course load is too demanding, put off taking the MCAT until you can thoroughly prepare for this important exam. Taking this exam when you are unprepared is setting yourself up for not doing well (as well as a waste of precious dollars). A mediocre score on the MCAT coupled with a below the average GPA can be a "deathblow" for your application to medical school.

In terms of calculating GPA, go to the AMCAS website and download the PDF file that explains GPA calculation for the AMCAS application. You can do the same for osteopathic schools too (Google AACOMAS).

Strong letters of recommendation come from faculty (at least one should be science) who know you well. You might speak with the teaching assistant who can discuss the letter with your professor but the strongest letters come from faculty. Also be sure that you have "checked in" with your pre-med committee in that your school may need to send a committee letter. If that is the case, your TA letter may be OK if you have plenty of letters from other faculty.

Apply broadly and get the best grades that you can. You also need to make sure that your extracurriculars and LORs are as strong as possible. Again, don't take the MCAT unless you can prepare thoroughly. You cannot afford to do poorly on this important exam.
 
njbmd said:
The URM getting in with lower grades and MCAT scores is something of a myth.
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:confused: WHAT! Yes it does, please don't act like it doesn't... GO LOOK at mdapplicants.com... if u r a URM and have over a 30 mcat and over a 3.6 gpa you will get into harvard, ucsf stanford etc... No white male or non URM will get that oppurtunity...

pretty much if u r URM and you have average stats, you will get in everywhere...

Also, I am not saying URM's have it better and we should get rid of it.. I am just saying the facts. If u r a URM, you will get accepted even if ur stats are not optimal.
 
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OCPreMed said:
:confused: WHAT! Yes it does, please don't act like it doesn't... GO LOOK at mdapplicants.com... if u r a URM and have over a 30 mcat and over a 3.6 gpa you will get into harvard, ucsf stanford etc... No white male or non URM will get that oppurtunity...
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There is a HUGE problem with speaking in absolutes in the above statement. More to the point, I think you are misinterpreting what njbmd said. To paraphrase a bit, EVERYONE REGARDLESS of URM/DISADVANTAGED status should strive to hit the 3.6 GPA and >/= 30 MCAT score(ideally with equitable point distribution) in order to be competitive for medical school....just about any medical school in the country. Let's be clear, medical school's have a goal to admit diverse classes each year and how each school chooses to achieve that goal is at its (the medical school's) discretion.



OCPreMed said:
pretty much if u r URM and you have average stats, you will get in everywhere...
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What EXACTLY are you considering to be "average stats"? Don't answer, b/c it doesn't matter.

OCPreMed said:
Also, I am not saying URM's have it better and we should get rid of it.. I am just saying the facts. If u r a URM, you will get accepted even if ur stats are not optimal.
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Try telling the above to the applicants who did not get accepted anywhere this year or in previous years.

The BEST advice for anyone applying is to hit a 3.6 & >/= 30 MCAT and to apply SMART and EARLY.

If you do not achieve those numbers anddo not apply early, then you run a real risk of not being accepted no matter how stellar you think your numbers are nor how solid your friends and family think your "stats" are either.
 
jsnuka said:
What EXACTLY are you considering to be "average stats"? Don't answer, b/c it doesn't matter.
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Then why in the world are you asking me? :wow: You said it your self, 3.6 and a 30. This is universally acknowledged.
jsnuka said:
Try telling the above to the applicants who did not get accepted anywhere this year or in previous years.
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Tell them to PM and I will.
 
also to clarify my point, I don't think giving URM's a GPA and MCAT advantage is a problem with admissions; I have no problem with it. But, I do think an improvement to the system should be candidates that are disadvantaged should be given a hand up regardless of ethnicity.
 
The AMCAS application has a section dedicated to allow a candidate to express his/her disadvantaged background--this is aside from the AMCAS personal statement. In addition,many, if not all medical schools ask for similar information on the secondary applications.

If someone is disadvantaged there are ample opportunities to elucidate this fact in the application process.

If a person chooses to not discuss their upbringing and the factors that contributed to their interest in a career in medicine effectively, then that is on that applicant.

There are algorithms to determine if someone is "disadvantaged" or not, that are based on statistics collected by the federal government.
 
