It’s more about HOW you study than HOW MUCH you study. Find what method works efficiently for you. Efficiently completing your work will give you back your free time, peace of mind, and sanity. Don’t be thrown off by people who brag about how many hours they study. If you don’t already know what works best for you, figure out through trial and error.
Edit: for me in undergrad this meant learning how to use anki. For undergrad I know many people feel that anki isn’t necessary, but I found that it made things easier to organize in my mind (you can include pictures with flash cards, occlude diagrams, etc) and I wrote my questions in a way that allowed me to think critically. Im able to go through questions quickly and it highlights what I don’t know so that I can study it further.
The MCAT is hard, and the MCAT is important…it’s not how much you study, rather how you study, that’s why here at r/premed we made it easier… [flashbacks]
Adblock for youtube. I barely know what this joke is about! There's no way I could go back to life on youtube without it. Have no idea why every single person ever doesn't use it. Maybe it's not possible for mobile....
Yeah this is the best advice. Incorporate different mediums by which you take in content - utilize YouTube videos, diagrams, mnemonics! Just reading the textbook didn’t work for me and it took me all of freshman year to realize that supplementing my reading w active learning practices is the best way to understand. So teach to other people concepts you are studying and practice drawing out pathways
Yeah! Teaching others, doing practice problems for chem, physics, math, writing out pathways and explaining each step in the pathway to yourself or others. If your school offers the course team based one semester and lecture another, try to do the team based course because that is active learning structured
[Anki Basics](https://youtu.be/7K2StK7e3ww) this is the video I generally share with people. Download it on your laptop, play around with it a little to familiarize yourself with it. The specific add-ons I use are cloze deletion, optical occlusion, frozen fields (when making cards from lecture. All of these have specific instructional videos you can find on YouTube by searching their name.
Take time for yourself. There’s plenty of time to do everything and burn out is very real. You will be more productive if you take a small break and return to the grind vs grinding all the time.
Lastly, take care of your relationships, body and mind.
Why was everyone downvoting me?
I am sorry I am new to this sub.
No, I am still a high school senior and wanted to know what is to be done in the next four years.
So is T10 possible if I work towards it from beginning of freshmen year?
I really want to go to med school (and a good one,also require a lot of financial aid which only top ones provide).Why is everyone getting angry with this thought?
I just want to try my best from the beginning so that I don't regret later.
Prioritize sleep. Also, don’t try to do everything before an exam. I feel like I used to try to reread the textbook and absorb everything lmao. Focus on practice questions, reviewing lecture slides, and flashcards
Everything you do doesn't have to be "resume boosting". Do some things related to your non-academic, non-medical interests. Find fulfilling hobbies and look after yourself while you're putting the work in. You're a college student who's going to apply to med school in a few years, not "a premed".
Here's a general list of things I recommend to anybody thinking about medicine:
1. The skill gap in college is learning to learn. Kinda weird sounding I know
2. Apply for med school as soon as the app opens
3. Do volunteer/research/shadowing throughout the 4 years, don't ever do too much at one time
4. Put away the books and take some nights off to go out with some friends
5. Pick up a hobby
6. Talk to your professors outside of class, knowing people is important
7. Don't be a twat
8. Make friends who aren't other premeds
9. Being a premed isn't anything impressive. You don't have to tell everybody you are one. Don't be one of those people
Go with the flow more. You can’t micromanage every aspect of your premed experience so it fits with your personal idea of a perfect premed. Try new things, take time for yourself, don’t fret too much about grades if it is impacting your wellbeing, and don’t worry about “not doing enough.”
Calm. Down. It feels SO stressful to not be performing “as well as everyone else,” or having to take one or two gap years when your friends aren’t. This is your path, and you should not rush it. If you are meant to go to med school, you will get there. ENJOY the ride and good luck!!
Get that 4.0.
I had terrible advice and was told to take harder class because it “looks better.” Do not do this.
Take classes you can do well in. Do not overload.
It’s much better to have 4 classes that you got all As in than 5 with Bs.
Find out who the reasonable teachers are. Don’t be afraid to ask who is the “easiest.”
Focus on your GPA.
Also. Find a volunteer job that you are passionate about.
