The medical school application process can be daunting for a parent. Although there are instances where parental involvement is appropriate, medical schools typically hold that applicants should function independently and that the materials they present are wholly original works.
No matter how well-intentioned, a parent’s active involvement is likely to cast doubt on the school’s assessment of the applicant as a responsible adult capable of handling difficult situations. However, there are a few things that you can do to help your child get into medical school. With that said, here’s how to help your child get into medical school:
Reader's Roadmap
Understand The Medical School Admission Requirements
It’s crucial to have all the information on the requirements for your child to be admitted into medical school. You should also be aware of what they need for their premedical programs and the interests that your child ought to pursue. However, you should be able to assist them without raising tension or pressure.
For instance, ensure that you don’t wait to request transcripts. This common mistake can derail your child’s admission. You can encourage them to get the transcripts at the earliest time possible while they work on the rest of their application while they wait for the application process to begin.
The interaction between you and your child about the admission process should balance your concern and their independence. However, parents must recognize that their children are growing up and will eventually need to make their own decisions.
As parents, you should support your child’s dreams while maintaining a distance to encourage their autonomy. This can help them in their future medical career as they become more mature and make their own decisions.
Help Develop The Child’s Critical Skills
Critical skills are essential to the development of your child. You can support your child in developing critical traits like resilience, balance, and perseverance. These skills are crucial in getting your child ready for medical school.
You can help your child practice these skills while they’re still in their undergraduate years. This is so they’ll have had the time to hone the skills to use it effectively during med school.
The primary skills that you can focus on instilling are the following:
- Balance: Many medical students struggle to manage the demands of juggling academic obligations, a social life, and extracurricular activities. It’s your duty as their parent to teach them how to balance multiple responsibilities without getting overwhelmed.
In addition, parents of prospective medical students are often advised to set guidelines for technology-free periods. This is to allow your child to disconnect from the online world and have time to relax, as well as teach them discipline when to go offline to focus on their tasks.
- Persistence: Medical school can present many challenging instances for your child, and they need to be persistent. A successful medical career depends on perseverance to keep going in any situation.
Your child might not get into the college of their dreams. The same is true for getting accepted into the top medical school, the ideal residency, and finding work as a doctor. These different scenarios can test your child’s persistence and perseverance.
Getting into medical school is only the first hurdle. The real challenge lies in staying in med school and making it as a doctor. Thus, your youngster must be able to endure despite setbacks and difficulties.
- Resilience: This has to do with adaptability and overcoming roadblocks and disappointments. Your child will need to be able to deal with various personalities, communication methods, and attitudes from patients and fellow students as medical students.
For instance, some attending doctors can be difficult to work with, especially during busy times, and it’s possible they’d pressure the students. To handle such conduct and still do the task without becoming complacent about the circumstance, your youngster must learn to be resilient.
Instilling these skills ensures your kid succeeds in medical school.
Help Them Choose The Right Major
One of the primary considerations when planning to get your child into medical school is the major they plan to take. Regardless of the major they choose, medical school requires some prerequisite courses. You can research the majors and courses that offer the best foundation for your child to join medical school. This is so they don’t end up in one of the worst colleges in the country!
In addition, diversity is increasingly a key consideration in medical school admissions. Your child should, therefore, major in what interests them the most, in addition to the fundamental premedical requirements. The admissions committee members would look favorably upon an applicant with a diverse background of experience.
However, regardless of the student’s major, it’s always advisable to enroll in upper-level science courses to showcase academic proficiency in the sciences. Besides the prerequisite courses, a good proficiency in science, technology, and mathematics (STEM) subjects can impress the application board.
Schedule Sessions With A Pre-Med Advisor
Another essential aspect you should consider is ensuring your child has scheduled sessions with a pre-med adviser. Students pursuing careers as doctors should consult pre-med advisors throughout their first semesters of college. This can help them decide early in their undergraduate years on how to better prepare for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and other medical school requirements.
In addition, the pre-med adviser can help your child prepare for the MCAT. This test evaluates a student’s knowledge of physical, social, and biological sciences. To enroll in a prestigious medical school in the US, your child must score highly on the MCAT.
Conclusion
As a parent, your primary responsibility is to guide and assist your child in getting into medical school. It’s also essential to help them gain independence and make decisions crucial to the admission process. It can be a tedious journey, but it will be worth it once your child makes it to medical school.