Getting a ride to the interview?

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Because it truly isn't that competitive. SDN makes it sound like getting into a MD school is the toughest thing in the world and that you have to be "perfect" everywhere and cautious about everything you do because somehow it can affect admissions. Sure, the average Joe cannot get into med school; but any hard-working and driven individual who's motivated and knows what he's doing is going to end up getting into a MD school. You cannot say the same for things that are TRULY competitive like getting into colleges like HYP, getting promoted to manager in a big corporation, matching into dermatology, etc. A lot of these truly competitive things require a lot of luck along with the hard work. For the most part, you control whether or not you get into med school when it comes to MCAT, GPA, clinical volunteering, community volunteering, research, etc etc. Sure, the interview may be sometimes subjective and while there may be instances where the interview itself denies a stellar applicant admission, I think that 99/100 applicants with a stellar AMCAS (all things that the applicant can control btw) who presents himself as a normal person during the interview will get admitted to at least 1 MD school.

The fact that more than half who apply will NOT get accepted makes it not that easy. I agree that it isn't the hardest thing in the entire world, but it's far from easy. After all, there are lots of hardworking people who get in, and countless hard working, driven people who don't get in.

Keep in mind it's not that common to get a good MCAT score or a GPA of a 3.6 or above. The combo of that both makes that person a rockstar compared to the average college pre med 😛
 
Door= rejection
Wall = wait-list
Window = high wait-list
Window of admissions office on second floor = immediate accept
Ceiling = Dean's scholarship

I'd say getting waitlisted feels like hitting a wall sometimes.
 
Getting a ride like the OP referenced is fine. This is weird. Agree with the response above that you got lucky.

If a parent came along the tour when I was a tour guide, I'm not even sure how I would have handled it. I definitely would have said something about it to the dean afterwards.

Having mom come on the tour with you doesn't show that you have a "supportive family" - it shows a bizarre lack of appropriate social boundaries and lack of common sense.


Actually the school was extremely open to it and stressed family as a major importance. How is it a problem that a mother would want to see where her child could possibly be living 9 hours from home? It's not like my decision was based on her opinion anyway. She didn't sit in on the interview with me holding my hand. The school stressed that the tour was open to spouses and family. I don't have a spouse so why wouldn't it be acceptable to bring an important family member.

No need to be so judgemental is my point. Clearly I was a qualified applicant and completely competent. And I have plenty of common sense, CLEARLY.
 
Medical school isn't the same as college visiting during high school - it shouldn't matter what mommy and daddy think of where you are spending the next four years of your life - it is professional training. You got very lucky, I think most programs would probably frown upon bringing a parent to a part of the interview day...as I understand it, this is more forgive-able at 2nd look weekend.


It wasn't planned for her to attend until we got there and the school invited family members. We were 9 hours away from home and she decided to come along rather than sit in the car waiting to drive 9 hours home. The school specifically stated spouses and family were welcomed on the tour and they did not seem put off at all when she joined. Clearly she did not sit in on my interview coaching my answers and she also did not voice her opinion on where I could attend medical school, but she did enjoy getting a look at where her child could possibly be spending another 4 years.
 
The fact that more than half who apply will NOT get accepted makes it not that easy. I agree that it isn't the hardest thing in the entire world, but it's far from easy.

I agree with you guys that it's not easy, but probably not the hardest thing in the world for most people - it might be for some, but we're making generalizations. I think what makes the process so hard in a lot of people's eyes are that they have their eyes set on one or two particular medical schools. Getting into any medical school might not be the hardest thing ever, but getting into one particular medical school that you've always dreamt about is harder - no matter how good your stats b/c admission is a subjective process.
 
It wasn't planned for her to attend until we got there and the school invited family members. We were 9 hours away from home and she decided to come along rather than sit in the car waiting to drive 9 hours home. The school specifically stated spouses and family were welcomed on the tour and they did not seem put off at all when she joined. Clearly she did not sit in on my interview coaching my answers and she also did not voice her opinion on where I could attend medical school, but she did enjoy getting a look at where her child could possibly be spending another 4 years.

