Pre-meds with parents as physicians

[You'reCrazy]

After applying this year I have come to the realization of the main weakness in my application........... My father is a physician.

So here is my advice to pre-meds with a parent who is a physician when applying to medical school.

1) Realize you are disadvantaged. Having a parent who is a physician hurts you.

2) Try to stay away from mentioning/suggesting the influence this parent has had on your decision to attend medical school in your personal statement and secondaries (and then interviews). My parents never pushed me into medicine but as a child growing up I couldn't help but see the things my father did and it did make me appreciate such a career. I've seen the bad and good of medicine and I still wanted to become a doctor, but to medical schools this parent must have pushed me into medicine and I surely could not have made my own decision.

3) Try to show how other factors (as much as possible) that affected your interest in medicine. I did this but my problem was I had mentioned my father as an influence........this obviously hurt me.

4) Be prepared to answer "Why medicine?" at your interviews. I personally was asked this question at EVERY interview and obviously much more than my friends who do not have a parent who is a physicians. The interviewers seemed to want to question if I had a sincere interest in medicine.
One interviewer even told me they look cautiously at applicants like myself because they question their interest in medicine (whether my parents are pushing me towards being a doctor).


5) Raise your stats to be way above average. This applies to every pre-med but since you have a parent as a physician you might as well play it safe and be an amazing applicant so you don't have to deal with this.



For all those who might think I'm venting or complaining because I did not get into the school(s) of my choice. I have a 32, 3.77 (3.8 BCPM) gpa, enough extracurriculars to keep any pre-med busy (research, shadowing, volunteering you name it). Great LORs, I was told this at one of my student interviews. Most of my interviews went great, I had several of my interviewers laughing in some engaging conversations and I got waitlisted at these schools. I have even more cases, like when the interviewer suggested I would get in not only into that school but others as well, and I was still waitlisted.

I thank G-d that one school took a "chance" on me and I have one acceptance but it just seems like I would have had more if my dad was say an engineer or a businessman.


But then again, everyone says applying is a crap shoot and maybe I just have bad aim.

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[GiantGiantsFan]

After applying this year I have come to the realization of the main weakness in my application........... My father is a physician.

So here is my advice to pre-meds with a parent who is a physician when applying to medical school.

1) Realize you are disadvantaged. Having a parent who is a physician hurts you.

2) Try to stay away from mentioning/suggesting the influence this parent has had on your decision to attend medical school in your personal statement and secondaries (and then interviews). My parents never pushed me into medicine but as a child growing up I couldn't help but see the things my father did and it did make me appreciate such a career. I've seen the bad and good of medicine and I still wanted to become a doctor, but to medical schools this parent must have pushed me into medicine and I surely could not have made my own decision.

3) Try to show how other factors (as much as possible) that affected your interest in medicine. I did this but my problem was I had mentioned my father as an influence........this obviously hurt me.

4) Be prepared to answer "Why medicine?" at your interviews. I personally was asked this question at EVERY interview and obviously much more than my friends who do not have a parent who is a physicians. The interviewers seemed to want to question if I had a sincere interest in medicine.
One interviewer even told me they look cautiously at applicants like myself because they question their interest in medicine (whether my parents are pushing me towards being a doctor).


5) Raise your stats to be way above average. This applies to every pre-med but since you have a parent as a physician you might as well play it safe and be an amazing applicant so you don't have to deal with this.



For all those who might think I'm venting or complaining because I did not get into the school(s) of my choice. I have a 32, 3.77 (3.8 BCPM) gpa, enough extracurriculars to keep any pre-med busy (research, shadowing, volunteering you name it). Great LORs, I was told this at one of my student interviews. Most of my interviews went great, I had several of my interviewers laughing in some engaging conversations and I got waitlisted at these schools. I have even more cases, like when the interviewer suggested I would get in not only into that school but others as well, and I was still waitlisted.

I thank G-d that one school took a "chance" on me and I have one acceptance but it just seems like I would have had more if my dad was say an engineer or a businessman.


But then again, everyone says applying is a crap shoot and maybe I just have bad aim.

is there any proof that having a parent that is a physician lowers your chances of getting in? it sounds like you are supposing that it is a fact based on your own experience, and you're just guessing that that is the reason you didnt get accepted. im sure a good number of students at the top schools have parents who are physicians; in fact, i imagine it could be somewhat of an advantage, for it gives you a better feel for what medicine is all about, and thus you would be more informed in your career choice and better equipped to answer the question, "why medicine?".

 

[You'reCrazy]

I wholeheartedly agree that having a physician as a parent is an asset. I have been able to see a side of medicine (in the home) that few can. I know of many of the advantages and disadvantages and this is something I have over other people.

But I feel medical schools disagree with me on this one, they see our experience with our parents as a negative. Again, an interviewer told me "we look cautiously at applicants who have a doctor as a parent." I told her that I made the decision by myself but I could sense that she did not believe me. The fact is of course my parents had a role in my decision BUT one I made myself when taking in what I knew.

 

[You'reCrazy]

is there any proof that having a parent that is a physician lowers your chances of getting in? it sounds like you are supposing that it is a fact based on your own experience, and you're just guessing that that is the reason you didnt get accepted. im sure a good number of students at the top schools have parents who are physicians; in fact, i imagine it could be somewhat of an advantage, for it gives you a better feel for what medicine is all about, and thus you would be more informed in your career choice and better equipped to answer the question, "why medicine?".

I have talked to the children of my father's physician friends and they have experienced the same thing as me when applying. They were asked why medicine over and over again while their friends were not.

AGAIN.......I could be wrong.......but read above when I mention that an interviewer told me they look cautiously at applicants with parents who are doctors. Thats straight from the horses mouth.

