AMCAS 2024: “Disadvantaged Applicant” Question Revised to Broader Adversity Question

The AMCAS “disadvantaged applicant” question is no more. This year’s AMCAS application has introduced a new question in its place that asks more broadly about an applicant’s “impactful experiences.” 

The 2024 AMCAS application will now include the following question and guidance: 

Other Impactful Experiences 

To provide some additional context around each individual’s application, admissions committees are interested in learning more about the challenges applicants may have overcome in life. The following question is designed to give you the opportunity to provide additional information about yourself that is not easily captured in the rest of the application. 

Please consider whether this question applies to you. Medical schools do not expect all applicants to answer “yes” to this question. This question is intended for applicants who have overcome major challenges or obstacles. Some applicants may not have experiences that are relevant to this question.  Other applicants may not feel comfortable sharing personal information in their application.  

o Yes o No 

Please use the space below to describe why you selected “yes.” [This text and the textbox only appear if “yes” is selected for this question.] 

In a pop-up box, AMCAS provides some helpful examples. It reads:

The following examples can help you decide whether you should respond “yes” to the question, and if so, what kinds of experiences you could share. Please keep in mind that this is not a fully inclusive list and any experiences you choose to write about should be ones that directly impacted your life opportunities. 

Example Experiences 

• Family background: serving as a caretaker of a family member (e.g., siblings, parent/guardian), first generation to college 

• Community setting: rural area, food scarcity, high poverty or crime rate, lack of access to regular health care (e.g., primarily used urgent care clinics or emergency room, no primary care physician) 

• Financial background: low-income family, worked to support family growing up, work-study to pay for college, federal or state financial support 

• Educational experience: limited educational opportunities, limited access to advisors or counselors who were knowledgeable/supportive of higher education requirements 

• Other general life circumstances that were beyond your control and impacted your life and/or presented barriers (e.g., religion) 

Why the change?

The AAMC made the revision in response to “limitations” identified with the previous question, which asked a candidate if they wished to identify themself as a “disadvantaged applicant.” Research into the text found that applicants found the question ambiguous, and that many had a negative reaction to the use of the term “disadvantaged applicant.” 

However, AAMC’s research also found that both applicants and admissions officers found value in the intent of the question, which was “to provide rich contextual information about an applicant’s journey and how their lived experiences align with schools’ missions and/or the communities they serve.” 

The revised question and associated guidance was piloted using the Summer Health Professions Education Program and the supplemental Electronic Residency Application Service. And both the question and guidance received “generally positive feedback” from administrators and applicants. 

Should I respond to this question?

As with the question that preceded it, this question text states that not all candidates are expected to respond. Rather, it is intended for those who have had “major challenges or obstacles.” 

That being said, this updated question provides applicants with a broader scope for responses. So, we urge you to consider any significant challenges that you have faced, using the following questions:

1. Did this experience impact my life in such a way that it provides meaningful context to my application? 

Examples of such adversity include: Facing a significant health challenge such as cancer or a disability; serving as the guardian to your younger siblings, while also attending classes (likely, negatively impacting your resume); living in an underserved medical community that made it difficult to gain shadowing or clinical experiences, but also inspired your interest in rural medicine. 

Alternatively, more typical experiences that likely do not represent significant adversity (but potentially belong in your personal statement or secondary essays) include: Breaking a bone during high school athletics and going through a difficult recuperation process; facing a life-impacting food allergy, the dissolution of a romantic relationship, a domestic move, and/or your parents’ divorce. While these experiences likely impacted you greatly, they may not belong in this response. 

2. What did I learn from the experience? 

Your essay response should detail the adversity, but should center on what you learned from going through the experience. Did this experience provide you with an “ah-ha!” moment that changed your perspective and impacted your life? If the take-aways from the adversity do not feel relevant to your application (i.e., your learnings do not clearly make you a stronger candidate for a medical school), you should reconsider the take-aways or including the experience.

3. Have I already spoken to this experience in my personal statement? 

You will want to avoid redundancy by sharing different stories and anecdotes in this essay and your personal statement. If you fully explored the experience in your personal statement, do not feel compelled to re-write about the experience here. Not all applicants are expected to have responses to this question. 

Your writing approach:

Overcoming adversity makes for a stronger medical school candidate and this is what you will want to emphasize in your response: Provide the reader background on the situation in the first 20 percent of the response. But the remaining 80 percent should be devoted to what you learned from the adversity.

How will your future classmates and patients benefit from the lessons you gained from the adversity? Keep in mind the qualities that medical schools are looking for in prospective students and show the reader how your experience improved your dedication to medicine and resilience and/or your abilities in leadership, teamwork, empathy, and critical and creative thinking.