OCPreMed said:
Here are some URM acceptances with subpar gpa and mcat and they got into harvard.


http://mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=3882
http://mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=3539

look at everyone elses stats, 36's 39's on the mcat while these 2 didn't even break a 30...

don't tell me URM doesn't have an effect ... cmon. :bullcrap:
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Mdapplicants is self-reported and highly questionable in all regards. Go to the AMCAS website and check out the averages for all ethnicities as these are taken from the actual application data.
 
njbmd said:
Mdapplicants is self-reported and highly questionable in all regards. Go to the AMCAS website and check out the averages for all ethnicities as these are taken from the actual application data.
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GREAT POINT!!!
 
njbmd said:
Mdapplicants is self-reported and highly questionable in all regards. Go to the AMCAS website and check out the averages for all ethnicities as these are taken from the actual application data.
Click to expand...

Great idea..:thumbup: heres the link that http://www.aamc.org/data/facts/2006/mcatgparaceeth.htm... look for your self.. average matriculant MCAT for URM is nearly 2 standard deviations lower than non. Average MCAT for URM is around 25 while average MCAT for non URM is around 30.

I am stating the facts.
 
^^^ Yeah but most of that is due to the HBCUs.
 
Docdog19 said:
hey yall,

im graduating in june 08 and am signed up for the mcat this august. im really short on money and dont come from money so i was trying to debate whether to apply right off the bat this year and see what happens or wait a year and have more time to prep for the mcat. quite a few questions...

1. does being a URM (hispanic) make any difference when applying? (i.e. lower acceptable gpa or mcat scores?)

2. having a 3.1 cum gpa with a 2.8 science what would be a respectable mcat score to recieve to get accepted into a MD or DO school? (gen chem and bio 2.6 -2.8, ochem and physics 3.7-4. including labs)

3. im taking a full credit load this summer, (schools on quarter systems) so i wont have a lot of time this summer to prep for mcat but am doing the best i can thus far. but im just kind of wondering where i should apply too and how many schools? i have about 8 DO schools in mind and about 10 MD schools, all of broad range averages for gpa mcat etc.

4. i was also wondering how MD and DO schools calculate out ug gpa, i was told for some schools they take your freshman gpa cum times 1 and soph times 2 and junior times 3 and that makes up your ug gpa. is this true for all schools? (frosh gpa 2.8 so 3.0 jr 3.7 )

5. kind of not related but for lors, is it better to have a professor that doesnt know me that well write me a letter or should i have a ta whom has known me for a few years now write one and have a professor cosign it? i was told this was also acceptable. my university has science class sizes around 300+ avg even in upper division biochemistry courses.

thanks for takin the time to check this out its greatly appreciated, any advice/info would be awesome!

have a good one.
Click to expand...
Applying to medical school is a very expensive process (I spent a little over $2,000 apart from my Kaplan MCAT course and the cost of the MCAT test). That being said, you only want to "waste" your money once. Where your science GPA is right now, you would certainly have to do a post-bac program, whether you have a respectable MCAT score or not. 1)Do a post-bac program, 2)blow it out the water 3)appy to medical school 4)Matriculate into medical school.

Regardless of the actual MCAT and GPA differences between URM and non-URM applicants, medical schools accept who they want for specific reasons. It could be to increase the # of minority doctors; it could be to continue a legacy of Vanderbilt children (for example) going to their medical school; it could be to increase the diversity of the class by accepting alot of older students. We never know exactly what goes through the adcomms mind, but what we do know is that they only accept people who they are sure can make it through medical school and become good physicians.
 
Any recent info on this? What category for example...would Indonesian, Guamanian and Filipino fit into?
 
This thread has kind of gotten derailed from the OP's original question. The main point is that everyone, regardless of race or sex or ethnicity, should try to raise their stats as high as possible and otherwise make their applications as competitive as they can. Being a URM does not give anyone "permission" to not perform to the best of their abilities in school or to blow off the MCAT. No matter what you look like, having an average GPA and MCAT is not as good as having an above average GPA and MCAT, and having a substandard GPA and MCAT will hurt your chances.

