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As a parent, you naturally want the best for your child. If they’re considering a career in medicine, it’s normal to wonder how you can support them and whether they’re doing the “right” things early on.v
The path to medical school isn’t quick or simple. It typically spans years, starting as early as high school, continuing through college, and culminating in the med school application process. That can feel overwhelming for everyone, but it doesn’t have to be.
We’ve put together a guide that breaks down how to help your child get into medical school, with clear, practical advice for every stage of the journey.
Understanding the Path to Med School
Before diving into specific strategies, it’s important to understand what the path to working in the medical field actually looks like.
First, “pre-med” is not a major. It’s a track, or a set of required courses and experiences, that prepares students for a medical education. Your child can major in biology, chemistry, psychology, or fields outside of the sciences, as long as they complete the necessary prerequisites.
The typical path looks like this:
- High school: Students build strong academic habits and begin exploring an interest in medicine.
- College: They complete pre-med prerequisite coursework, whether through pre-med programs or a more traditional undergrad path, gain clinical experience, and maintain a high GPA.
- MCAT preparation: Pre-med students study for and take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).
- Application period: They submit application materials, write personal statements, and participate in interviews as part of the med school admissions process.
Download our free activity checklist for high schoolers! Get access to a grade-by-grade roadmap of all the activities you need for college acceptance.
Encourage Interest in Medicine Early
Encouraging your child to become a doctor should start with curiosity, not pressure, even if you’re a physician yourself.
Help them explore the field by sharing stories, articles, or news about doctors, patients, and medical advances. Exposure to healthcare environments, whether that’s through volunteer work, shadowing, or conversations with doctors, can help them better understand what a career in medicine entails.
This kind of early exposure builds genuine motivation. By nurturing their interest rather than forcing a specific path, you allow them to develop a deeper appreciation for the profession and decide if it’s truly the right fit.
Read Next: AAMC Premed Competencies for Entering Med Students
Support Academic Excellence
Medical school admissions are highly competitive, and strong academic performance is important at every stage of the journey.
In high school, the focus should be on building a solid academic foundation. Encourage your child to take challenging courses, stay consistent with their studies through senior year, and develop strong time management and study habits. These skills will carry over into college, where the stakes are much higher.
Once in college, academic performance becomes even more important. A school of medicine will closely evaluate GPA, particularly in applicants’ science courses. The biology, chemistry, physics, and math (BCPM) GPA is considered a key indicator of a student’s ability to handle the rigorous scientific coursework required in medical school.
You can support your child by helping them manage their time effectively, build sustainable study routines, and handle stress in a healthy way. If they begin to struggle in certain subjects, consider additional support early rather than waiting for grades to slip.
Hiring a tutor or enrolling in a prep course for challenging classes or standardized tests, such as the MCAT, can make a meaningful difference.
MedSchoolCoach tutors can provide guidance on time management and study habits, help identify areas of weakness, and create personalized study plans. We also offer prep courses for challenging subjects and the MCAT to help students feel confident and more prepared for the rigorous demands of medical school admissions.
Starting as early as freshman year, students can work with our College and Physician Advisors to build a strong academic foundation for standout undergraduate and BS/MD applications.
Help Them Build Meaningful Experiences
Good grades alone aren’t the only metrics admissions committees look at when they’re evaluating potential medical students. Schools are looking for students who have actively explored the field of medicine and demonstrated commitment through real-world experiences.
As a parent, your role is to help your child find opportunities that are both meaningful and sustainable over time. Depth matters more than checking boxes.
Extracurriculars
Medical schools look for well-rounded applicants who demonstrate not only strong academic achievement but also involvement outside the classroom.
Encourage your child to participate in extracurricular activities such as volunteering, internships, and activities with leadership potential. These experiences help them build important skills like communication and teamwork, while also showing dedication to their community.
It’s also important to strike a balance. Not every activity needs to be medicine-related. Allowing your child to pursue one or two activities they genuinely enjoy, whether that’s music, sports, or another passion, can help them stand out and avoid burnout. Admissions committees value authenticity and long-term commitment to something meaningful, too.
