Leaving parental information blank on AMCAS

[The Broccoli Industry]

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Is the parental information section of the AMCAS optional?


Is it ok to select "unable to provide this information" for the parent section of the AMCAS even though I know my parents (I'd just rather not list them)?

 

[NimbleNavigator]

Ok basically you're asking is it ok to lie on your application. Personally I think it's ok to exaggerate a little, which some people might view as lying. Most personal statements for example would be really boring if people didn't exaggerate a little. Ex. Do most people really have that one moment when they decided medicine was for them? I doubt it, but it makes for an interesting essay.

For the record, I totally get why you're trying to do leave your parents off. Medical school is expensive. If you left your parents off you might get financial aid.

But what you're trying to do is really a flat out lie that I'm sure they would be able to see through unless maybe you've been legally disowned by your parents. Even then it's playing with fire. The worst case scenario is just not worth it in my opinion. It's also unfair to people who are filling out the applications the right way.

Lastly - take it from someone who has lied in the past (not on my apps obviously) - the guilt is just not worth it. Think about the kind of person you want to become. Would you rather be a honest man or a lying doctor? That's something you have to answer for yourself.

 

[The Broccoli Industry]

Ok basically you're asking is it ok to lie on your application. Personally I think it's ok to exaggerate a little, which some people might view as lying. Most personal statements for example would be really boring if people didn't exaggerate a little. Ex. Do most people really have that one moment when they decided medicine was for them? I doubt it, but it makes for an interesting essay.

For the record, I totally get why you're trying to do leave your parents off. Medical school is expensive. If you left your parents off you might get financial aid.

But what you're trying to do is really a flat out lie that I'm sure they would be able to see through unless maybe you've been legally disowned by your parents. Even then it's playing with fire. The worst case scenario is just not worth it in my opinion. It's also unfair to people who are filling out the applications the right way.

Lastly - take it from someone who has lied in the past (not on my apps obviously) - the guilt is just not worth it. Think about the kind of person you want to become. Would you rather be a honest man or a lying doctor? That's something you have to answer for yourself.

Financial aid goes through a separate form in which I would have to provide parental information.

I'm asking if the parent section of the AMCAS is optional. It has nothing to do with money.

 

[NimbleNavigator]

Financial aid goes through a separate form in which I would have to provide parental information.

I'm asking if the parent section of the AMCAS is optional. It has nothing to do with money.

Lol wait so why not just put the info in?

 

[The Broccoli Industry]

Lol wait so why not just put the info in?

Personal reasons

 

[NimbleNavigator]

Personal reasons

Ok? Do what you want to do I guess, although it seems pretty sketchy to me.

 

[LizzyM]

Parents' names are optional so there is no "lying" or falsification involved in omitting them. Don't check the "unable to provide information" unless you were raised by wolves.

It has nothing to do with financial aid.
AAMC does use the information(parents highest level of education and occupation) to determine socioeconomic status which it uses for statistical purposes.
Your parent's occupation may be a topic of conversation as it relates to your own career choice and other options you might have considered.
People do list more than two parents in some cases so if you feel you would be disrespecting a step-parent who has been a significant person in your life, you may include that person. I've also seen grandparents listed when they were the legal guardians.

The one situation when I'd leave out parents' names would be if you had something very horrible that you had to write about as it related to your choice of medicine as a career and you wanted to protect a parent's privacy.

 

[Affiche]

Parents' names are optional so there is no "lying" or falsification involved in omitting them. Don't check the "unable to provide information" unless you were raised by wolves.

It has nothing to do with financial aid.
AAMC does use the information(parents highest level of education and occupation) to determine socioeconomic status which it uses for statistical purposes.
Your parent's occupation may be a topic of conversation as it relates to your own career choice and other options you might have considered.
People do list more than two parents in some cases so if you feel you would be disrespecting a step-parent who has been a significant person in your life, you may include that person. I've also seen grandparents listed when they were the legal guardians.

The one situation when I'd leave out parents' names would be if you had something very horrible that you had to write about as it related to your choice of medicine as a career and you wanted to protect a parent's privacy.

It's appropriate to check ''unable to provide information'' if your parents are deceased and you don't have that info and/or you were raised by someone other than your parents. Please be sensitive here.

 

[LizzyM]

It's appropriate to check ''unable to provide information'' if your parents are deceased and you don't have that info and/or you were raised by someone other than your parents. Please be sensitive here.

