Is Medical School Just For Rich Kids?

Dear Dr. Wible,

This will be my last email to you because I am giving up on my dream of being a doctor.

I’ve contacted so many colleges and medical schools hoping to find one that would help me become a doctor for my tribe.  Today, I finally got a response from the University of Pennsylvania! But when I opened the official email, all I saw was a pretty girl with beautiful eyes staring back at me. She introduced herself as Lily, a premed majoring in biology with a specialization in neuroscience. She is a sophomore just like me...Lily and I have similar dreams. The difference is that she is from Asia while I’m Native American. She will be a pediatrician while I want to be a family physician.

Despite being accepted by an Ivy League college, I’m at a low-tier school near my reservation while Lily studies at a super-elite university. Lily is already attending brain surgeries, but our local doctors don’t allow Native Americans to shadow them. While I am struggling to find money to take premed biology this summer, Lily is a research assistant in a neuroscience lab...