Especially if your parents are helping finance medical school, it seems totally legit for them to want to see what they will be paying for!
 
Especially if your parents are helping finance medical school, it seems totally legit for them to want to see what they will be paying for!

I forgot I'm getting old...the Helicopter Parent generation is all grown up...

Seriously though as I said before. I've given about 50 med school tours. I never saw a parent. How many of you have seen parents at tours on the interview trail? I'm glad for the prior poster that this one school seemed cool with it...but I would very strongly NOT recommend to others that they show up with their folks at the interview day.
 
I forgot I'm getting old...the Helicopter Parent generation is all grown up...

Seriously though as I said before. I've given about 50 med school tours. I never saw a parent. How many of you have seen parents at tours on the interview trail? I'm glad for the prior poster that this one school seemed cool with it...but I would very strongly NOT recommend to others that they show up with their folks at the interview day.

I wouldn't bring my parents because of the stigma involved, but why does this stigma exist to begin with? Education today is extremely expensive. I think if parents are paying, they should be welcome to see where all their hard earned money may be going
 
I wouldn't bring my parents because of the stigma involved, but why does this stigma exist to begin with? Education today is extremely expensive. I think if parents are paying, they should be welcome to see where all their hard earned money may be going

Because it's a professional interview. You're an adult. Would you bring your parents to a job interview?
 
Completely different because my job has no direct impact on my parent's bank account. Med school, on the other hand...

Your parents' involvement in financing medical school should not be contingent on the school you attend. If it is...I would again say helicopter parenting.

If you are approaching the interview day as anything other than a job interview, you're doing it wrong.
 
Because it's a professional interview. You're an adult. Would you bring your parents to a job interview?
She wasn't there during the interview, just the tour. To read into this situation as some lack of maturity or dependency issue is, IMO, going overboard akin to "tell me about your family" question to see if the applicant will bring up his parents. This attitude shows lack of cultural sensitivity to people from non-individualistic communal families.
 
She wasn't there during the interview, just the tour. To read into this situation as some lack of maturity or dependency issue is, IMO, going overboard akin to "tell me about your family" question to see if the applicant will bring up his parents. This attitude shows lack of cultural sensitivity to people from non-individualistic communal families.

Well, I'm the person on the other side of the interview, and admissions committee.

So if your goal is to get into medical school, rather than tell me I'm wrong and culturally insensitive...

you might pause for a second and consider my advice, as I'm trying to help you avoid rubbing a culturally insensitive boor like me the wrong way on your interview day.
 
I forgot I'm getting old...the Helicopter Parent generation is all grown up...

Seriously though as I said before. I've given about 50 med school tours. I never saw a parent. How many of you have seen parents at tours on the interview trail? I'm glad for the prior poster that this one school seemed cool with it...but I would very strongly NOT recommend to others that they show up with their folks at the interview day.

I never once said it was recommended. And I did not do this for any other interviews.. It was situational which is why I don't appreciate the slam on my "common sense". We're talking about an optional student run tour here. On another interview, I didn't even attend the tour because I was familiar with the school. I was accepted there as well. The tour is for the applicants benefits and at every school I interviewed at every person running the tour stressed it was not a part of our interview and did not impact our chances of acceptance.

Let's not act like I went to my interview high or answered a phone call in the middle of it. THAT would be "lacking common sense".

I swear some of these posters make people think if they sneeze during an interview they ruined their chances of acceptance.
 
Completely different because my job has no direct impact on my parent's bank account. Med school, on the other hand...

And having your parents pay for medical school in no way makes you any less of an adult. 🙄

Now, if my parents offered me a free ride with no strings attached (helicopter generation kids probably didn't experience this but with money from parents came control and criticism about how I spent the money I did have, even if their contribution is minimal) I'd probably jump at that, but I certainly wouldn't parade that fact around at an interview for said medical school by bringing my parents along. My parents would be welcome to check out the school on their own time. You're an adult attending a professional interview for a graduate school. Your parents have no place at it.
 
