If you grew up in a family with one or more doctors, there are advantages and potential drawbacks that you should know about when applying to medical school.
Applying to medical school as a member of a family of doctors can be tricky. You want to convince the admissions committee (AdCom) that you know about medicine, but that you’re applying to medical school for reasons other than pressure from your parents.
In this article, you’ll find expert advice from Dr. Caroline Cusak, MD, who grew up in a family of physicians (parents and siblings).
Let’s cover whether you should bring up a family history of doctors and how to do it right. We’ll also cover how to utilize a family of physicians to your advantage on your application and in your interview.
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Benefits to a Medical Family
Growing up in a health profession household is something you should feel comfortable talking about on your med school application and in your interview. It is part of what made you who you are today and likely plays a huge role in your decision to apply to medical school.
You will be more familiar with medical and hospital administration terminology than the average person. You have a personal connection who you can ask for free advice and a support system that understands the rigors of medical education you’re going through.
All of these are powerful advantages on your journey to becoming a physician.
Mentioning your medical family background also lets the AdComs know you understand the struggles of life as a physician, and you know what you’re getting yourself into.
You may have spent holidays without a family member while they were busy caring for patients. Maybe you’ve seen the distress that comes when a long-time patient of theirs passes away. Perhaps you have seen their patients greet them on the street and express their gratitude.
Stories like these are great to write in your personal statement or mention in an interview.
— Dr. Caroline Cusak
Having doctors in the family also gives you extra opportunities for mentorship. Don’t list a family member as a mentor in the conventional sense. Still, early exposure to the healthcare field should grant you wider access to potential mentors and letters of recommendation writers.
Potential Challenges & How to Counteract Them
There are a few potential drawbacks to having a family member who is a physician when applying to medical school.
AdComs may assume you are being pressured by your family to apply to med school. Counteract this possible assumption by making it clear that applying is your choice and your passion, not anyone else’s dream forced upon you.
Make sure your rotations or physician shadowing are not largely connected to your family member. Demonstrate that you have independent motivation for seeking clinical or research opportunities.
Extracurriculars and volunteering can give you a chance to distinguish yourself beyond the context of the physicians in your family. Show the AdCom who you are outside of them by how you spend your hobby time and community service hours.
If you name-drop your parents like the AdCom should be impressed or indebted to give you an advantage, you’re going to look entitled. Please don’t name-drop your medical family members just for the sake of it. Remember to be humble.
Looking inward, you may feel imposter syndrome while applying. You may ask yourself, “Did I earn this?” or “Am I benefiting from nepotism?” The important thing is to decide who you are as a future physician outside your family’s expectations and go forward with confidence.
While being from a medical family is something to be proud of, it is also important to be able to explain your independent attraction to medicine.
It is not enough to say: “I want to be able to help people like my parents did.” You need to be able to explain why you are applying to medical school instead of other areas of health care. Hopefully, you had an open mind about other fields and can explain why they were not the right fit for you.
— Dr. Caroline Cusak
How to Talk About Physician Parents
Frame your physician family members as context, not credentials. Talk about how it has been a benefit to you, but explain that you have independent goals and self-sufficient perseverance.
For example, you could explain that during your time shadowing your parent in the hospital, you gained experience watching multidisciplinary teams treat patients. It’s not about the parent — it’s about how those experiences shaped you.
Perhaps you even explored other career opportunities outside of healthcare before deciding on medicine. Don’t be afraid to talk about this. It shows the committee that you took your own journey for a career seriously and decided on medicine for yourself.
— Dr. Caroline Cusak
In Your Application
There are some unique situations on your AMCAS or AACOMAS application where you can discuss your medical family as a benefit without over-relying on them.
Avoid cliché narratives in your personal statement — which is expert advice for everyone. When you have doctors for parents, it’s even easier to let clichés accidentally slip in. For instance, don’t mention “the family business,” “following in their footsteps,” or your nostalgia for seeing that white coat when it has nothing to do with patient care.
Be careful in your Work & Activities section not to make any shadowing or clinical experience seem like you benefited from nepotism. Show how you earned these experiences, and that you learned a lot from them.
You may need to answer the “Why medicine?” question on secondary applications or in your personal statement. Do not make your reason for pursuing medicine that you’re inheriting your family’s trade, or that it’s easier to find opportunities with parents in the business.