Keep in mind also that you never know the entire story when you look at mdapplicants or hear about so-and-so who got into Harvard with average stats "just because s/he was a URM." You haven't seen that person's AMCAS app, read their secondaries or LORs, attended their interviews, or sat through the adcom deliberations. It's easy to see someone's stats and jump to conclusions, but that's a confirmation bias; you aren't looking for negative evidence. Besides the fact that people can falsify their mdapplicants profiles, there is also a serious bias in who posts profiles there. Most people who are not successful applicants do not post profiles; you're seeing a very biased selection of applicants. Plus, there isn't any way to search for all the URMs with those same stats who did NOT get interviewed by Harvard. But if you look at acceptees, you can also find profiles of non-URMs with below average MCATs who got accepted to Harvard.

Ironically, this is the lowest-scoring profile for Harvard acceptees, and it belongs to a white male:
http://www.mdapplicants.com/viewprofile.php?id=438

We're assuming, of course, that he is also telling the truth. :)
 
flaahless said:
Negligible? How so?
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If you understand the concept of a weighted average, you can take these stats:

Avg. MCAT for URM matriculants
Total # of URM matriculants
Avg. MCAT for HBCU's
Total # of URMs in HBCU's
Total # of URM's not in HBCU's

and calculate the avg. MCAT for URM in non-HBCU med schools. You will see that it is still very low.

Original question that the OP posed is: Will being a URM have any effect?
The definitive answer: Yes.

But of course you should still work hard and do your best and blah blah blah
 
Lol, I knew that BigRedPremed would eventually find his way onto this thread :). Anyway, I agree with QofQuimica; this thread has slightly been derailed and the OP's question has already been answered. If it continues to deteriorate into a quasi-AA thread then it will be closed.
 
BigRedPremed said:
If you understand the concept of a weighted average, you can take these stats:

Avg. MCAT for URM matriculants
Total # of URM matriculants
Avg. MCAT for HBCU's
Total # of URMs in HBCU's
Total # of URM's not in HBCU's

and calculate the avg. MCAT for URM in non-HBCU med schools. You will see that it is still very low.

Original question that the OP posed is: Will being a URM have any effect?
The definitive answer: Yes.

But of course you should still work hard and do your best and blah blah blah
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Dude, if about a quarter of african american matriculants are enrolled in an HBCU and nearly half of puerto rican matriculants are enrolled in ponce. How is that negligible? HBCUs and Ponce have lower #'s, and if a significant amount of URMS go to those schools, then the total stats are going to be skewed. And then people will make brash assumptions that the URMs at UMich or UPitt got in with lower #'s than everyone else. That's not the case.
 
thanks for all the replies, didnt mean to start up a debate.

in response to one of the posts, i was wondering where could i find a list of schools that offer a post-bacc premed program? any help would be great. thanks
 
Being a URM will unquestionably help for admissions, but in all likelihood no where near enough to get you in with a 2.8 science GPA. You may have a shot at some of the DO schools but most MDs would be way out of the question. Even for DO schools your GPA would be well below the average. Do your best in summer session and try and improve your GPA as much as you can. Most likely you will have to do a post-bac program of some kind.


MD schools will look favorably at an upward trend but probably not in the way that 'someone' told you.

A vague LOR from a professor that doesnt really know you is not a good thing. Most of my science courses were 300+ so I had a TA write one of my recommendations. Multiple people commented on how strong my LORs were. I vote for having your TA write it and the professor co-signing it.

To find post-bacs use this link that will take you to an AAMC search engine
http://services.aamc.org/postbac/

Taking the MCAT without sufficiently preparing is also not a good thing. With a low GPA you need a solid MCAT score. Make sure to prepare and RAHWK THE MCAT.

Beware though b/c no MCAT score will fully offset the low GPA. A low GPA and high MCAT (33+) just makes you seem like a smart slacker. So in the end, you are going to have to improve the GPA.
 
Hey you guys. I just joined this forum. I wanted to know how does being a URM figure into your application, and does being economically disadvantaged count into URM. My family is below poverty level (100%-150%). Thanks already for responding.
 
