First Advisor
Birnbaum, Matthew
Document Type
Dissertation
Date Created
5-1-2017
Department
College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, Leadership Policy and Development: Higher Education and P-12 Education, LPD Student Work
Abstract
The option to identify as disadvantaged in the American Medical College Application Service (AMCAS) primary application may lead to unclear expectations for applicants. Despite its inception more than a decade ago, there are no published materials containing either a comprehensive definition, or explanation of the role of the Disadvantaged Status in student selection. Research on the Disadvantaged Status is similarly lacking. The purpose of this interpretivist case study was to explore how current students made meaning of the option to identify as disadvantaged when they were applying to medical schools. Through this research I uncovered meanings applicants ascribed to the disadvantaged term, how they determined whether they were disadvantaged, and how they decided whether or not to apply as such. Through open-ended interviews with 15 students at a medical school in the Northeast, document analysis of their AMCAS files, and with a theoretical framework that included symbolic interactionism, social comparison theory, stigma, and impression management, it became clear that deciding whether or not to apply as a disadvantaged applicant in the AMCAS primary application is both complex and fragile. Simply having experienced hardships during childhood was insufficient for many participants in this study to determine whether or not they were disadvantaged or should apply as such. The process of determining whether or not to apply as a disadvantaged applicant was confounded by a myriad of factors represented by the following nine themes: experience with disadvantage, resources, ambiguity, audience, pride, stigma, ethics, right to identify, and impression management. I concluded this dissertation with what I considered to be the most significant implications, in particular, that not all applicants are using the Disadvantaged Status consistently. I made recommendations for staff at the Association of American Medical Colleges, faculty and staff at medical schools and undergraduate institutions, and future applicants. I closed this dissertation with my final thoughts on this research experience.
Keywords
AAMC, admissions, AMCAS, application, Disadvantaged Status, medical school
Extent
363 pages
Local Identifiers
Lowrance_unco_0161D_10568
Rights Statement
Copyright belongs to the author.
Recommended Citation
Lowrance, Adam M., "The Disadvantaged Status in the American Medical College Application Service: Medical Students Reflect on Their Experiences" (2017). Dissertations. 417.
https://digscholarship.unco.edu/dissertations/417