And having your parents pay for medical school in no way makes you any less of an adult. 🙄

Now, if my parents offered me a free ride with no strings attached (helicopter generation kids probably didn't experience this but with money from parents came control and criticism about how I spent the money I did have, even if their contribution is minimal) I'd
probably jump at that, but I certainly wouldn't parade that fact around at an interview for said medical school by bringing my parents
along. My parents would be welcome to check out the school on their own time. You're an adult attending a professional interview for a graduate school. Your parents have no place at it.

Is it a secret that most students finance medical school with some combination of loans, personal savings, and parental contribution?
 
The tour is for the applicants benefits and at every school I interviewed at every person running the tour stressed it was not a part of our interview and did not impact our chances of acceptance.

I have some really nice beachfront property in Iowa I'd like to sell you...
 
Well, I'm the person on the other side of the interview, and admissions committee.

So if your goal is to get into medical school, rather than tell me I'm wrong and culturally insensitive...

you might pause for a second and consider my advice, as I'm trying to help you avoid rubbing a culturally insensitive boor like me the wrong way on your interview day.
I appreciate all the help but I have to disagree with the advice. The situation we both commented on, as described, doesn't warrant making assumptions about maturity or common sense. If you see this differently, there may be a question of "fit" at play. This is a two way road and as much as the schools are selecting their future class, the applicants are selecting the school they would want to attend. Many of us are very fortunate to have several to select from and I personally would be very worried if the ADCOM's perception of what is mature and appropriate is so different from mine. I personally got into a medicine with a belief that the school I attend should mimic very personal inter-dependent relationship I have with my family. This includes students, faculty, staff, community members, and most importantly patients. I do not believe in individualistic approach to medicine on any level, be it family or a county. If the adcoms give me a signal that they do not share my views, going to that school may not be the wisest choice to make.
 
I appreciate all the help but I have to disagree with the advice. The situation we both commented on, as described, doesn't warrant making assumptions about maturity or common sense. If you see this differently, there may be a question of "fit" at play. This is a two way road and as much as the schools are selecting their future class, the applicants are selecting the school they would want to attend. Many of us are very fortunate to have several to select from and I personally would be very worried if the ADCOM's perception of what is mature and appropriate is so different from mine. I personally got into a medicine with a belief that the school I attend should mimic very personal inter-dependent relationship I have with my family. This includes students, faculty, staff, community members, and most importantly patients. I do not believe in individualistic approach to medicine on any level, be it family or a county. If the adcoms give me a signal that they do not share my views, going to that school may not be the wisest choice to make.

So you brought your parents to the interview day then?
 
I have some really nice beachfront property in Iowa I'd like to sell you...

Well obviously I did quite well without your smug, condescending advice. I was accepted where I wanted to be and that's all I care about. Even if I am gullible, lack common sense, am dependent on mommy and daddy and have no idea what is socially acceptable

Gosh I hope I can survive on my own during med school...
 
Well obviously I did quite well without your smug, condescending advice. I was accepted where I wanted to be and that's all I care about. Even if I am gullible, lack common sense, am dependent on mommy and daddy and have no idea what is socially acceptable

Gosh I hope I can survive on my own during med school...

If a school encourages it, that is one thing. However, that is most certainly NOT the norm, especially at the larger programs.
 
If a school encourages it, that is one thing. However, that is most certainly NOT the norm, especially at the larger programs.

Agreed which is WHY I said it was situational, encouraged by the school and did not occur at any other interviews I attended during the cycle. It was not warranted to make assumptions about my maturity and professionalism. I agree this is not the norm or encouraged, but for this specific school it was not only okay but welcomed and I did gain acceptance. Purely situational.
 
Agreed which is WHY I said it was situational, encouraged by the school and did not occur at any other interviews I attended during the cycle. It was not warranted to make assumptions about my maturity and professionalism. I agree this is not the norm or encouraged, but for this specific school it was not only okay but welcomed and I did gain acceptance. Purely situational.