Being economically disadvantaged does count on your AMCAS application and there is a large section that is devoted to this. Some admissions directors screen for applicants that fit this criteria when they are screening the general applicant pool. I do not know how much of a boost this is to your application or if it is weighted as heavily in your favor as being an underrepresented minority, but it will work in your favor.
 
knightstale4 said:
Hey you guys. I just joined this forum. I wanted to know how does being a URM figure into your application, and does being economically disadvantaged count into URM. My family is below poverty level (100%-150%). Thanks already for responding.
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Being an underrepresented minority in medicine and economically disadvantaged are separate things. You can denote that you consider yourself to be economically disadvantaged and/or an URM on your primary (AMCAS & AACOMAS) applications and on your secondary applications for most schools.

You can take a look at the AMCAS Information Resources for the 2008 application cycle for more information.
 
http://www.aamc.org/students/minorities/resources/medmar.htm

Check out that link to the minority registry. A person can participate in it if they are a urm AND/ * OR* economically disadvantaged.

Often the two categories go hand in hand. Just like I am not a gender without also being a race, often the issue of finding people to work with underserviced groups looks at how underserviced groups are usually particular racial categories and particular economic categories.

Historically, medicine has been rich and white, and those going into medicine have been from rich and white families. There is enough written on that.

In a social system that involves racism, often economic advantage/disadvantage accrues along the advantages/disadvantages of being in a particular social location within systems of racism. Classism is also big -so watch out for having a stigmatized identity if claiming economic disadvantage (look up erving goffman for stuff on stigmatized identity).


here's how I've found schools look at ec.dis. Some look at it as a way to modify interpretation of gpa/mcat - as if having to work full-time etc will affect gpa. Some look at it as being a predictor of being more likely to work with underserved populations i.e. poor people just like us or just like how we were before earning a doctor's salary and now having a conflicted allegiance, just as being from a rural area means more likely to work with rural. some schools just don't know what to make of it, have no policy around it, and at the forefront is just the subtle discrimination of prejudice against poverty. aamc wanted to track it as an indicator of working with communities we came from - those communities being underserved.

Although urm and ecdis are 'two separate categories' that is a socially constrcuted distinction. in the states, overwhelmingly being 'of colour' means more likely to be poor. race and class are intertwined. identities are not little distinct cut-outs, these things all intertwine.

from my experience, be prepared to set interviewers straight as to the aamc reasons for asking about ec.dis. so that there is no room for subtle prejudice.
 
I am Native American
1/32 to be exact
this is the cutoff for being able to legally claim native american descent
I obviously look nothing like a Native American (if there truly is a "look")

I am registered, have a roll number and a tribal registration card
I received a Multi-Cultural scholarship in undergrad just for being a successful multi-cultural high school student

Do medical school admission committees consider me a URM?

If so with a 29R MCAT and a 3.65 GPA how big should I be shooting as far as schools to apply to?
Missouri resident by the way.

Thanks
Blake
 
I am a second generation 50% Iranian 50% Puerto Rican student. My parents moved to America from their countries, and had me. Would I be considered a pssible URM? Thanks.
 
njbmd said:
The URM getting in with lower grades and MCAT scores is something of a myth.
Click to expand...

WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pass me some of what you are smoking please. That stuff is loco.

You now have zero credibility. Carry on with your postings.
 
What kills me is people don't understand what a URM is. First off lets be clear about some things. Race and Ethnicity are two very different things. You can be labled as Hispanic but still be of African Race. So just putting down Hispanic isn't going to thrust you into a URM status. Now, truth be told AMCAS does this pretty well by making one designate their ethnicity and then race. So, if you are a "white cuban hispanic" you are probably not going to get any prefrential treatment... This is something directly out of an ADCOMS mouth.

Now, the real and true URM is that of AFRICAN AMERICANS, which I am not, but still the purpose of any affirmative action or true definition of underrepresented is only that of a race that holds a 30% population with, and go ahead and check your MSAR books, 0-4% matriculation into medical schools.

DUH... Asians, are OVERREPRESENTED BY FAR. They are anywhere from 10-35% matriculants with about 1-5% overall populace of the U.S.

People complaining about the 2-9 AA spots outta 230 are rediculous and need to get a life. Not everyone who scores a 36 on an MCAT is superior to you or I. I mean no one says ooooo ooooo ooo you got a 37% on your MCAT you must be a heart surgeon. No, once again you have to show conviction and merit while attending Med school. A person with a 25% might end up being the heart surgeon and the person with the 37 might end up being an ENT...