MedSchoolCoach advisors can help your child identify extracurriculars that align with their interests and goals, while also providing guidance on how to make an impact in those roles.
Clinical Exposure
Clinical exposure includes activities like shadowing physicians, volunteering in hospitals, or working in healthcare settings. These experiences give your child a firsthand look at patient care and the day-to-day realities of being a doctor.
Encouraging early exposure, even in high school when possible, can help your child confirm their interest in medicine and begin building a foundation for future applications. It also gives them meaningful experiences to draw from when writing personal statements and preparing for interviews.
Shadowing, in particular, can be an excellent way to gain experience, but accumulating the necessary hours for med school can be challenging. MedSchoolCoach has developed a virtual clinical program as a more accessible approach.
Through online modules led by physicians, students can explore a range of specialties and build clinical experience. Once your child completes each learning module, they can download a personalized Certificate of Completion and list over 20 hours of shadowing on their resume.
Research Opportunities
Research experience is another valuable component of a strong medical school application, particularly for students interested in academic or specialized fields of medicine.
Encourage your child to explore research opportunities during high school when possible, with a more concerted effort during their undergraduate years. This might include summer research programs, university labs, or internships with professors or mentors in scientific or medical fields.
These experiences help students develop critical thinking skills, learn how to analyze data, and gain exposure to the scientific process. Even more importantly, they show intellectual curiosity and a willingness to engage deeply with complex topics.
When evaluating research opportunities, look for programs where your child can actively contribute, not just observe. Long-term involvement in a single project or lab is more impactful than surface-level experiences, whether they’re in high school or their first year of college.
MedSchoolCoach can also guide students in identifying research opportunities that align with their interests and help them position these experiences effectively in their applications.
Assist With Networking
Networking can open doors to unique opportunities and help your child build meaningful connections in the medical community.
Introduce them to friends, colleagues, or acquaintances who work in healthcare. Even casual conversations with physicians, nurses, or researchers can give your child insight into different career paths and help them better understand the realities of working in medicine.
Encourage your child to attend conferences, seminars, or local events where they can meet professionals and learn about current developments in the field. Over time, these connections can lead to shadowing opportunities, mentorship, or research positions.
MedSchoolCoach can also assist students in networking by providing access to medical professionals across a range of specialties, as well as exclusive events, conferences, and seminars.
Help Them Prepare for the MCAT
The MCAT is a crucial component of the medical school application. Most students begin studying for the MCAT during their junior year of college, after completing their core science coursework. As a parent, you can support your child by helping them plan ahead and avoid cramming this preparation into an already demanding schedule.
Encourage them to create a structured study plan, stay consistent over several months, and use high-quality study resources. Just as importantly, offer emotional support during what can be a stressful and time-intensive process.
If your child needs additional support, consider enrolling them in an MCAT prep course or working with a tutor. MedSchoolCoach offers a range of resources to help students prepare effectively, including:
- MCAT Prep Mobile App: This is a mobile-first learning tool that gives your child access to hundreds of MCAT videos, expert-created flashcards, and a question bank designed to support consistent studying and improve exam performance.
- MCAT Go: This is an audio-based course that allows your child to study anytime and anywhere, with more than 450 chapters covering all essential MCAT science topics.
- MCAT CARS Mastery: This learning tool helps your child build critical reasoning skills by teaching them how to break down complex passages, understand question structures, and apply effective test-taking strategies.
- MCAT Practice Exams: Realistic full-length exams closely mirror the actual MCAT and help your child build stamina, reduce test-day anxiety, and improve performance under real exam conditions.
Guide Your Student Through the Application Process
The medical school application process can be overwhelming. Assist your child by helping them stay organized and on track with application deadlines, gathering required documents, and proofreading their personal statement and essays. Provide constructive feedback and encouragement, and be there to offer emotional support when they need it.
It’s also important to think ahead. Long before applying to medical school, your child will need to choose an undergraduate institution. Help them build a realistic list of colleges with strong pre-med advising and opportunities for clinical experience, while considering their academic profile, fit, and financial aid.
When the time comes to apply to med school, students should develop a balanced school list based on their GPA, MCAT score, experiences, and career goals. This approach can significantly improve their chances of acceptance into a school that aligns with their student profile.
