Five Most Invaluable Things I Did As a Pre-Med

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I may not be the premed expert just yet having only two years under my belt, however, I do believe that I have learned some invaluable skills and habits that have helped me tremendously, thus far. That being said, I always like to clarify that just because something worked for me or anyone else doesn’t mean it’s the best solution for everyone. There’s no solitary perfect path to medical school, so on that note, I begin with…

1. Don’t live by the pre-med checklist.


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Soon after deciding on the pre-medical route, you may find yourself inundated with responsibilities and activities you’ve been told all medical schools expect you to “check off” before applying.* Some of these are valid ideas, like getting some exposure to healthcare outside the classroom before you commit the rest of your life to it. But I don’t believe that you should spend a year in a lab doing work you really don’t care about and really don’t want to do just because some pre-med blogger said you had to. Research experience can be a great asset to an application, but a collection of disjointed activities that check the boxes but do nothing more may even hurt you more than it will help you. Instead, focus on finding activities that you believe showcase and exercise the best aspects of your personality that make you really fit to be a physician. Declare a purpose for your activities better than, “I have to do it to get into medical school.” If these end up being research and volunteering, that’s okay, but make sure it’s something you’re passionate about. Care about it. Even with the boxes all checked, it can be very evident if you don’t. Keep the checklist in mind, but above all your activities should tell a story, exercise your passions, and show what you love.

2. Get involved in some non-medical extracurriculars.


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If you’re not living by the infamous checklist anymore, you may find some time for other interests. Or maybe you feel like you’ll never have the time for it, but make it anyways. It’s worth it for two big reasons. First and most importantly is for you, your sanity/mental health and balance. As much I love clinical volunteering and being an EMT on campus, I also highly value my non-academic and non-medical extracurriculars.* I have difficulty setting aside time to destress and not focus on school, so having regular activities that automatically force me to do so, even if only once a week, helped immensely. At my weekly ballroom dance class, I get to learn fun dances, listen to beautiful music, do a little exercise, and make great friends I wouldn’t find in my pre-med courses.

And not only did I benefit from this, but the second big reason these activities are important is that it shows medical schools that you’re a fun, personable individual who has interests outside the classroom. In my interview for medical school I was actually asked, what I do for fun, which may seem irrelevant but it’s actually far from it. Being a doctor is more than just being a good student, and at the end of the day, medical schools won’t want the kid who can’t empathize or interact with patients, even if he or she had the 4.0 and all the boxes checked.

3. Find yourself a mentor and GO to office hours.


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I’m sure you’ve heard this a million times from older students, “go to office hours!… It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a specific question!… Go even just to chat!… I so wish I’d realized earlier how important going is!… etc. etc. etc.” I hate to be redundant but they’re 100% right. Now wait, before you skip this section because you think I’m going to just reiterate that advice, hear me out.

For a path that may seem much more straight forward than most of your friends’ majors–work hard in undergrad, go to medical school, residency, and so on…–there’s a lot of different ways to get there and you need a good mentor. Even if you go first to negotiate a grade or figure out why you got a certain score on a test and what you should be doing better, getting yourself to a professor’s office is the first step. While older students can be helpful too, who better to ask about course questions or major suggestions than the teacher who just may have created the curriculum? Not only is establishing this rapport beneficial immediately, but it will pay off immensely when it comes time to ask for recommendations for medical school. Who do you think would write a better recommendation, a professor whose class you aced but whom you never saw outside of class or a professor who worked with you one on one about coming back from a bad test score, helped you decide on a major, and/or bonded with you over a mutual passion?

Now sometimes, office hours just aren’t helpful. The teacher has a million other things they need to do and push you off to the TA instead. This may happen a lot in pre-med courses of 200 students. But don’t let that discourage you. Say in your humanities class you have a paper you just don’t know how to start. Go to office hours there too because many of your teachers really do want you to succeed. And if you end up getting a grade you don’t think you deserved, your professor will probably be a lot more willing to listen to the student they already met (because they care about the class) than the student that only comes in after the first grade (because they [appear to] only care about the grade).

4. Put some serious value on getting a good night’s sleep.


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Again, this may not sound all that original, but I can’t stress enough how much I benefitted from putting sleep a little higher on my priority list. Not everyone is a morning person, and I wouldn’t usually consider myself one, but once I started a habit of getting up around the same time (8:30am) every day, it got quite a bit easier. To many, this time might sound crazy, and to some that may be sleeping in (thinking of you morning athletes… respect.)! But the idea of getting to bed by 11pm or 12am and still getting at least eight hours was so appealing to me that it didn’t matter how early I got up. I felt much more productive and focused first thing in the morning, even if I was a little groggy. It set up my days well to take a break and get a lot accomplished before it was noon.

But the point of this suggestion is not to try and make yourself a morning person or totally change your habits, but instead, try and pick a time to always get up, and another time which is the latest* you will go to bed. (*barring unique circumstances) Getting into a habit of good sleep not only feels good, but it can increase your learning and memory capacity and protect you from getting sick. Not only does pulling an all nighter weaken your immune system significantly, but it also can reduce your capacity for studying and recalling new facts by 40%. The potential gains you might make in an all night study sesh then very likely won’t outweigh the information lost from lack of sleep. Given the lifestyle of anyone pursuing medicine, your schedule won’t be getting any easier (or conducive to getting 8 hours) so you might as well take advantage of the opportunity now. It’s doable. I promise.

5. Do your research! (the other kind)


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Finally, the most amazing thing that I did as pre-med was starting my med school research early on. No, I don’t mean lab research or serious intense school visits. Instead, I started looking at my options about halfway through sophomore year. My school (Georgetown) like several others offers an early assurance program which allows students to skip the MCAT and apply midway through their sophomore year to the medical school. For schools that don’t have this program, institutions without an undergraduate affiliation like Mount Sinai, offer similar early MCAT-free acceptance programs.

While this option definitely isn’t best for everyone, it is absolutely worth seriously looking into. Back in December, I wasn’t sure I wanted to commit myself for the next six years, but after talking with current students and learning more about the program, I realized what an incredibly unique opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Even if I didn’t get in, I had the opportunity to have two real med school interviews without any consequences. I got to think through why I really wanted to be a doctor and found a lot of affirmation for this path as well as my current major. I ended up getting in and couldn’t be more thrilled about it despite my doubts at the start. My professors had advised me that maybe I wasn’t ready to make such a huge decision so soon and that single school programs can be very limiting. But given what I was able to achieve (getting into medical school halfway through college without the MCAT!) and the valuable experience the application process was, I highly recommend seriously considering these kinds of programs.

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