Student Resources

About Me

My general introduction on why you should trust me can be found on the "For Students" page. I want to encourage you that like most things in life, being a good applicant is also a skill.

Here's me by the numbers to keep it real and encourage you to keep pursuing your dream if that's what you really want and you are able to reasonably do so. In total, I have applied to 101 programs in my life so I am intimately familiar with rejection. Sure, rejection gets easier, but it doesn't make it any less difficult when it's fresh.

• College: 12 applications

  • Interviews: 3
  • Open houses: 4
  • Rejections: 3
  • Waitlist: 3
  • Accepted: 6

• MD programs round 1: 25 applications, 2 MCATs

  • Rejections: 23
  • Interviews: 2 (one was multiple-mini interview structure)
  • Waitlist: 1
  • Offer: 1

• DO programs round 2: 10 applications, 1 MCAT

  • Interviews: 0

• Child life pre-internships: 12 applications

  • Interviews: 15 total (9 first-round, 1 second-round, 5 final rounds)
  • Rejections: 4
    I removed my application from consideration at 7 programs after I got offered my first choice very early on

• Child life internships: 42 applications (4 canceled after application submitted so I buffered and added few more)

  • Interviews: 25 total (19 first round, 6 second/final rounds, 3 only rounds)
  • Offers: 5

• Entry-level positions: won't disclose this publicly but I assure you I got experience interviewing :)

Wow that was really gross to type out... and I left a few programs out that I attended for post-baccalaureate and non-degree seeking coursework. Hopefully through my posts and services, you feel built up to be the most confident and realistic applicant you can be. But I will also not lie to you that it's TOUGH. Make realistic goals and keep it up, day by day. You can do this! You can do hard things!

Interview Preparation

See Interviewing tag for latest posts

My Interview Preparation Essentials

No matter if you’re applying to an opportunity as a student or employee, I have found these interview skills discussed to be key to success. If you’re in child life, there’s a special section for you at the end!

Shedding Light on Child LifeAnisha Reza

Check Out Medical School Headquarters: Dr. Ryan Gray was my personal #1 resource when I was applying to medical school. One of my mock interview questions is even (anonymously) featured in his book, Guide to the Medical School Interview! Bonus points if you can find it ;) Check out this link for an interview question generator.

Test Taking Strategies

My Test Taking Essentials

I can assure you I know my way around an exam and give you some essential approaches to have a successful test day.

Shedding Light on Child LifeAnisha Reza

Test Taking Strategies

These strategies were written with major standardized testing in mind but are mostly applicable to any quizzes, tests, and exams you might be preparing for!

Shedding Light on Child LifeAnisha Reza

Check out Exams for the latest.

Who Do I Ask?: Mentors, Shadowing, and Recommendation Letters

Coming Soon

Personal Statements and Experiences Writing

General Tips: Coming Soon

Samples from Medical School applications: Available for reference and inspiration for how your writing can sound. Copyrighted material. Plagiarism taken seriously.

Samples from Child Life applications: Available for reference and inspiration for how your writing can sound. Copyrighted material. Plagiarism taken seriously.

Need more individualized support? Maybe I can help. Check out your options below. Some reviews from past students are at the bottom of this page.

For Child Life Students

This is a competitive field to get into and that is why my goal is to support child life students during what can be a grueling application cycle. At Southeastern Association of Child Life Professionals (SEACLP) 2023 conference, I was attending a session by Briana Keller presenting initial results of the fall 2023 applicant survey. Imagine my shock when I looked at the screen knowing that was my own quote 😅

For a field focused on psychosocial care, it was so discouraging how taxing this internship application process was...

For full transparency of how it impacted my application experience, I was a highly competitive child life applicant due to my unusual status as a career changer from medicine with thousands of hours working with children, often with a healthcare lens. I applied to a lot of programs for a fall internship because at the time of application in March, I had only secured but not yet started a practicum for the summer. So even with that context and my experience, the process is grueling and punishing. After hearing prior applicants discuss it, I thought there was no way it could compare to the wait and process of one-year long medical school applications. Somehow, it was just as bad or maybe even worse? And that is something I hope we can improve upon quickly.

DISCLAIMER: I will not be publishing content or giving advice on changing application requirements for pre-internship/internship (i.e. word counts, due dates) or similar processes (i.e. the eligibility assessment). That will be the student's responsibility to seek guidance from child life program advisors with such questions and concerns.

Subscription Options

If the general content is not enough, I am prepared to tailor support to you. I want those who come behind me to benefit from my experiences. I struggled navigating some higher education experiences as a 2nd-generation immigrant and am passionate about supporting students, especially BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color).

In order to assess your needs and perhaps provide you a better direction that I may not be able to provide, I am offering free 30-minute 1:1 consultations. Sign up on my calendly below.

30 Minute Meeting - Anisha Reza

Calendly

Paid subscription tiers will provide you with exclusive content including access to this author's audio recordings and seminars of how to interview with confidence to be yourself while answering questions professionally, succinctly, and memorably. You will also gain full access to read this author's writing samples from applications to medical school and child life clinical experiences.

100% of proceeds from paid subscriptions will be donated to humanitarian causes worldwide.

Student Reviews

Check out some reviews from students I have tutored and mentored below. Through paid and principally volunteer experiences, I have around 900 hours of experience with students of all ages.

Coming Soon

Student Tier Subscription

Consider subscribing for exclusive access on how to prepare yourself for interviews such as more interview preparation questions, my recordings on how I would answer questions, and more.

Black, Indigenous, and Person of Color (BIPOC) Child Life Specialist and Student community group

If there is enough interest, look forward to a friendly space for all of us to meet without any oversight to get face time, chat in community, and get much needed support from one another to fill ourselves and push the field forward.

If you represent an organization or have a group that would benefit from this author's offerings, please email childlifewithanisha@gmail.com to inquire about consulting or guest lecturing availability.