There is content to people's charectar.
 
4paw said:
Historically, medicine has been rich and white, and those going into medicine have been from rich and white families. There is enough written on that....
Although urm and ecdis are 'two separate categories' that is a socially constrcuted distinction. in the states, overwhelmingly being 'of colour' means more likely to be poor. race and class are intertwined. identities are not little distinct cut-outs, these things all intertwine.

from my experience, be prepared to set interviewers straight as to the aamc reasons for asking about ec.dis. so that there is no room for subtle prejudice.
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It is unfair for you to lump all white people into one group. Some white groups are over-represented (eg. Jewish, Middle Eastern) while others are 'appropriately' represented (eg. British, German) while others are under-represented (eg. Hispanic, Irish, Italian). It's ridiculous for under-represented Hispanics to get preference over under-represented Irish just because they have a little more pigment. If the OP wants to separate out different Asian groups, we should separate out the white groups too.

For the record I don't think anyone should get preferential treatment. I'm just pointing out that the system has nothing to do with anything but the most superficial diversity.
 
AGDJenni said:
In addition to lumping API into a big category, students from the Middle East are also lumped, but with no category. Some could argue that the Middle East IS in asia, but middle easterners are not asian in the typical sense. So, what do they put? White? They clearly are not white. The are not hispanic, even though that race is the closests phenotypically.
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:eek: What? Do they both have stripes or something? That is one of the most asinine things I have ever heard.
 
mdnsw said:
It is unfair for you to lump all white people into one group. Some white groups are over-represented (eg. Jewish, Middle Eastern) while others are 'appropriately' represented (eg. British, German) while others are under-represented (eg. Hispanic, Irish, Italian). It's ridiculous for under-represented Hispanics to get preference over under-represented Irish just because they have a little more pigment. If the OP wants to separate out different Asian groups, we should separate out the white groups too.

For the record I don't think anyone should get preferential treatment. I'm just pointing out that the system has nothing to do with anything but the most superficial diversity.
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I thought it had to do with the patient population as well. If you are "white" so to speak, it doesn't matter what ethnicity or race your doctor was as long as he was "white" unless you go around asking, are you irish? no, sorry, but I'm irish and I only go to irish doctors. Therefore, if what you say is true and there are underrepresented irish-american doctors, the patient population isn't necessarily suffering for it. On the other hand, if you were hispanic, it is a fact that you are more likely to seek out a hispanic doctor, so if they are underrepresented in medicine, that is a huge deal.

And the thing with separating the asians is that the majority of asians in this country are immigrants who speak their mother language a lot better than english (if at all) therefore, they would seek out the doctors that speak their language, not necessarily any asian doctor. Most irish/germans/etc in the US speak English.
 
meetfockers88 said:
What kills me is people don't understand what a URM is. First off lets be clear about some things. Race and Ethnicity are two very different things. You can be labled as Hispanic but still be of African Race. So just putting down Hispanic isn't going to thrust you into a URM status. Now, truth be told AMCAS does this pretty well by making one designate their ethnicity and then race. So, if you are a "white cuban hispanic" you are probably not going to get any prefrential treatment... This is something directly out of an ADCOMS mouth.

Now, the real and true URM is that of AFRICAN AMERICANS, which I am not, but still the purpose of any affirmative action or true definition of underrepresented is only that of a race that holds a 30% population with, and go ahead and check your MSAR books, 0-4% matriculation into medical schools.

DUH... Asians, are OVERREPRESENTED BY FAR. They are anywhere from 10-35% matriculants with about 1-5% overall populace of the U.S.

People complaining about the 2-9 AA spots outta 230 are rediculous and need to get a life. Not everyone who scores a 36 on an MCAT is superior to you or I. I mean no one says ooooo ooooo ooo you got a 37% on your MCAT you must be a heart surgeon. No, once again you have to show conviction and merit while attending Med school. A person with a 25% might end up being the heart surgeon and the person with the 37 might end up being an ENT...

There is content to people's charectar.
Click to expand...