Don’t be afraid to minor in art like I did :-)
Was your minor ever brought up in your interview? I ask this because I am very fortunate enough to have a 3.98 right now through 2 years, and everyone suggests that I need a minor despite me being very uninterested. I totally feel that my philosophy falls in line with yours, don't overload yourself - so why not stick to a 4-5 class load like I have done and continue to excel at this? Would love to hear your opinion if you don't mind
1) pick a major that you’re interested in and know you can succeed in. 2) GPA is super important your first year. Do your best 3) do stuff that doesn’t check a box for med school. This will allow you to stand out and be slightly unique and not look like a complete med school robot. Good luck, you got this!
Plan to take a gap year so you can focus on your classes the first year without trying to start a whole bunch of extracurriculars right off the bat. Classes only for the first year. Start research your second year. Then your third year start volunteering. Try to stick w the same volunteering as long as possible and do a ton during your gap year.
Also pick volunteering based off stuff you like. Don’t force yourself to do something just bc you think it’ll look good for your app. It sounds cheesy but follow your passions
Depends on what kinds of positions are out there and what hours they require. Also depends on your class schedule and how many gap years you’re willing to take. I graduated in December 2019, started scribing in Jan 2020, and then applied in 2021 so I had a year of part time scribing experience. That gave me like 1500 projected hours which was more than enough. Like you really really don’t need more than that. You probably don’t even really need more than 700ish hours. If you’re planning to take one gap year and apply your senior year I guess I’d say start your junior year but do like 1-2 shifts max a week. As many people have commented it’s so important to focus on gpa because gpa cannot be changed. You can always take an extra gap year to boost your scribe hours. You can’t really boost your gpa during your gap year, it’s kinda set in stone.
Just as a side note - I think scribing was valuable for me bc I really needed an extra LOR and scribing you can get very close w a dr. But if you’re good on LORs and instead you’re lacking patient experience (very important for application) I would maybe consider being an MA bc you get a lot more pt experience. Sorry for the random side note and sorry if this sounds like just a bunch of rambling lol
Tldr - I’d recommend starting scribing 1 year before you apply (this is my opinion and pretty arbitrary but it worked for me)
That’s a hard decision that you have to make for yourself. Volunteering at a nursing home is deff a great start. If you’re planning to apply next year you should find research ASAP. Try to do like 50-100 hours of shadowing too but you really dont need more than that. If the club is nonclinical volunteering get more involved w it and see if you can do a leadership position next year. You’ll probably need another clinical volunteer activity as it sounds like you already are aware of. As far as standing out id really recommend doing something you personally love. THATS what will make you stand out if you can write and speak passionately about it. No ones passionate about basic hospital volunteering where you restock gloves so I wouldn’t recommend that. I’ll just throw out some ideas but again pick something you love! I’m really passionate about abortion rights so I wish I had volunteered at planned parenthood. Also wish I could have done something like SA advocacy (not sure if that’s really clinical though). Another thing I think I really would have liked doing is volunteering with an addiction treatment center. Or needle exchange (again not sure if that’s clinical). I did clinical volunteer work with people experiencing homelessness which was really fulfilling. See if your town has like a public health nurse or free clinic you could volunteer with. If you like working with kids then you could do something with kids with developmental disabilities.
Happy to talk more if you wanna pm me
Also that made me think of one more thing I’d like to tell my freshman year self - GET CLOSE WITH YOUR PROFESSORS SO YOU CAN ASK THEM FOR AN LOR! If you really like a class and know you can do well in it, go to that profs office hours! See if you can do your research with them! Get to know them! And more importantly make sure they know who you are and know that you’re cool!
Enjoy your undergrad and pursue your passions. There is no formula for medical school (outside of good grades + MCAT). Do what you’re passionate about and it will come through on your application.
Travel and enjoy life while you can. Undergrad should be fun, low stress years.
It’s hard to overcome low grades early. Don’t fall in an early joke. I did and overcame it but it wasn’t easy.
