<p>Is it okay for parents to help out on grad school applications?</p>
<p>Discuss.</p>
<p>No. I think that it is unethical. Part of the review process in determining a candidate’s appeal is the presentation of the application itself. </p>
<p>If a student doesn’t have the time to do it on their own, then I dont think that they ought to apply to those particular programs.</p>
<p>Depends on what the meaning of “is”-- er, “help” is.</p>
<p>If you mean the application itself, my answer as a parent is no. And that includes paying any fees. Yeah, I’m cheap. And also lazy. Didn’t help out on undergrad school applications either. Somehow my kids survived. </p>
<p>If you mean the whole application process, I reserve the right to occupy a seat in the bleachers for the purpose of cheering the team and occasionally booing the umpire.</p>
<p>honestly, my parents would be more of a hindrance because they dont know much about my field, the ridiculous admissions process of clinical psych, and what my specific research interests are (which is the most important part of psych applications)</p>
<p>I think you should be adult enough to do your own applications. I think the same is true for undergrad apps as well. Parents should only help out on financial details that must befilled in on applications. If you want to get in, do your own work.</p>
<p>I didn’t do any of sons work for him, but when asked why I take an interest…that’s easy to answer. I didn’t go to grad school myself, but I still like to learn how things work. So for me, like Mudder above, watching from the bleachers is fun… and to understand the game and enjoy it you have to learn the rules. So to keep with the “game” analogy…I’m a financial backer to a small extent (he paid his own grad app fees, but when he fell short that month, I made a small donation)…and I will become the official team transportation coordinator when the final decision on where he’ll be moving to is made in the executive office. And no…I’m not butting my nose in where it doesn’t belong…he ask…he just knows that Mom has been through it more times than most…cross-country moves are not fun…</p>
<p>I personally don’t think parents are doing their kids any favors by helping with graduate school applications, and I would doubt the readiness of a student who asked for it.
Getting a PhD is an adult pursuit, and I would never infantilize my daughter or son by suggesting they needed my help. </p>
<p>That said, I’m not sure I would be too critical of someone else’s involvement or needs, if I don’t know their story or background. I just don’t think it helps an adult person’s autonomy if they are relying on parents as secretaries, administrators or financeers.</p>
<p>It’s a vague question.</p>
<p>Would you really turn your parents away if they were, say, professors or former admissions board members?</p>
<p>Please. Overwhelmingly, most parents are not professors or former admissions board members, you’re nitpicking silly points.</p>
<p>Okay then, maybe they went through the process themselves and would have something to add from their experiences getting a Masters/PhD? Like how to write a proper statement of purpose?</p>
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<p>I don’t think most of the people who have posted here are against asking your parents for advice or guidance, even if they aren’t profs. We are saying they shouldn’t actually write sections of your SOP or anything like that.</p>
<p>I would have definitely appreciated help, if one of my parents had recent (within 20 years) experience with applying in my field.</p>
<p>My sis got a ph.d from a top school, but in a subject very different from mine. So every piece of advice given was followed by a disclaimer that this could be more/less important, more/less advisable for applying to grad school in my field. </p>
<p>Even though my dad went to grad school, that was way back in the 1960s. I got the sense that he is totally out of touch with the level of competition for places these days. When I would talk about grad school applications with him he couldn’t understand why I worry about being admitted to good schools with my 3.6 GPA, very-good-but-not-perfect GRE score, and six months of research experience. He got into a graduate program in nuclear engineering at the top school in canada with no essay, no research experience, no standardized tests, and an undergraduate average of 53%. (pass is 50%) No wonder he couldn’t understand my stress level when I was writing SOP after SOP during the Christmas break.</p>
<p>I asked my mother to proof-read my essays for grammar and comma placement just before I submitted them because she is an excellent writer and was an english teacher for like 20 years. She also helped me with the organisation of some of the essays. But she’d never applied for grad school so the actual writing was entirely me. I think it’s just too important to leave to someone else, even my parents.</p>
<p>What’s wrong with parents helping? That is, for instance, would it be wrong for a parent to read through a statement of purpose and gave criticism on things such as cogency, grammar, and so forth?</p>