Medical schools AIM to have the doctors they train resemble the population. There are certain diseases/disorders that occur more frequently within one ethnic group compared to another. Even language and cultural routines can be a major barrier between a doctor and his/her patient.

Plus, I am sure we can all say that most doctors will tend care more for someone that looks like themselves simply because they can RELATE more to their patient...it's human nature. It isn't always on purpose of course.

I mean it is alot easier to ask for directions from someone that looks like you...vs...someone that looks the total opposite. Think about it.

Stats are the main thing, but it seems as though they pick the top students from each ethnic group. DONT GO CRAZY ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE AND THEIR SITUATION!!! FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION ON HOW YOU ARE GOING TO HELP OTHERS! <-That is why we aim to become doctors.
 
Success0808 said:
Although, Whites and Asians have the better stats they represent less than 40% of the population. On the other hand they represent well over 80% of the matriculants.
Click to expand...

What? Ha ha ha. That isn't even close to true. Whites make up 75% of the population. Blacks make up only 12% of the population.

http://factfinder.census.gov/servle..._1&_ci_nbr=&qr_name=&ds_name=&reg=&_industry=

Also. The recent arguments have been that minority populations are racist in favor of their own population for doctors so schools should be racist toward their applicants to appease the racist population. This is absurd and you would certainly oppose this line of resoning if applied to groups you aren't supposed to discriminate against eg. everyone other than whites and maybe asians.
 
Please, let's take the information from unnamed individuals as it is given. It is obviously meant to agitate.

Ok. Let's step back and return to the original reason for this thread. Shall we?;)

You med school people have it easy. :) Just look at the vet school stats some time. http://www.aavmc.org/students_admissions/statistics.htm
We have 28 vet schools in this country with about 8 international available to apply to through VMCAS. There are also Caribbean schools that allow transfer into a US school for the clinical year.

For vet school, the first elimination is an average of grades and entrance exam scores( the majority use the GRE, but some use the MCAT). If you don't meet the requirements for the first elimination round, you're not going any further. They don't care what you are. If you don't make the cut, you're out.

Also, the individual schools have their own criteria for what constitutes underrepresented. Every school is different. One might choose economics, where you were raised, where you are more likely to practice, or some other factor that has nothing to do with the color of your skin. It is up to the school to decide whether you fit into their criteria.

The best recommendation would be to talk to the schools minority chair (director of minority affairs/ whatever they call it) and be grateful there is one. Most vet schools do not have one, because there aren't enough minorities applying to constitute needing one.

Good luck yall
 
mdnsw said:
What? Ha ha ha. That isn't even close to true. Whites make up 75% of the population. Blacks make up only 12% of the population.

http://factfinder.census.gov/servle..._1&_ci_nbr=&qr_name=&ds_name=&reg=&_industry=

Also. The recent arguments have been that minority populations are racist in favor of their own population for doctors so schools should be racist toward their applicants to appease the racist population. This is absurd and you would certainly oppose this line of resoning if applied to groups you aren't supposed to discriminate against eg. everyone other than whites and maybe asians.
Click to expand...

you're a troll, but feel free to pick up a history book and see who's the racist population
 
Quynh2007 said:
you're a troll, but feel free to pick up a history book and see who's the racist population
Click to expand...

'History' being the key word. Not that there aren't racists in all subpopulations, but racism is much more acceptible in minority populations today and in favor of minority populations by the government and schools today.
 
dseattle said:
"The definition of URM has an enormous impact on the diversity and ultimately the cultural and linguistic competency of the health care workforce. We strongly recommend that AAMC revise the definition of URM to include all AAPI [Asian American Pacific Islander] sub-populations that are currently underrepresented. It is clear that when lumped together (their numbers "aggregated"), the true physician-to-population ratios are masked, resulting in a very misleading indication of appropriate physician supply. We urge the AAMC to review and potentially revise the databases that it uses in order to capture the necessary race/ethnicity information. We urge AAMC to seek out the data on all the AAPI groups (such that their numbers are "disaggregated" as much as possible)."

-source-


thoughts?
Click to expand...


This is the original topic and now this thread is offtopic. Please stick to the original discussion or feel free to start your own thread elsewhere.
 
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