Five Qualities Medical School Admissions Committees are Looking for in Applicants

Throughout your medical school primary and secondary applications, you will want to highlight the following skills and qualities. 

Leadership. This is a key quality that separates physicians from other members of a healthcare provider team. Throughout your application, you will want to showcase your ability to lead a team in order to accomplish a common goal. Consider the role you play within a group and how you help bring out the best in other team members. You don’t need to be the captain of a sports team or a club president to be a highly-effective and persuasive leader. Rather, you need to be able to articulate how your influence and openness promote the best outcome(s) in a collaborative environment. 

In what meaningful experiences did you show your leadership abilities? Did leadership come naturally to you, or did you work to get to this place? (Both things are great!) How did you support your team? Did you encourage collaboration or independence? Did you feel supported by your team? Did you experience any pushback, and how did you handle that if you did? What did you think about these things at the time? How did you feel? What did you learn that you will incorporate into your leadership style in the future?

Teamwork:  Medical school and the practice of medicine are often team endeavors. While we’ve encouraged you to showcase your ability to lead a team, you will also want to show your ability to work collaboratively and productively with others. Highlight instances where you have shown humility and elevated the voices of others. Think about your most effective team experiences and what you learned about yourself from working with those teammates. 

During what meaningful experiences did you work with a team or collaborate with others successfully? Were you working with people unlike yourself? Was there a struggle for balance in the beginning? Any confusion? What did you appreciate about your team members? How did they influence and impact you and your actions? Did one or two team members step up in a way you admired? What did you think about these things at the time? How did you feel? Have you had experiences with teams that were unsuccessful? What did you learn (remember: failures can provide great insight too!)?

Critical and creative thinking. The practice of medicine requires constant engagement with problem solving, from interacting with patients to coming to a diagnosis and treatment plan to driving research and innovation agendas. You will need to ask good questions and consider the interplay of multiple variables. Showcase the critical thinking skills you’ve already developed, as well as your ability to stay calm when faced with complicated issues.

In what meaningful experiences did you utilize critical thinking and problem-solving skills? How did you determine the best course of action? Did you approach something one way at first and then correct yourself? What did you think about these things at the time? What did you learn? How did you feel?

Intellectual curiosity. Medical school is academically rigorous, and schools want students who can not only handle the workload, but will elevate the classroom discourse by engaging deeply with the material. And, beyond school, medicine is an ever-evolving field. Throughout your career, you will be asked to take on new challenges and employ innovative thinking. Just demonstrating a record of academic success is not enough. Rather, you will want to show the admissions committee examples of situations where you went beyond what was required to better comprehend a topic. Keep in mind that you can demonstrate intellectual curiosity in an academic environment but also beyond it—at work or in your participation with a charity or hobby. 

In what meaningful experiences did you demonstrate intellectual curiosity? How have you gone above and beyond the expected to better understand a topic? In what ways have you pursued additional knowledge or sought out learning opportunities? How have you taken your interest to the next level? How did it make you feel? 

Empathy and the ability to connect with others: Medical schools are highly-attuned to the interpersonal capabilities of applicants. Share experiences where you demonstrate empathy, listening skills, and the ability to form connections. Showcase situations in your life where you overcame obvious differences with others to form a respectful relationship. Make it clear that you always treat others with humility and respect and that you will see your patients as full people, rather than as a set of symptoms or a puzzle to be solved. 

In what meaningful experiences did you empathize and connect with others? What effect did you have on others? What effect did they have on you? What did you think about these things at the time? How did you feel? What have you learned about how to find common ground with those who are different from you? Do you have any examples of times that forming a good relationship with someone else led you both to a better outcome?

The 2023-2024 Allopathic Medical School Application: An Overview with Suggested Timing

If you’re looking to start medical school in the Fall of 2024, now is the time to get started with the application process! Applying to medical school is arduous, but with proper planning, you can reduce your stress and maintain a manageable task load.

The four components of the medical school application include:

1. Standardized tests: MCAT and CASPer

2. AMCAS application 

3. Secondary Applications

4. Interviews

Standardized Tests: 

MCAT: Your MCAT scores are typically valid for three years prior to matriculation, and you can take the exam up to three times.

• Register: Select your preferred date, as well as a few alternative dates that would work. You can register for the test here. The ten day deadline prior to the test is your last opportunity to schedule, reschedule, or cancel. 

• Prep: Start preparing for the MCAT at least six months prior to your planned test date.

• Sit for the exam no later than May 26, 2023 (scores released June 27): This will avoid application delays. Keep in mind that we actually recommend that you take your final exam by mid-April so that you can re-direct your attention to preparing the AMCAS application. 

