As a parent, you of course want the best for your child. If they’ve decided to apply for medical school, you’ll both know that it’s a competitive field, and that competition starts with the application. How can you support them without overwhelming your child? This guide will help you through the process.
How Much Can You Get Involved?
Of course you want to help, and it can be hard if you see your child struggling. However, colleges can easily see when a parent is getting over involved. When this happens, they’ll often avoid accepting the child as it can mean more headaches for them in the long run. As this is the case, the best thing to do is support your child in the background, but let them handle their applications themselves.
Keep A Routine At Home
The best way of supporting anyone going through change is to provide support and routine at home. This can mean different things to different families, so how you do this will be up to you. For example, you could ensure that your child gets breakfast every morning, or that you’re spending some time with them every day. Stability at home can help a lot.
Respect Your Child’s Boundaries
Every child needs boundaries, and this especially applies when they’re working on choosing a college. The best way to support them here is to stay out of the application process yourself, but make it clear that your help is available should they need it. If they do ask for help, make sure you offer what they need, and then withdraw. Getting too involved can put them off asking for your help again.
“It’s natural to be nervous yourself about their applications,” says student counselor Timothy King from Big Assignments. “However, that nervousness can rub off on them if you let it. Let them make their own decisions and do this for themselves.”
Help Them Find Tools To Get The Application Done
You obviously can’t get involved with the application itself, but you can give your child tools to help them get it written. Introduce them to these helpful online tools and they’ll find it much easier to write.
Accepted: This site helps with all aspects of the application process. They can assist with resumes, application essays, and more if you need it. Via Writing: Good grammar is the key to a good essay. This tool helps your child improve theirs and in turn, improve their application. Type My Essay: This writing service is recommended by Huffington Post in “Write an essay for me” article and is great if your child is stuck with their essay. The tutors here can help them get it written. Cite It In: Every good essay needs to have proper citations. This tool helps you find the right citation for any source used in text. UKWritings: Once the essay is written, it’ll need to be proofread. The editors at this service can check over their essay for them before submission. Easy Word Count: This great two in one tool will check the length of any text pasted into it. It’ll also highlight any mistakes made. College Coach: This service covers all aspects of getting into college. If you need interview coaching or help picking a college, they’re the place to go. State Of Writing: This site has a great collection of writing guides on grammar, punctuation and formatting. Essayroo: A good writer is someone you want on your side. This service can help with crafting an excellent application.
You And Financial Aid
When it comes to financial aid, things are slightly different. This is because to properly assess your child’s needs, you’ll be required to disclose your financial situation. If you’re asked to do this, ensure that you do provide the information as soon as possible in order to help your child out.
As well as this, it can be helpful to have a talk with your child in advance about finances. Make sure they know how to budget, and that they know what help is out there for them. Help them gather as much information as possible before they start applying to college.
Encourage Your Child To Network
You’ll find that there are lots of pre-med fairs and events being held for prospective students, like your child. Some of these events do welcome parents. Speak to your child about this. If they want to go alone, respect their wishes. You could also be asked to attend but stay in the background for support as they network.
If you’re working in the medical field yourself, then you’ll want to help them get a leg up and meet the right people. However, remember that the education field, especially in medicine, is changing all the time. What you did as a student will often be different to what your child will have to face now. The best thing to do is offer support, but let your child face the medical world on their own terms.
Be Positive
For many children applying to college, they’re going to be nervous, and worry they won’t be good enough to get in. This can lead to severe worrying, and you want your child to avoid this. In this situation, the best thing to do is be positive. For example, if they’re worrying that they haven’t done enough, list off everything they’ve done so far. Tell them you’re confident in them. A little positivity can go a long way.
Be There Is Things Don’t Go To Plan
Even if your child tries their hardest, sometimes things won’t go their way. Remember that every experience will mould them as a person, and try and keep their spirits up. If they don’t get into the college of their choosing, it’s not the end of the world. Help them pick themselves up, dust themselves off, and try again.
Getting into a medical school is a tough process, and you want to help your child as best you can. If you follow these tips, you’ll find that you can support your child without being overbearing. It’s the best way to help them get ahead.
_____________
Want to share your stories? Sign up to become a Spoke contributor!
Need some fresh ideas?
Related reads