 

[GiantGiantsFan]

first of all, you're interviewer is an idiot for saying that. isn't that blatant discrimination? they cannot judge you based on your parent's occupation.

second, you're interviewer is an idiot if he/she believes it is true. there are so many variables that go into one's interest in medicine; what makes her think that having a parent as a physician is the most important one? what about your activities, the depth of your clinical experience, your PS, and your interviewing?

third, i seriously doubt that med schools in general have reservations about applicants whose parents are physicians. i have never heard of such a thing before your post, and i can't even imagine a logical basis for this. perhaps this one interviewer was an aberration into stupidity. i hope so...

 

[anystream]

I wholeheartedly agree that having a physician as a parent is an asset. I have been able to see a side of medicine (in the home) that few can. I know of many of the advantages and disadvantages and this is something I have over other people.

But I feel medical schools disagree with me on this one, they see our experience with our parents as a negative. Again, an interviewer told me "we look cautiously at applicants who have a doctor as a parent." I told her that I made the decision by myself but I could sense that she did not believe me. The fact is of course my parents had a role in my decision BUT one I made myself when taking in what I knew.

Why do you think so many medical schools ask if your parent went to medical school/did residency at their school? It wouldn't make sense if having a parent as a physician hurt you UNLESS in the off chance they happened to go to a school you were applying to.

In any case, I have to disagree with this opinion. I think a lot of children of doctors at one point consider medical school... for this reason, it may be wise to down-play the fact that your parents are physicians on your applications, since the fact that you considered medicine is not unique given your background, and that alone should not be one of your best qualities.

for what its worth, two people i am really close to have physician parents and recently ended up at top 10 schools. so maybe i am biased by watching their experience. both of them mentioned the occupation of their parents in their personal statements and had happy endings.

 

[GiantGiantsFan]

I have talked to the children of my father's physician friends and they have experienced the same thing as me when applying. They were asked why medicine over and over again while their friends were not.

I was asked "why medicine?" at every single interview. I thought most people are. In any case, congrats on your acceptance. You'll be a doctor soon, and that's what counts.

 

[You'reCrazy]

... for this reason, it may be wise to down-play the fact that your parents are physicians on your applications, since the fact that you considered medicine is not unique given your background, and that alone should not be one of your best qualities.

that is my whole point.

 

[anystream]

that is my whole point.

I felt as though you made it seem that the reason you didn't get more acceptances was because your parents were physicians, and I don't think this was the case.

I guess it depends on how you frame it.

 

[You'reCrazy]

I felt as though you made it seem that the reason you didn't get more acceptances was because your parents were physicians, and I don't think this was the case.

I guess it depends on how you frame it.

No, I didnt say that is the sole reason I didn't get in to those schools. Of course not. I personally believe my dad was an advantage because I saw medicine from an early age in life.

Again, I was never b*tching about my own situation. I was making a point for people with situation's like mine so that they could be ready for what is to come. To prepare their applications to show why they want to be physicians and how they came to this decision regardless of their parents.

 

[veenut]

somewhere in canada, hakashi/masamune is screaming

 

[jhugti]

both my parents being physicians, i grappled with how to deal with this as well. In retrospect, I think the best strategy is to make it clear how much seeing what you're parents do for a living has made medicine attractive to you. However, you MUST also discuss the "inside information" you have about the profession that is negative- none of you with physician parents can deny that there were plenty of times your parent/parents were getting a rough deal. You have to demonstrate that you know this, and therefore have ben exposed to just as many negatives about the profession as positives.

Doing this at an interview (in my opinion) is the most mature way to show that while your decisions have been your own, you could not (and did not want to) blind yourself to the the best way to learn about a physicians's real life- by living in it. Nobody can fault you for keeping your eyes and ears open and deciding for yourself that you liked what you saw and heard.

 

[ascrimmins]

I have talked to the children of my father's physician friends and they have experienced the same thing as me when applying. They were asked why medicine over and over again while their friends were not.

AGAIN.......I could be wrong.......but read above when I mention that an interviewer told me they look cautiously at applicants with parents who are doctors. Thats straight from the horses mouth.

Dude, my dad's a lawyer and my mom's a teacher. I was asked "Why medicine" at every single interview. Get over it.

 

[Tonic1025]

Someone on the admissions committee of a particular med school said that they give a point for pre-meds who have a parent who is a physician. It can definitely be an advantage!

 

[ahd929]

i'm in a similar - but different - situation. my dad is a physician who actively discouraged my initial interest in medicine. the reason, which i didn't know as a kid, is that his dad pushed him into it and he didn't want to do the same thing to me. after pursuing other things for a while, i finally decided that i do want to go to medical school, and i found that my story (including my dad) made for a great PS, because it shows that i did come to this decision on my own, despite the discouragement.

 

[hardy]

somewhere in canada, hakashi/masamune is screaming

haha... don't worry, he will get in. After all, his family consisted of physicians since the civil war I still have to chuckle when I think about him

 

[BaylorGuy]

Talked with an admissions member about this...she was actually a third generation physician. She kind of agreed with me in the fact that it can be both an advantage and a disadvantage...it really depends on how you handle it in the interview.

Big advantages we talked about:
-ultimate exposure....whether in a hospital or private office
-get first hand knowledge of the profession (goods and bads)

Disadvantages:
-Pressure from parents to enter medicine and not your own choice
-Can seem that you are trying to ride their coattails and get in without trying

Personally, i think it is both a plus and a minus...depending on who interviews you. I wouldnt necessarily put it in an application....or if you do, just mention it like for an EC or something. "worked/interned at Mom and Pop's office of medical supply goodies and drug emporium" that is all