Review our blog post on Retaking the MCAT.

CASPer: This test gauges your ability to critically evaluate complex scenarios and employ sound judgment and communication skills. Not all medical schools require applicants to take the CASPer, however, a growing number of allopathic programs do, currently over 40. Your CASPer score is generally only valid for one application cycle. 

• Register: You can register for the test here. You are able to reschedule your CASPer test any time prior to starting the test. 

• Prep: You will want to familiarize yourself with the test format and content by taking a sample test a few days before you take the exam. 

• Sit for the exam during the Spring/Summer of 2023. 

The CASPer score is often requested alongside your secondary application or prior to an invitation to interview. Opting to take the test earlier in the cycle, rather than later, will allow you to have your scores readily available when requested, meaning that you can dedicate that time to preparing your secondary application materials or for mock interviews. It will also ensure that your application is not delayed as you wait for your scores. 

Review our blog post on CASPer.

AMCAS Application: Submit no later than mid-June.

• AMCAS application opens and will be available here on May 2, 2023.

• First date to submit AMCAS application: May 30, 2023

• First date that processed applications will be released to medical schools: June 30, 2023

We recommend that you submit your application in early to mid-June because your application will go through a verification process prior to the data being released to medical schools. This can take anywhere from a couple of weeks early in the process, to over a month during peak application submission periods. Note, in order to complete verification, your application must contain your official transcript, so request this document as well as your letters of recommendation a month or two before your planned submission date (by March 30, 2023). 

You also want to submit your AMCAS application early because this step triggers schools to send out secondary application materials, either automatically, or after a pre-screen of your application. 

Review our blog posts on the AMCAS application:

How to Get High-Quality Letters of Recommendation

Set Yourself Apart with a Compelling Medical School Personal Statement

The Medical School Application: Key Tips to Consider Before you Begin Drafting the Work and Activities Section

AMCAS Work & Activities Section: Hobbies

2024 AMCAS Work & Activities Section Will Include New Experience Category: Social Justice/Advocacy

AMCAS 2024: “Disadvantaged Applicant” Question Revised to Broader Adversity Question

Secondary Applications: Submit within two weeks of receipt.

Secondary applications are typically sent between June and August, although they can come later depending upon the timing of your AMCAS submission. Many schools will not review your application file until you have submitted your secondary application. And, because most schools review applications on a rolling basis, and invite applicants to interview accordingly, it is important to send in your secondary application materials promptly. 

Additionally, because many of the schools will use at least some of the same prompts, you can start preparing responses to the most commonly asked questions as soon as you’ve submitted your AMCAS application. 

Review our blog post on common secondary application questions. 

Medical School Interviews: Fall through Spring (invitation only)

Many applicants receive invitations to interview following their submission of secondary applications and/or CASPer test scores. Schedule yours as early as possible. And before solidifying your travel plans, you should contact nearby schools to which you’ve applied and let them know you have an interview in the area in case they have availability. This serves the dual purpose of letting the other school know that you are “in demand,” while also showcasing your strong interest in their program.

Review our blog posts on this topic:

The Medical School Interview

The Medical School Interview: Preparing for the Traditional One-on-One Interview

The Medical School Interview: Preparing for the Multiple Mini Interview (MMI)

The Medical School Post-Interview Thank You Note

Allopathic Medical School Applicant Guide to Secondary Essays

After you submit your AMCAS application, you will begin to receive secondary essay prompts. Some schools send the prompts automatically, while others are the result of a pre-screening process. It may seem overwhelming at first, but many of the schools will use at least some of the same prompts and you can start preparing now for some of the most common question types (listed below). 

But first, some advice:

Get organized. With a number of different schools, prompts, and a quick turnaround time, we cannot overemphasize the importance of setting up a system that will work for you. Pick what you like, a Word or Excel file, calendar reminders, file folders, a legal pad. But make sure you keep an overarching list that includes the name of each school you’ve applied to, secondary essay prompts, submission dates, and status. 

You’ll also want a way to organize your essay responses so that you can efficiently retrieve and recycle content when possible. Once you have final drafts, we recommend that you keep copies organized in folders by school and by question type, e.g., a Harvard Medical School folder, and a diversity essay folder. Name the files in a consistent convention that uses the school name, prompt type, and word count, e.g. “HarvardMed_Diversity_500”. This way if you receive a similar diversity prompt from another school, you will easily be able to access the final version you used for Harvard, make any necessary updates (e.g., wordcount, school name, etc.), and then save it with an updated name.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! Don’t hesitate to re-use content. You will—and should—recycle your secondary answers for different prompts and use aspects of your secondary drafts for your super-short answers too. 

