Med School Touring Question

[leela921]

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Does anyone know if it is inappropriate to bring parents with you to a medical school open house type event?

 

[prionsRbad]

IMO:

Bringing parents to an open house 👍 (or more like a neutral thumb, half way between up and down)

Bringing parents to an interview 👎

 

[TexasTriathlete]

Why would you want to?

 

[prionsRbad]

Why would you want to?

I dunno, maybe they're young and spry, fresh out of college and still want their parents to come with them . . . not an old fart like you and me. 😉

 

[ShyRem]

You'll get all sorts of answers to this one.

I was 38 years old when I applied. I went to several interviews close to family members homes and brought them all with me to campus on my interview days (although they roamed the campus while I was doing interview stuff). It was really more like they drove me to campus 'cuz i had no freekin' clue where the heck I was or how to get anywhere. It was actually nice to have a fresh set of eyes look at things like library, study space, things close by like coffee shops, safety of neighborhoods, look in classrooms and buildings that I didn't see on the tour, etc. Like having a spy.

Bonus was they took me out to lunch or dinner at a nice restaurant they would invariably find in the area. (of course the best bonus was seeing family I don't usually see for 3-5 years at a stretch.)

I would discourage bringing family actually on the tours with you. You're applying to a professional school. You shouldn't look like you need to hold your mommy's hand.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

I didn't even bring my parents to UT with me when I was checking it out for undergrad.

 

[ShyRem]

I looked at it this way: I spent a boatload for plane tickets. They were a free car and free meals, and they knew the area besides. AND I could sleep on the way up and back to try and heal my sleep-deprived self from scheduling my interviews back to back. I took all the help they would offer. (and my brother getting up at 4am to drive me 3 hours through rush-hour traffic in the city to an interview was wonderful. I slept the whole way in.)

 

[slim78]

Unless they are paying for it, leave them home.

Time to cut the cord.

 

[KateGia]

I didn't actually go to any open houses, but there are tons of parents that come with their kids to the NYCOM open house. I think that is perfectly fine.

As for the interview. I had a parent come with me for all of mine. Mostly because 3 were long drives that I didn't feel like making alone, and for NSU-COM my dad and I made a nice 4 day vacation out of it. While I went on the interviews, my parents either roamed the campus looking at the stuff I didn't get to see, or drove around the area, scoping out good places to live. My mother had so much fun looking around Erie, it took her about 30 min to get back to the school as I sat by the door watching all the students come in and out!
I'll be honest, it was nice to have someone with me, especially on my first one, because I was so nervous I don't think I would have been able to drive!

 

[Noni Mousse]

While I went on the interviews, my parents either roamed the campus looking at the stuff I didn't get to see, or drove around the area, scoping out good places to live. My mother had so much fun looking around Erie, it took her about 30 min to get back to the school as I sat by the door watching all the students come in and out!

I might do that. I don't really want my mom with me on my tour but think it will be good for her to have a look around as a second pair of eyes so maybe I'll send her off to do her own tour.

I'll be honest, it was nice to have someone with me, especially on my first one, because I was so nervous I don't think I would have been able to drive!

I'll be doing 5.5-6 hour drive to mine so I like the idea of someone else to help with the drive too. If I was flying somewhere, I would just keep her home.

 

[BellaWriterChic]

What I did was my mom was like my travel buddy. She flew with me or drove, and while I was in on the interview itself, she would spend the day exploring the town. She would scope out things like shops, housing, food, and the area in general. It was nice, because all I had to do was navigate and she did the driving (which on the way to an interview, I would have probably gotten lost due to nerves). It was fun too because some places we spent extra time just to relax and almost vacation before returning home. At a few places, family was near so we made a family trip out of it. So she did not go onto campus at all, except for when we would figure out the path the day before from the hotel to the campus to familiarize it with our route.


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[Goro]

I might do that. I don't really want my mom with me on my tour but think it will be good for her to have a look around as a second pair of eyes so maybe I'll send her off to do her own tour.


I'll be doing 5.5-6 hour drive to mine so I like the idea of someone else to help with the drive too. If I was flying somewhere, I would just keep her home.

Necrobump!

 

[gyngyn]

More of a necro-cross-post.