By: Parisa Yan

The Medical School at U.C. Davis wants a diverse class, so they decided to rank applicants from 0 to 99, according to the structural disadvantages they have faced in their lives. That is called the socioeconomic disadvantage scale (S.E.D.).

“Mostly rich kids get to go to medical school,” said Dr. Mark Henderson, the head of admissions at the medical school.

Because of this, there are relatively few doctors who are Black. Only 6 percent of all practicing doctors in the U.S. are Black, even though Black people make up 13.6 percent of the population.

On the S.E.D. scale, each applicant is rated on many factors, including their parent’s educational level and family income. Students’ academic scores are considered, too.

“There is no set formula on how to balance the scale with the academic record.” says Henderson.

Source:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/02/us/affirmative-action-university-of-california-davis.html