Well that's awesome you got accepted to a choice school! Congrats! Out of curiosity, which school is this? If you would prefer to remain anonymous, just PM me!
 
This reminded me. I had one interview where a girl brought her boyfriend to the interview. She was dressed nicely but he wore jeans with holes, a backwards cap, and dirty t shirt. They held hands the entire time and went everywhere together minus the actual interview room. We weren't invited to bring guests....
 
Is it a secret that most students finance medical school with some combination of loans, personal savings, and parental contribution?

Honestly, I think self-reliance and independence once you're past 18 (or at least the college years) is an admirable trait, but maybe that's not the case with the helicopter generation.
 
Honestly, I think self-reliance and independence once you're past 18 (or at least the college years) is an admirable trait, but maybe that's not the case with the helicopter generation.

In many families, the expectation is that your parents will help you finance med school ( within reason), and once you are earning a decent salary, you will pay them back and more.

Edit: this is hardly a new phenomenon. Not sure what your comment about the "helicopter generation" has to do with anything.
 
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Absolutely. In fact, I have heard of students being rejected based on the model of the car they are driving as well. I myself was once turned away from an interview when I pulled up to the admissions building in a Mitsubishi. The dean of the medical school said he wouldn't accept anyone who didn't buy an American automobile, and tore up my AMCAS information right before my eyes before scattering the shreds onto my windshield.

In all seriousness...maybe. Maybe it shows a lack of independence. Maybe. But I still don't understand HOW someone would find out you were driven to a med school interview without you volunteering that information. Its not like people are peering out of their windows to see in what transportive manner you arrive. And besides, who knows why you were being driven by someone else. Maybe you have family that live close by the medical school who you are visiting. Maybe your parent is an alum who wants to check out his/her old stomping grounds. Case and point, I doubt anyone cares how you get to an interview. If you're really trepidatious, then don't tell them how you arrived.
 
I would love to get dropped off at the door in an elaborate rickshaw. That would be awesome.
 
As a personal reference, my mom drove me to 3 of my interviews and I was accepted at each one. I really can't see this being a problem, and as others have said, no one will know unless you tell them.
 
Honestly, I think self-reliance and independence once you're past 18 (or at least the college years) is an admirable trait, but maybe that's not the case with the helicopter generation.

When I was 18 and applying for my college loans, I was angry and upset about the fact that I had to take on this financial burden even though my parents are very well off and parents of my friends who had fewer resources still had undergrad funded by their families.

Now, in my mid 20s, I am grateful to my parents for forcing me to take responsibility for my education. I feel proud each time I make a loan payment (I also feel very poor when I see my bank account post payment) and I am happy that going forward, I am not afraid of taking charge of financing my medical education solo. Those friends I was jealous of are still without credit cards or credit histories because they are too afraid of the responsibility.
 
Honestly, I think self-reliance and independence once you're past 18 (or at least the college years) is an admirable trait, but maybe that's not the case with the helicopter generation.

Well the "helicopter generation" has much more expensive tuition relative to inflation than previous generations. Maybe the previous generations should just consider themselves lucky that their path was both less competitive and less expensive. And I say this as somebody who will not receive any help in financing med school.
 
I know it sounds crazy. He told me that he has personally seen adcoms look at this. He said there was some applicant whose dad drove him to the interview, and in the adcom meeting, the dean of admissions brought up that he wouldn't fit in at the school because he doesn't have a drivers' license. Furthermore, the adcom took this as evidence that he was unable to take care of himself.

It sounds insane to me too, but then again, with admissions being so competitive, I guess they start to look at little things like this?
Many schools require a drivers license and a car for all of their students for the clinical rotation season. But then again this guy could go ahead and obtain one and a car once he gets accepted.
 
Well the "helicopter generation" has much more expensive tuition relative to inflation than previous generations. Maybe the previous generations should just consider themselves lucky that their path was both less competitive and less expensive. And I say this as somebody who will not receive any help in financing med school.