Let's look at the instruction manual pages 37-38 (to find the instruction manual I googled aamc amcas instructions )

Enter information regarding your parent(s)/guardian(s). Click the Yes button to add a
parent or guardian.
 Enter the first and last name of a parent/guardian in the designated box.
 Indicate whether this parent/guardian is living.
 Select this person’s occupation from the designated drop-down list.
 Select the highest level of education completed (e.g., High School Graduate,
Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree, etc.) from the designated drop-down list.
 Indicate the country in which the highest level of education was completed.
 The subsequent highest education level school information items are dependent on
what you have selected from the Highest Education Level drop-down list.
If you have selected “High School or less” as the highest education level and this school
is located in the United States:
 Select the state, county, and school from the designated drop-down lists. Enter
the city in which this school is located.
 If the state appears but the county does not, select <state name> Unknown
County” from the county drop-down list.
 If the state and county appear, but the school name does not, select “US Not
Coded” from the school drop-down list.
If you have selected “High School Graduate” or less as the highest education level and
this school is located in Canada:

 Select the province in which this school is located from the designated dropdown
list, then select the school and enter the city in which it is located.
 Indicate the country of Legal Residence of the person you are referring to.
If you have selected “Some College or higher” as the highest education level and this
school is located in the United States or Canada:
 Select the state/province and school from the designated drop-down lists. Enter
the city in which this school is located.
For all selections if the school is located in a country other than the United States or
Canada:
 Select the country and school from the designated drop-down lists, and then
enter the city in which it is located.
 Indicate the country of Legal Residence of the person you are referring to.

To enter another parent or guardian, click Add Another Parent/Guardian. Once you
have entered all parent(s)/guardian(s), click Done at the bottom of the page.

----------

If you are parents are deceased, you can check "N" to the question "Living?" You can enter the information on guardians as well as parents.

 

[NimbleNavigator]

It's appropriate to check ''unable to provide information'' if your parents are deceased and you don't have that info and/or you were raised by someone other than your parents. Please be sensitive here.

Let's look at the instruction manual pages 37-38 (to find the instruction manual I googled aamc amcas instructions )

Enter information regarding your parent(s)/guardian(s). Click the Yes button to add a
parent or guardian.
 Enter the first and last name of a parent/guardian in the designated box.
 Indicate whether this parent/guardian is living.
 Select this person’s occupation from the designated drop-down list.
 Select the highest level of education completed (e.g., High School Graduate,
Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree, etc.) from the designated drop-down list.
 Indicate the country in which the highest level of education was completed.
 The subsequent highest education level school information items are dependent on
what you have selected from the Highest Education Level drop-down list.
If you have selected “High School or less” as the highest education level and this school
is located in the United States:
 Select the state, county, and school from the designated drop-down lists. Enter
the city in which this school is located.
 If the state appears but the county does not, select <state name> Unknown
County” from the county drop-down list.
 If the state and county appear, but the school name does not, select “US Not
Coded” from the school drop-down list.
If you have selected “High School Graduate” or less as the highest education level and
this school is located in Canada:

 Select the province in which this school is located from the designated dropdown
list, then select the school and enter the city in which it is located.
 Indicate the country of Legal Residence of the person you are referring to.
If you have selected “Some College or higher” as the highest education level and this
school is located in the United States or Canada:
 Select the state/province and school from the designated drop-down lists. Enter
the city in which this school is located.
For all selections if the school is located in a country other than the United States or
Canada:
 Select the country and school from the designated drop-down lists, and then
enter the city in which it is located.
 Indicate the country of Legal Residence of the person you are referring to.

To enter another parent or guardian, click Add Another Parent/Guardian. Once you
have entered all parent(s)/guardian(s), click Done at the bottom of the page.

----------

If you are parents are deceased, you can check "N" to the question "Living?" You can enter the information on guardians as well as parents.

Wow, how could the AAMC be so insensitive

 

[LizzyM]

Wow, how could the AAMC be so insensitive

It is relevant. I'd like to know before I interview someone that their dad is deceased.
I also interviewed someone who had a mom but never knew who her dad was (not sure mom knew either 🙁)
Some people will list 4 parents and 12 siblings which is always interesting.
I also remember someone who listed a mom and 2 grandparents. Disadvantaged statement provided more info about applicant's teen mom who couldn't handle the responsibility of raising her kid and had the help of her parents.

It really helps paint a picture of who you are more than just your ECs or it explains your ECs (okay, you worked in a funeral home or a dry cleaner from age 16 -21 because your parents had a family business).

 

[Affiche]

Let's look at the instruction manual pages 37-38 (to find the instruction manual I googled aamc amcas instructions )

Enter information regarding your parent(s)/guardian(s). Click the Yes button to add a
parent or guardian.
 Enter the first and last name of a parent/guardian in the designated box.
 Indicate whether this parent/guardian is living.
 Select this person’s occupation from the designated drop-down list.
 Select the highest level of education completed (e.g., High School Graduate,
Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree, etc.) from the designated drop-down list.
 Indicate the country in which the highest level of education was completed.
 The subsequent highest education level school information items are dependent on
what you have selected from the Highest Education Level drop-down list.
If you have selected “High School or less” as the highest education level and this school
is located in the United States:
 Select the state, county, and school from the designated drop-down lists. Enter
the city in which this school is located.
 If the state appears but the county does not, select <state name> Unknown
County” from the county drop-down list.
 If the state and county appear, but the school name does not, select “US Not
Coded” from the school drop-down list.
If you have selected “High School Graduate” or less as the highest education level and
this school is located in Canada:

 Select the province in which this school is located from the designated dropdown
list, then select the school and enter the city in which it is located.
 Indicate the country of Legal Residence of the person you are referring to.
If you have selected “Some College or higher” as the highest education level and this
school is located in the United States or Canada:
 Select the state/province and school from the designated drop-down lists. Enter
the city in which this school is located.
For all selections if the school is located in a country other than the United States or
Canada:
 Select the country and school from the designated drop-down lists, and then
enter the city in which it is located.
 Indicate the country of Legal Residence of the person you are referring to.

