Pre-Med Student Advantages

Succeeding in medical school will require a tremendous amount of perseverance and passion. No one gets into medical school without demonstrating perseverance and overcoming the challenges that occur throughout the journey. I have persevered through being denied admission during a previous application cycle and throughout difficult coursework while pursuing a master’s degree. Not only did I overcome the challenges that I faced, but excelled academically, at my job, and in extracurricular activities. By continuing to pursue my dream I was exposed to numerous experiences and underwent significant personal development. I understand that medical school will present very difficult material and more frequent challenges, but my goal is to be a physician

Finally, the most difficult challenge students face in college is a financial hardship. Many students come from various walks of life and sometimes determining one’s financial capability to offset college costs during the early stages of can be problematic. Some students come from well to do families who have a tremendous capacity to pay full tuition without external assistance. These particular students do not require financial aid or scholarships, as they can meet the institution’s financial requirement regardless of what level in college they may fall under as the source of wealth is derived from the family or families. Other students, however, come from impoverished families whom solely depend on financial aid and work full time or part time

After my observations, I have learned a lot about how the the medical aspect of the health care system worked. I always had the mindset that the doctors were the ones who ran everything in a hospital or a clinic. Upon observing, I realized that this was false and that it took teamwork, cooperation, and communication to help create an environment to best serve its patients. When I came into the University of Michigan as well as the Health Sciences Scholar Program, I had set my target to go into family medicine in order to pursue a career as a family physician. I also saw that there were many health disparities and inequities among patients in hospitals as well. I thought maybe I could help fix this if I became a physician. After my observations, I had an ambivalent feeling if I should still continue with what my heart was set on. I never really thought about exploring the vast array of other health-related professions. There were many fields of health professions I had really never thought about and this class as well as my observations had really helped open my eyes to the complexity of the health system to make it work.

As a student, I strive for excellence in my academics and school involvement to pursue a career in the medical field. By taking rigorous high school classes such as IB, and honor courses,

One option I have is scholarships. There are scholarships for just about anything, including academic success, extracurricular activities, family situations and even different hobbies. Coming from a family who doesn't have an abundance of wealth, I was always

I have had the pleasure of speaking with ABLE alumni and Quentin, a current ABLE student. These conversations reaffirmed the ABLE commitment and supportive environment for students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. This niche allows for a rare camaraderie amongst the participants as they share a collective experience and contribution to the greater community within medicine. The ABLE Program uses its resources on likeminded individuals accounting for the unique backgrounds of students. The record for success that the ABLE Program has had gives me the utmost

Have you ever thought you could be great in a career… if only you had the funds? As a seventeen year-old DACA student, I have faced many financial obstacles in my college application process. As a non-citizen, I am unqualified for financial aid from things such as the FAFSA.This means that I have to depend on my family for support on paying for college. I have always tried my hardest in school to keep my grades as high as possible and learn as much as I could, knowing that one day I would need this education for a better life and career. I am currently in the process of applying to college. However, as a member of a low-income family, it has become apparent that the biggest obstacle between me and professional future is my financial necessity.As

Though my family continues to endeavor their financial status. It did have some affect to my education. My parents are very scarce on the money they spend on,whenever I take state test and standardized assessments, the scores does not represent what I am capable of doing. I take advantage of what the institution provides for me, accessible and free guides to help me, but it would make a major difference if I had necessary tools to improve my score. I do not let economic burdens pull me down, I am and will always be performing excellent through all the courses I take.