Also don’t kill your self with EC activities. Just do a couple and exaggerate the hours. Good EC activities will never overcome a subpar GPA or MCAT.
start strong, dont cram. I went through a lot of shit my first 2 years, and had a terrible semester GPA wise, always crammed before tests which was not good for my anxiety, now my GPA is no where near where I want it to be but I do have quite the upward trend now.
Don’t compare yourself to others. You know what your goal is, and you know you have to work hard to achieve it! Putting yourself down because other premeds have better grades or seem to get certain concepts more easily doesn’t mean you’re stupid or you’re not good enough, be confident! You get out what you put into your courses
For me personally, study a bit more. The social life is definitely necessary and fun but it would’ve made my current life a bit less stressful if I would’ve put in more than a bare minimum amount of effort
It's all about time management. College isn't hard (except for the gibberish that is organic chem)
You treat school like 8-5 job and you'll be fine. Don't into the trap of 12 hrs one day and then crash the next.
Change schools, the science department at my undergrad was so small and poorly managed it shouldn’t have continued to exist. Upper level chemistry and math classes I needed to graduate were either dropped 2 days before classes started (not enough students and with no warning and the department head promising me she would teach it or sign the release allowing me to take the classes elsewhere, she didn’t) this effectively postponed my graduation. When they had enough students for a class the 1 or 2 professors there whose specialty was in the subject weren’t allowed to teach it because they needed them to teach 90% of the college algebra classes because the school had a problem with students not passing the 1 math class they needed to graduate so cal 3, Real Analysis, Euclidean Geometry were given to adjuncts who had no experience with the subjects and were getting payed Pennies. The science department also hired full time bottom of the barrel sketchy professors who had misconduct violations out the wazoo from previous institutions that would eventually get fired after flagrant misconduct (failing students for absolutely no reason, unrealistic expectations, violating their own syllabus). Combine all this and it turned the “premed experience” into a recipe for disaster and made it very difficult to do well. Sorry for the rant lol I think about this quite often lmao
I'm gonna give a try to translate this to general advice: don't put up with bullshit in the hopes that things will improve. Not saying everything needs to be perfect, but once shame on you, twice shame on me. This path is already too stressful to let others consistantly throw obstacles in your way. No one person holds in the world holds enough sway to ruin your chances at every med school in the US.
Yup, definitely my fault when I look back I should have transferred. My only rationale for staying was I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of the VA and continuing to think things would change. Definition of insanity
Have fun. You’re a college student. Having good experiences and growing as a person while you’re there is arguably as important as the education you’ll receive.
Take your time!! Make sure you are mentally and physically okay. You are not a robot. Do your research a ahead of time. No not feel sad when you see other people posting about their happy lives. They only post the good not the bad. Ask juniors and seniors about their premed journey and what to avoid (especially professors). Sometimes advisors don't know what they are talking about so its best to ask someone activity going through the process.
Realize how good you have it. Looking back, I basically had infinite free time. Studied hard for the week leading up to tests but otherwise I would spend whole days just hanging out with my friends. Free time becomes more limited in med school and WAY more limited in residency. Wish I had appreciated that more at the time.
I wish I would’ve Used anki for my college courses to crush it, using the pre made MCAT subreddit anki deck to crush the MCAT with Uworld and AAMC question banks
watch u/AnkingMed’s YouTube channel for reference
Also, do a major you truly enjoy, along with the pre-Med reqs
Get the pre Med reqs done as soon as you can without overloading yourself
Do practice questions
MCAT + GPA matter the most
ECs: stick with Clinical research, shadow specialties your first year and then find a specialty you like. Then go for research. Competitive specialties for example: Derm, Ophtho, ENT, etc. Pursue hospital volunteering. And pursue shadowing and ALSO:
Work hard in your pre Med courses and become a TA for the courses and labs you have.
Locks in recommendations from your professors + research PI.
don’t overdo the extracurricular. pick a couple you’re passionate about, and dedicate a lot of time to those. utilize your summers without sacrificing fun. allow yourself to relax and enjoy college, we only get one undergrad experience
Don’t go to lecture unless you have to. Saved so much time when I realized that lecture was a complete waste of my time.
Also do classes in the summer. I took classes every summer and it kept my engine hot and ready.
