Now you’re 18 years old. You’re heading off to college, ready and excited to be a pre-med student! Many people describe their time spent in college as “the best 4 years of my life.” The freedom and autonomy of finally being an adult, and making life-long friends along the way are just a couple of the many highlights of the college experience. And while being a pre-med doesn’t preclude you from experiencing the excitement of college ~ I promise, you can still have a life ~ it does somewhat complicate it!
For starters, many of your college friends who are not pre-meds may be significantly less stressed about school and their grades compared to you. They may even question you about why you are so stressed all the time! And while stress in the right quantities can be beneficial, your friends may have a point if you’re pulling all-nighters to study for that grueling Organic Chemistry exam next week. Get some sleep!
Now you may be wondering, what kind of coursework is required as a pre-med? While the college you attend may have a slight variation from other colleges, most pre-med courses are pretty standard. No matter where you go, you will have to take courses in all of the basic sciences: mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. Additionally, many liberal arts colleges have a “core curriculum” that requires all students to take certain courses as a prerequisite for graduation. At my university, I was required to take courses in the humanities and social sciences. Looking back now, in many ways these additional courses were just as important as the pre-med courses in preparing me for success in medical school. Learning how to learn and think in a different way/through a new lens is key to understanding some of the complex disease processes in medicine!
In terms of extracurriculars, many pre-meds think of quantity over quality. Joining 7 extracurriculars compared to 3 may seem like a no-brainer in terms of impressing the medical school interviewer, but what if you are truly only enthusiastic about 3 of them? The interviewers are trained to be able to distinguish between something you did because you are a passionate about it and something you did because it would look good on your application. My advice, join extracurriculars that you are truly passionate about and this passion will shine through on interview day!
Finally, this post would be incomplete if I did not mention the MCAT. You know, that daunting test you have to take in order to get into medical school. And while I don’t have the greatest memories of that exam (in my opinion, the MCAT was more difficult than STEP 1 and STEP 2!), I will offer some advice that I hope will be of use to the reader. Firstly, when studying for these exams make sure you set aside dedicated time to study. It can be easy to get distracted by something else going on in your life, and unfortunately you may have to make some sacrifices to get the results you want. Secondly, do practice questions and practice exams; nothing can simulate test day better than taking a practice exam! And finally, on test day, take a deep breath. Just remember, this exam is merely a hurdle for you to clear to get you one step closer towards your ultimate dream of getting into medical school!