Our grandparents had to deal with wars tearing up families (Russia lost 30million in WWII), the Depression in the US, and unrest as a result of intense racism, sexism, and any other ism....I am okay with them having lower educational costs....
 
Our grandparents had to deal with wars tearing up families (Russia lost 30million in WWII), the Depression in the US, and unrest as a result of intense racism, sexism, and any other ism....I am okay with them having lower educational costs....

And none of that is relevant to education cost. I was also mostly speaking about the generation after. I doubt that there are a ton of WW2 vets ranting about kids getting help from their parents in paying for med school. Boomers on the other hand never pass on an opportunity to poop all over the "helicopter generation", when they are the ones who had the best of both worlds for the most part.
 
Our grandparents had to deal with wars tearing up families (Russia lost 30million in WWII), the Depression in the US, and unrest as a result of intense racism, sexism, and any other ism....I am okay with them having lower educational costs....
Sorry but this is a strawman. Nobody is arguing about whether older generation is or isn't deserving of lower tuition. The point is that the situation is incomparable. Also let's not forget that most of "our" parents (mine are foreigners) were boomers who destroyed this country. Many of them (especially make upper-class) were the actual perpetrators of the isms you talk about.
 
To explain my position a little better, nothing is more important than family. My parents cant afford to help me out much but if they could they would. If I can afford it I will pay for all of my kid's education, help them get into the best schools, internships, etc. Any advantage that can be given. That is the way the world is trending these days, your outcome in life is highly dependent on the resources you receive from your parents. You can bet my kids(if I have any) are getting as much of mine as possible.

I think generations that grew up in a time where competition for education and jobs was less and at the same time more affordable, can sometimes lose sight of the fact that the world has changed considerably.
 
Boomers on the other hand never pass on an opportunity to poop all over the "helicopter generation", when they are the ones who had the best of both worlds for the most part.

I like to poop all over the helicopter generation, it's easier to reach everyone from inside the group 🙂
 
So you brought your parents to the interview day then?
I brought my mother to the free tour given by my state medical school even before the cycle begun and my interview invite. The tour was open to anyone. Very similar situation to that we disagree about. In fact, maybe even showing more dependency and immaturity for your standpoint. My dad also gave me ride to the interview to that same school and a get together prior to it. He even met a couple of the other applicants.

The thing is in my culture there is absolutely nothing abnormal here. My mother barely speaks any English and just wanted to see what American medical school looks like. My dad was also very curious and wanted to spend some time with me as I had very little time for him in the preceding months. Honestly, it didn't even cross my mind that this could somehow impact my odds of admission.
 
I also have a very close relationship with my family, but I certainly would not (and have not) brought any family members with me to interviews. I don't know how old you are (perhaps you are much older than I), but I am a college senior and feel that I'm in the stage of life where I have to learn to tackle bigger and bigger challenges on my own.

Every med school interview is just such a challenge. You travel through an unfamiliar city, possibly farther from home than you've ever been before. You show up to the admissions office and are thrown into a room with a bunch of strangers and you know that you are being watched. The pressure is on! Socialize or die! You're not being scrutinized as much during the tour, but you still have to know the right questions to ask the tour guide. You will need to ask the right questions if you're going to be able to figure out if the school is right for you. Are you into fitness? Ask about the gym! Do you have a tight financial situation? Ask about aid! Not used to commuting? Ask about how close affordable housing is, public transportation, student carpools. The list goes on.

The reason I wouldn't bring a family member to an interview is that I am afraid I would use them as a crutch. I would talk to them instead of the other interviewees. I would let them do the research ahead of time and figure out the important questions and then talk to the tour guide and ask those questions. "Well blahblah my 401k and blahblah alternative minimum tax: does your student aid package include dividends full of five percent interest?" (Sorry, I'm still learning this whole money thing.) And because I shied away from doing the research and asking the right questions, my parents would end up knowing more about the schools than I did. Then how would I choose which school to attend? Would I use my parents as a crutch again? Where does it end? When will I learn? What will I do fifty years from now when I am trying to manage my retirement fund and I am totally clueless because I kept pushing off growing up? I exaggerate, of course, but the basic premise is true. Doing these things on your own is part of learning how to be an independent adult.