Through these volunteering efforts alongside medically underserved individuals I gained experience as well as a better sense of cultural competence and compassion that has gradually helped me learn the capacity to understand other people’s experiences and sufferings in a way I never had before. Furthermore, by specifically working in family and free health clinics, I have had the opportunity to gain perspective to the present health disparities of minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals. I have witnessed how a lack of insurance, monetary income, or health education can affect one’s decision to attain primary health care. Seeing their medically related hardships increase has only challenged me to contribute my unwavering efforts to pursue the Biomedical Sciences MS degree and become a compassionate, culturally competent, and respectful type of physician who thinks logically and rationally when striving to help people in their greatest time of need, instead of focusing on their

The results from this study show that students from low income households have a significantly lower chance of receiving a bachelor degree than those coming from higher income households, which one could probably assume. Even the students that preformed at the top of their class in eighth grade, but lived in low income households had less than thirty-three percent chance of completing college (Roy). This astonishing fact proves that even the highest achieving students still do not have a guarantee of receiving a college education, if their parents have no way to afford it. Another study, conducted by the National Student Clearninghouse Research Center, tracked two million, three hundred thousand people from high school into college to track their performance while in college based on where they attended college. They found that low income students from lower income high schools tended to wait a couple years before enrolling in college while high income students attending higher income high schools enrolled in college the fall semester after graduating high school. Out of these participants, twenty-two thousand, one hundred eight students continued their education into college, and eighty-one percent of these college students successfully completed at least their second year of schooling (Sparks ).

However the cost of college makes it difficult for people to get a college education. “Shelly Comer, 43, of Des Palos, California, is a divorced mother of three who also takes care of her oldest child, Michelle. She is going into debt so that Michelle can go to college(Wallechinsky 26)”. Michelle, “is concerned about the financial burden her education is placing on her family: “In order to meet our expected family contribution, my mother had to the entire amount of her share (Wallechinsky 26)”. A college education is very difficult to pay for. These quotes tell the story of the financial burden that is placed on families to send someone to college. Once the person graduates they have to get a job that will pay them enough to start repaying the cost of college. Sometimes those jobs are hard to come by. “Today, despite having a college education, Randy works for $9 an hour finding community jobs for the mentally challenged adults (Wallechinsky 26)”. We have to make getting a college education more affordable. Many times parents go into financial debt trying to help their children. This only hurts their American Dream as many of them are moving into the retirement stage of their

Growing up in poverty not only made me the person I am today, it made me want a better version of myself for my future self and family. This is a goal I know I could achieve through continuing my education to Florida State University. I believe I would benefit from the community at Florida State University because I would be surrounded by other students who want to improve their academic career and lives, as they willingly attend to pursue their chosen degrees. Also, I’ll be able to immerse myself in clubs and organizations that consist of people who share the same dream of a career in science and medicine. The community at Florida State University will benefit from me because not only do I work my hardest, I have the dedication, and confidence, to succeed in anything I set my mind to. Working hard at my job and school, allowed me gain experience with time management, discover my dedication to education, and discover my dream college: Florida State

I have come from a struggling background. My parents never attended college and my mother has been the sole provider for my family for many years. I have watched her struggle trying to provide for us and I determined long ago that I would strive to do more for my future family than what she was able to give us. My dreams required that I attend college. It is because of the financial hardship my family faces every day that the financial burden that comes from attending college rests solely on my shoulders. Although I am employed, I do not make enough money to pay for the cost of living and my school expenses. My goal is to become an attorney and I do everything in my power to attain that goal. I excel in all of my classes and have become a leader on my campus and in my community. I rely on scholarships like the Silas Purnell Scholarship to recognize these attributes in me and with the help of this award I will be able to take my last step in my path of earning my baccalaureate degree and making my goals my

The memory of George’s struggles provides a continuous reminder of why I am pursuing a career in medicine and serves as a perpetual source of motivation. I have a responsibility to those less fortunate than me to work my hardest and to continuously improve, so I may grow to ensure that others do not needlessly suffer as George has. Moreover, the knowledge of healthcare inequities I have gained will allow me to bring the concerns of underserved populations to the Wake Forest School of Medicine and help foster the growth of physicians who are dedicated to aiding the disadvantaged. Medical school will undoubtedly be wrought with challenges; however, I am confident that dedication to ameliorate others’ suffering will allow me not only to thrive, but also enrich the learning experience of my peers.

Programs such as, IDEAS in Medicine, compliments my passion for teaching and mentoring, for example,