Check out these personal statement examples from accepted students here.
During Interviews
In your medical school interview, make sure you’re comfortable talking about your parents or family members who are doctors. Don’t make light of the discussion, and don’t treat it like it’s your reason for going into healthcare.
Remember the benefits of a medical family: early exposure to medical terms and practices, early comprehension of what being a physician means for work-life balance, and a more understanding support system — when your family gets the rigors you’re going through.
Additionally, know how to counteract the potential downsides: don’t make it seem like you’re inheriting the family business, don’t name-drop your family members like the AdCom should be impressed, and make sure you demonstrate how pursuing medicine is your choice — not your family’s.
Also, make sure you do not say you’re going to this specific school of medicine because it’s where your parent went.
Build your application alongside a physician with AdCom experience.
What Admissions Committees Actually Care About
AdComs want you to demonstrate pre-med competencies, exposure to patient care, character traits that lead to being a good physician, and an independent passion for healthcare. They don’t want to know about your family tree and your last name.
Note that AdComs do recognize pre-med students whose parents are physicians — particularly if their parents are alumni or faculty. But you don’t have to do that work for them, lest you come off as arrogant and entitled.
Check out AAMC’s pre-med competencies to make sure you’re in line with what they’re looking for.
It’s not about inheriting your family’s trade. It’s about showing why you care about medicine and how much you care. Your medical education must be your decision; AdComs can smell when your family is pressuring you, but your heart’s not in it.
The admissions committee wants to see that you didn’t decide on medicine just because it is a family business. They want to see a personal story of how it is the right fit for you.
— Dr. Caroline Cusak
FAQs
About 12%-22% of medical students have at least one parent who is a doctor. At some prestigious institutions, that percentage rises significantly. That is a major disparity when, really, the best candidates should be the ones who get accepted.
Unfortunately, having family members who are doctors is an unfair advantage in the med school admissions process. Hopefully, the advantage comes from their early exposure to a physician’s life and the way they act and communicate — not from their family name’s renown.Though it’s going out of fashion, AdComs typically recognize children of physicians as stronger candidates because they understand the rigors of your first year at medical school and beyond. This practice is sometimes named “legacy status.”
AdComs care most about the faculty’s family members. They also give weight to alumni’s children. If your parents are doctors but have no connection to the school, you may still have a small legacy advantage.
Even if there’s a demonstrable legacy advantage, don’t bring it up in your interview like you’re entitled or pompous.
If you’re going to an allopathic MD school, an MCAT score of 511 would put you above the 50% mark among MD program matriculants.
If you’re applying to osteopathic medical schools, a 503 MCAT score puts you around the 50th percentile.
For MCAT prep, check out our MCAT practice exams.It is becoming increasingly normal to take a gap year before medical school, and it is not a bad thing in most cases.
A gap is a bad thing if you use the bridge year to sit around and goof off. If you accomplish nothing that goes on your application, it tells AdComs that you may not have what it takes to get through med school.
A gap year is a good thing if you take that time to get more clinical exposure, research opportunities, relevant extracurriculars, a strong MCAT score, or something else that makes your application stronger.
Build a Standout Medical School Application
If you have parents or other family members who are physicians, it can be complicated to apply to medical school — demonstrating how your medical family has prepared you to be a great student and eventually physician, all while making it clear that you’re your own person.
Need help navigating the challenges of applying to medical school? You’re not alone. A growing percentage of applicants are hiring advisors to strengthen their applications. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. This article has great overall tips, but you may need advice specific to your situation.
Keep these tips in mind, and you will be on the road to success, just like your family member!
— Dr. Caroline Cusak
Build your application alongside a doctor with admissions experience, and join the 95% of clients who get into medical school.
Kachiu Lee, MD
Dr. Lee specializes in BS/MD admissions. She was accepted into seven combined bachelor-medical degree programs. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Northwestern University and proceeded to Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL. After completing a dermatology residency at Brown University, Dr. Lee pursued a fellowship in Photomedicine, Lasers, and Cosmetics at Massachusetts General Hospital and was a Clinical Fellow at Harvard Medical School. Academically, she has over 100 peer-reviewed publications and lectures internationally.