To enter another parent or guardian, click Add Another Parent/Guardian. Once you
have entered all parent(s)/guardian(s), click Done at the bottom of the page.

----------

If you are parents are deceased, you can check "N" to the question "Living?" You can enter the information on guardians as well as parents.

I'm not sure why you quoted that entire thing to me. Even if you mark that your parent is deceased, you still are asked to enter that information for him/her. So again, it's appropriate to mark "unknown" if your parent is deceased and you do not have that information.

 

[The Broccoli Industry]

Parents' names are optional so there is no "lying" or falsification involved in omitting them. Don't check the "unable to provide information" unless you were raised by wolves.

It has nothing to do with financial aid.
AAMC does use the information(parents highest level of education and occupation) to determine socioeconomic status which it uses for statistical purposes.
Your parent's occupation may be a topic of conversation as it relates to your own career choice and other options you might have considered.
People do list more than two parents in some cases so if you feel you would be disrespecting a step-parent who has been a significant person in your life, you may include that person. I've also seen grandparents listed when they were the legal guardians.

The one situation when I'd leave out parents' names would be if you had something very horrible that you had to write about as it related to your choice of medicine as a career and you wanted to protect a parent's privacy.

Thanks for the reply Lizzy.

I am unable to leave the section blank unless I click "unable to provide information". Otherwise it requires me to put in at least 1 parent.

Given these circumstances and since the section is optional can I check the unable to provide information box?

 

[LizzyM]

Thanks for the reply Lizzy.

I am unable to leave the section blank unless I click "unable to provide information". Otherwise it requires me to put in at least 1 parent.

Given these circumstances and since the section is optional can I check the unable to provide information box?

I've never seen it from your side. I guess it isn't really optional. If you are unable you don't have the ability. If you do have the ability, you really need to list at least one. At least 95% of the applicants I see list two or more parents. It is no big deal.

 

[Steven Phillips]

I've never seen it from your side. I guess it isn't really optional. If you are unable you don't have the ability. If you do have the ability, you really need to list at least one. At least 95% of the applicants I see list two or more parents. It is no big deal.

Would listing just my mom for example be of any concern? Would adcoms bring that up during an interview?

Btw are you an adcom at a top 20 school?

 

[gyngyn]

Fellow crucifer, when there is no apparent reason for leaving benign information out, people get suspicious.

 

[The Broccoli Industry]

I don't see why it would be of any concern.

 

[LizzyM]

Is the mom/dad question just for the AMCAS statistics? I became an emancipated minor, and that was almost a decade ago, so i'm not sure how I would fill that part out.

One of the reasons it is useful is for statistics. It also gives the interviewer and the application reader a bit more of a picture of who you are and the family circumstances you came from.

Would listing just my mom for example be of any concern? Would adcoms bring that up during an interview?

Btw are you an adcom at a top 20 school?

Listing only one parent does look odd but there are applicants who were adopted and raised by a single parent and that's cool.

I am with a top 20. Been doing admissions for > 15 years.

 

[gyngyn]

I don't see why it would be of any concern.

It's extremely rare to see absolutley nothing in a demographic information block.
Being this much of an outlier is odd.

 

[WhittyPsyche]

One of the reasons it is useful is for statistics. It also gives the interviewer and the application reader a bit more of a picture of who you are and the family circumstances you came from.


Listing only one parent does look odd but there are applicants who were adopted and raised by a single parent and that's cool.

I am with a top 20. Been doing admissions for > 15 years.

I listed just my mom because I don't know what my dad has done, or much info on him. Is that really odd enough to be suspicious? My FAP let me not listed my dad's info because they were never married nor lived together. Is it the same through the application?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Mad Jack]

It's extremely rare to see no information in a demographic information block.
Being this much of an outlier is odd.

Maybe they found out they were the illegitimate child of Charles Manson or Ted Cruz and just don't want that hanging over them.

Really though, it's probably something along the lines of "don't want to appear privileged because of parents" or something similar, which always makes people more suspicious than anything. There's no reason to not provide freely available information unless you're working an angle of some sort, otherwise why would you do it?

 

[Goro]

I've seen a gazillion apps where just a single parent was listed. I'm the son of a single parent. It's no big deal. Agree with my learned colleagues that leaving both off would raise eyebrows.

In this process, you don't want to raise eyebrows.

I listed just my mom because I don't know what my dad has done, or much info on him. Is that really odd enough to be suspicious? My FAP let me not listed my dad's info because they were never married nor lived together. Is it the same through the application?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[gyngyn]

I listed just my mom because I don't know what my dad has done, or much info on him. Is that really odd enough to be suspicious? My FAP let me not listed my dad's info because they were never married nor lived together. Is it the same through the application?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

As previously noted, a single parent is fine. Listing no parents is odd.

 

[LizzyM]

It is also odd to list only one parent in that section and then to talk about both parents and their influence in the PS.