What is the significance of family information?

[thawunandonly]

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...on the AMCAS application. How does admissions look at the "Parent & Guardian Information" (or Siblings), and what is lost by excluding this information?

I'm assuming it might sway some decisions similar to how indicating Race/Ethnicity does?

Heh, sometimes I don't understand how conclusions are drawn where none should exist... 😕

 

[OhioDoc]

...on the AMCAS application. How does admissions look at the "Parent & Guardian Information" (or Siblings), and what is lost by excluding this information?

I'm assuming it might sway some decisions similar to how indicating Race/Ethnicity does?

Heh, sometimes I don't understand how conclusions are drawn where none should exist... 😕

It seems that interviewers like to talk about family too. In fact, I had one interview where we spent just about the whole hour talking about family.

 

[thawunandonly]

So... do you think that in general, it would be better to include that type of information?

 

[OhioDoc]

So... do you think that in general, it would be better to include that type of information?

I don't think it'll hurt, it might bring up some interesting conversations. It'll also give the school an idea of where you come from - are you a first generation college student? etc...

 

[DaisyBuchanan]

I was wondering about that too. Why do they care that I have a sister? Med schools can be so darn mysterious lol.

 

[LizzyM]

It can help. It never hurts. If your parents didn't attend college, that tells the adcom something about you. If you have a parent who has died, it goes in that section (whether or not you address it in the secondary). If you have one or two parents who are physicians, that tells us something about what you know about a doctor's lifestyle (missing dinner, on-call, etc) even if you haven't done much official "shadowing". If you are the eldest of seven or an only child, if your dad is a rancher or a graduate of West Point, all that adds something to your background that makes for a richer picture of YOU.

 

[flip26]

I left all optional information blank.

If a school cares about it, they will ask for it in their secondary.

 

[LizzyM]

I left all optional information blank.

If a school cares about it, they will ask for it in their secondary.

And then people bitch and moan that the secondary is a rehash of the AMCAS. We can't win.

 

[flip26]

And then people bitch and moan that the secondary is a rehash of the AMCAS. We can't win.

Well, when it comes to listing courses and grades, the secondaries that require that are a ridiculous rehash - the schools that require all of that info again earned my disdain.

I left all the optional info (family, etc) blank on AMCAS. Some secondaries ask for it, most don't.

 

[wanderer]

I find it odd that for siblings they just ask about age and sex. I don't understand how that's useful at all. Either way, I filled it out.

 

[ThaliaNox]

I find it odd that for siblings they just ask about age and sex. I don't understand how that's useful at all. Either way, I filled it out.

What else would they want to know about your siblings? It can be part of who you are that you're the oldest of three siblings, or the only girl in a pack of four boys, or an only child.

This stuff basically never hurts you. It only gives reviewers and interviewers more opportunity to connect with you, and makes you more human.

 

[wanderer]

What else would they want to know about your siblings? It can be part of who you are that you're the oldest of three siblings, or the only girl in a pack of four boys, or an only child.

This stuff basically never hurts you. It only gives reviewers and interviewers more opportunity to connect with you, and makes you more human.

Well, I meant they could ask about your siblings' education level and professions like they do by parents. I agree about the connecting aspect.