<p>@WillDaSnail, I’m exactly like you (interest and situation wise), except that I’m a first generation Asian.
@Airfreshener
I think the best thing for you to do is to apply to the direct Med programs but also apply to all the other schools you want to go to (Regular Decision for the UPenn, Yale and all that, so that you don’t disappoint your parents by going to some other school). I mean, it doesn’t hurt to apply to the schools you really want to go to. Assuming, of course, that you have the grades and extracurriculars on my part. If your parents don’t want to help you pay the app fee, get a fee waiver (or get a parttime job and save a couple hundred)</p>