Med schools are looking for independent adults. Whether or not they can conclude that you are not an independent adult because you brought your mom with you to the interview is debatable, but what's more important is how you answer this: Are you using your parents as a crutch? Are you shying away from learning how to be an adult?

I agree with @southernIM. You wouldn't bring a parent to a job interview, and that certainly isn't a question of fit. Unless you think you are not a good fit with 100% of all employers out there.
Look, my family "works" a lot different from yours. We do not learn to be independent adults but rather dependable members of the family. Nobody in my family has or ever had a separate account even though most of us work full-time. It all goes into one big pile. I expect the same type of relationship when I get married. As a Westerner (I assume), you might find this type of arrangement very bizarre and probably somewhat suffocating. But for us this is much more preferable than how my white American friends chose to build their family. The funny thing is that I have a big hunch that this family model is very common around the world, leads to more happiness (at least according to most surveys), and may actually be over represented in students who go to medical schools in the US.

I personally have no problem with you learning to be lone wonderer or independent survivalist if that is what you want, but please don't be judgmental about people like me and assume that ADCOM is not fully aware about our values and still choses us to attend their schools.
 
I brought my mother to the free tour given by my state medical school even before the cycle begun and my interview invite. The tour was open to anyone. Very similar situation to that we disagree about. In fact, maybe even showing more dependency and immaturity for your standpoint. My dad also gave me ride to the interview to that same school and a get together prior to it. He even met a couple of the other applicants.

I would say that a tour that is open for anyone and given off-cycle, not a part of the interview day is actually a very dissimilar situation. For one, you're a face in the crowd at that point and unless you do something truly egregious no one would ever remember you. I would also think an open to the public thing like that would actually be much more conducive to bringing family/spouses/whatever.

And as I said previously, I think the idea of anyone caring whether your parents drive you to the interview day is ludicrous.
 
I would say that a tour that is open for anyone and given off-cycle, not a part of the interview day is actually a very dissimilar situation. For one, you're a face in the crowd at that point and unless you do something truly egregious no one would ever remember you. I would also think an open to the public thing like that would actually be much more conducive to bringing family/spouses/whatever.

And as I said previously, I think the idea of anyone caring whether your parents drive you to the interview day is ludicrous.
Okay I see your point. All of my tours during the interview day had only applicants on them. But since she mentioned that her school was very supportive and encouraging of family members attending the interview day tour, I assumed it was much more similar to off cycle tour than any ones I went during the interview day.
 
No need to get offended. I'm not judging you in any way or saying that your view of the family dynamic is incorrect. I'm just providing my own perspective.

I have a feeling that our families really don't behave all that differently. My family is not Western either also comes from a culture that doesn't really jive with the Western model of a nuclear family. We've played host to an uncle of a sister-in-law of a cousin of a cousin a dozen times over. I have family members who are currently paying off the college loans of other people's children (also relatives). But suppose these same fresh college grads are having trouble getting a job. The aforementioned college-loan-paying family members would not (and even if they wanted to, could not) do a job interview on the behalf of one of the college grads. That's something that each person has to tackle on their own, whether or not they are an "independent survivalist." Again, you may see things differently, and I'm not saying that your viewpoint wrong.

I do beg to differ with you on one point, though: I don't think adcoms (which are going to have plenty of WASPs, even if they are culturally diverse on the whole) are fully understanding of family values of other countries. They try to be, of course, but in the end, it is hard for people to wrap their heads around something so alien to their decades of accumulated experiences. This leads to some things be dismissed as "just too weird." Unfortunate, but true.
This is fair. I just had an impression that the tour mentioned in the story was more akin to the off-cycle tour as it had been described with parents/family/spouses welcome to come.
 
Roller blades.

Enter building

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Greet admissions desk

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Say hello to fellow interviewees

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