Submit your essays promptly. Submit your responses no later than two weeks after receipt of the prompts.

Common Secondary Essay Prompts

Use these common prompts to get a head start on brainstorming and drafting your responses.

How will you add diversity to our student population?

This answer doesn't have to be about race, sexuality, or religion. What unique experiences and perspectives do you have to offer, which will show the reader your ability to thrive in a diverse environment? 

Tell us about a time you faced adversity.  

This one can be a trap because it tempts you to be very negative. While you don’t need to be all sunshine in your essay about facing adversity, be careful not to overly criticize others or paint yourself as pitiable. Instead, focus on how facing adversity gave you a formative experience that you learned from and grew or persevered through. 

Tell us about a time you failed.  

Talking about a failure or weakness can make you feel vulnerable—good. Vulnerability leads to bravery. When you share a failure, you want to spend about 20% of your answer explaining what happened and 80% on what you learned and you've done since to improve. Lastly, how are you feeling now? Hit these beats: Situation. Action. Result. You don't need to seem ever-resilient and impervious to future failure, just like you've grown.

How do qualities you have relate to our mission statement?  

Mission alignment matters to schools. They want to know that you share their values and goals. Will you be a valuable member of their community? Schools often hit similar themes: innovation, collaboration, servant leadership, and health equity and social justice. Even if you're not drafting this answer yet, think about experiences you've had that involve those things and jot down some notes. 

If this question isn't in the secondaries mix, you should be looking to reflect the mission statement back to the school in your other secondaries. For example, if a school especially values collegiality, you might include a story about how you collaborated on a class project in one of your answers. (This is another example of show don't tell.)

While you 100% should be researching schools individually to learn other specifics, AAMC has a convenient document that rounds up all allopathic schools' mission statements in one place. https://students-residents.aamc.org/media/6966/download

What will you be doing until matriculation or what have you done since graduating from college?  

You may have mentioned some of this elsewhere in the application. While you don't have to max out the word or character count, it is important (and fun!) to account for all your time, even if some of it won't be spent prepping for medical school. Check out this example: "Since graduating from Large Private University, I became a clinical research assistant at Near-My-Hometown Children's Hospital, coordinating 10 studies. I collected and analyzed study data for an academic paper on pediatric asthma and was asked to draft a section of it. It will be published this fall in Impressive Kiddo Journal, and I will be credited as a co-author. I will continue my work at Near-My-Hometown Children's Hospital until matriculation. On Saturdays this summer, I'll be volunteering at an organic farm. Nutrition matters to me, and I love to spend time outdoors. In August, I'll take a two-week trip to Europe (my first time abroad!), visiting relatives in Denmark and Sweden."

Why our school?  

Obviously, this is a place to mention courses you're excited to take, potential mentors you'd seek out, clubs you'd join, what the school's hospital affiliations and research opportunities mean to you, etc. You also might share how the school's location will set you up for the kind of career you want—say, for example, you want to work in an urban area. Mentioning that you love other aspects of the town or city or that it is located near friends and relatives is also relevant here. Schools love to hear that you'd have a local support system.

Have you applied to our program before? If, so how has your candidacy improved since your last application?

This one is self-explanatory. Even if you have no idea why you were rejected last time, you do know that you've gained more clinical experience, maybe some overall workplace experience, earned a Master's, and have matured since your last application. If none of those things are true, then perhaps you should be applying next year instead.

Frequently Asked Questions Related to the Secondary Essay Prompts:

What if I don’t have a hardship?

A "hardship" prompt is different from an adversity prompt. We've all faced adversity in our own way. But there might also be an optional essay asking about any hardships you've experienced. If you have had health, family, or financial issues, or any significant interruptions to your education, share them here. But if you don't have hardships, don't exaggerate a small hurdle, or massage any facts. 

Read our blog post on the Disadvantaged Applicant status here. 

When should I use the “is there anything else we should know” prompt? 

If you have no issues to address, you could use a secondary essay from another school here just to bolster your application. But this is also the school's nice way of saying: "What not-so-great thing did you do? Explain why we shouldn't be concerned about it." 

So, did you tank a class your freshman year? Does your lowish MCAT score not reflect your ability to thrive in a challenging academic environment? Did you get a citation for underage drinking at a campus music festival two years ago? You want to keep this answer concise no matter what your topic is, but for things like the latter, keep it very brief. Do not make excuses, simply address the situation, placing the emphasis on what you learned. Remember, everyone makes mistakes, taking accountability and moving forward demonstrates maturity. You do not have to max out this wordcount.

Related Blogs:

The Medical School Admissions Process is Long and Stressful. How are you Coping?

When to Use the AMCAS Disadvantaged Applicant Status