MedSchoolCoach offers personalized guidance throughout the application process. Our Physician and Writing Advisors help students craft compelling personal statements, develop application strategies, and refine written materials, supporting them every step of the way.
Build your application alongside a physician with AdCom experience.
Practice Interview Skills
Medical school interviews are a critical component of the admissions process. Help your child prepare by conducting mock interviews and providing feedback on their responses. Encourage them to research common interview questions and practice articulating their thoughts on various topics related to medicine and healthcare.
It is also important for students to prepare for both traditional interviews and Multiple Mini Interviews (MMIs). Traditional interviews typically involve longer, conversational formats with one or more interviewers. MMIs consist of a series of short, timed stations designed to assess communication skills, ethical reasoning, and critical thinking under pressure.
MedSchoolCoach offers interview preparation with real physicians who have served on admissions committees and conducted actual interviews. They provide personalized feedback on content and delivery, helping students improve in real time and feel fully prepared.
Your Role in This Process
Your role as a parent or guardian in this journey is centered on support. Becoming a physician is a long-term process that unfolds over many years, and it is not something that can be managed as a checklist of achievements. There will be moments of progress as well as moments of uncertainty, and consistency and perseverance matter more than perfection.
Your most important contribution is to provide steady encouragement, emotional support, and perspective when the process feels overwhelming. Your role is to help your child stay grounded, motivated, and confident in their own path.
By nurturing their interest, supporting their efforts, and being present throughout the ups and downs, you help create the foundation they need to pursue medicine with resilience and clarity.
FAQs
There are no pre-med requirements in high school, but students can start building a strong foundation by taking rigorous classes in science and math. Biology, chemistry, physics, and advanced math courses such as algebra and calculus are helpful.
AP or IB courses can also strengthen academic readiness and prepare students for the demands of college-level science coursework, as long as they’re able to maintain a solid GPA.
Equally important is developing strong study habits, time management skills, and academic consistency. These will all become critical once students enter college and begin tackling prerequisite classwork.
Most colleges, including highly selective schools, do not admit students into a separate or competitive pre-med program. Instead, students are admitted to the university itself and then choose to follow a pre-med track by completing the required coursework.
It is important to distinguish these from highly selective BS/MD or early assurance programs. These do have competitive admissions processes and guarantee conditional acceptance to medical school.
While getting started on the pre-med track is usually not difficult once you’re admitted, staying on it can be challenging. It requires strong performance in demanding science courses, a high GPA, and the ability to balance academics with clinical experience, extracurricular activities, and MCAT preparation.
Taking a gap year before medical school isn’t bad. It’s quite common and can be beneficial. Many students use this time to strengthen their applications by gaining additional clinical experience, improving their MCAT scores, conducting research, or pursuing meaningful work or volunteer opportunities.
A well-planned gap year can help students become more competitive applicants and enter medical school full-time with greater clarity and maturity.
There is no single cutoff for medical school admission, as requirements vary by school and applicant pool each year. However, successful applicants tend to be highly competitive academically, especially at the most selective institutions.
For MD programs, the average overall GPA for matriculants is around 3.7-3.8, with a BCPM GPA of around 3.7. The average MCAT score for accepted students has been around 512 for MD matriculants and 502-503 for DO matriculants. A 515+ MCAT score puts students within range of the top-tier medical schools.
Admissions committees also take a holistic approach. Clinical experience, extracurricular activities, personal statements, and interviews all play an important role in the final decision.
Don’t Leave Your Student’s Admission to Chance
Getting into medical school is a long and highly competitive process that requires years of consistent planning, academic performance, and meaningful experiences. While there are many steps along the way, no single decision or moment determines success. What matters most is steady guidance, strong habits, and thoughtful preparation over time.
As a parent, you do not need to manage every detail, but your support can make a lasting difference in helping your child stay focused, resilient, and on track toward their goals.
Frustrated by the on-campus pre-med advising at your child’s school? Get 24/7 guidance from a physician with AdCom experience when you sign up for our Pre-Med Coaching service.
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.
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