You'd be surprised to learn how many parents of prospective graduate students are intimately involved in their children's graduate school admissions and application process.
What does this look like exactly? Well, many graduate school administrators receive calls and emails from parents checking-in on their children's progress. These check-ins vary from inquiries about application requirements to follow-ups on receipt of transcripts. Whatever the reason behind these check-ins, it’s clear who is orchestrating the pursuit of graduate education — and it isn’t the student.
Graduate enrollment coordinators and administrators are looking for resilient students who are strategic and savvy enough to navigate the graduate school admissions process, largely by themselves. With that in mind, check out these few reasons you should reconsider involving your parents in your admissions journey.
Exude confidence, manifest success:
Especially at the graduate level, admissions committees and faculty are looking for independent thinkers who can aid in new and existing research. If you aren’t taking the lead in the application process, this raises serious questions about how independently you work.
While parents hope to prevent their kids from experiencing a sense of failure, by being overly involved, they short-change their kids from learning to set priorities and balance life’s demands. These are critical skills needed in graduate school and the whole of adult life.
Nix parent involvement, omit immature perception:
In higher education, students are regarded as adults. When parents email on the student’s behalf, there is a legitimate concern that the student lacks independence and maturity.
When an enrollment coordinator answers the phone and hears “I’m calling on behalf of my son to find out what the application requirements are,” it's easy to assume that the son has no ability to interact with faculty and administrators on his own. That will be considered when there are a limited number of openings in a competitive program.
WVU's job is to help you be successful:
At most colleges and universities, administrators and faculty are willing to do whatever is needed to assist a prospective student. And at WVU, our goal is to help you be successful. That said, for your own sake, pursue graduate education on your own by exercising self-motivation and self-reliance — you can do it!
Need additional help preparing for the GRE? Check out our digital resource — The GRE Cheat Sheet — and let us help you prepare to ace the GRE!