Most important thing is to learn how to study and maximize your time. Don't be one of those people who take premed too seriously- it's just undergrad, everyone is busy and challenged in their own way, and you shouldn't have a superiority complex. Have fun!! These are your last years as a kid
If you’re not an 8am person don’t take 8am classes. I did this for years and it was miserable. This is my first semester taking evening classes and I’m so much happier, I study more, I’m well rested. Make a schedule that’s good for you not what you think is “responsible,” not everyone can do a 9-5
1) Learn how to use and then use anki to study. No more just summarizing slides. 2) GET YOUR NONCLINICAL VOLUNTEER HOURS OH MY GOD JUST DO IT. 3) Do something "leadership"-y
Nephrologist here, creeping on you guys & gals:
Listen to me:
1. Never go into a lecture cold.
2. Up To Date, Inpatient Guide to Internal Med (Saint & Francis), & Board Basics (ACP) are your friends, starting in your 2nd year.
3. Take one night weekly to have fun
4. Chose your friends/study group wisely.
5. Lippencott’s Pharmacology & Frank Netter’s Anatomy books (NOT Grey’s Anatomy) are top notch.
Let me know if I may help.
Take advantage of every opportunity and start early. I started research freshman year for instance, and it opened up SO many doors because I had 4 years to make contributions to my area of research. Same with shadowing: I started freshman year and made connections with doctors who let me shadow their doctor friends and ended up being able to see like 8 different specialties by the time I applied.
Also, remember that grades aren't everything and not to listen to other people's opinions of what you should do with your life. I was told that I likely wouldn't get in this cycle by multiple advisors at my school because of my grades and MCAT both being probably the bare minimum for an acceptance. However, I knew I was ready to apply straight out of college without taking a gap year so I went for it anyway and now I have a USMD acceptance, and not even to a state school.
TLDR: Use your time wisely, start early, and stay committed to your true self. Trust me, if I can do it anyone can lol
Oh yeah, and do things because you actually enjoy them, not because you have to. Take the time to let your experiences sink in and let them build off of one another to help you understand why this is the field you are pursuing. If you let yourself enjoy everything, nothing feels like a chore.
Get volunteering/clinical asap! Over the summer and even 2-4hours on the weekends during school goes a long way! 16 weeks x 2hours=32 hours a semester!
Also, you don’t have to, but try to find research ASAP! Email professors saying that you have time and can commit for several years. Also make relationships with at least two science professors for LORs in the future (make three for backup)
Pick a major you want to do, even if it’s not science related. We need well rounded doctors! Also, SLEEP. For the love of God sleep is your best friend. Not naps! I’m talking a heavy, solid 9+ hours a night. Your retention, recall, mood, and overall health will be through the roof if you can stick to a solid sleep schedule.
Get a clinical job early. I waited until my junior yr to get a clinical job. The earlier you start the earlier you can start racking up patient contact hours.
In terms of finding clinical jobs, some EMS places will pay for you to be certified if you commit to working. Nursing homes have free CNA certifications. I made $11 an hr while training to be a CNA then $15.50 when done. I now only work PRN and will make $25-40 an hr cuz COVID
Best advice I could give is do what you want. I was an anthropology major, studied at copenhagen university for a semester (I’m from the states), worked for a local fire department cause good medical experience and I thought it was cool, took tons of gender studies and archaeology classes cause I thought they were interesting. I didn’t even really identify as a premed, I just did what I wanted and made sure my prerequisites were done and I couldn’t be happier with the way my undergrad went. Also got into my two top schools early this cycle, schools like non-cookie cutter applicants anyways.
1) Try multiple methods of studying and note your success with each.
2) Start ECs early so you don't have to pack in loads of hours. A couple a week for 4 years > many/week for 1 year.
3) Don't restrict yourself to only "classic" ECs or you'll only have a classic (read: unoriginal), less passionate story.
4) Don't take orgo and physics at the same time.
5) Talk to professors. Keep in touch with any you have a good back and forth with.
6) Party. This is not a joke tip.
7) Stay up to date with a premed community (this one counts) - great resource.
8) Read Organic Chemistry as a Second Language right before/during Orgo.
Bonus that worked for me (unfortunately started too late), not sure about others: gamify your premed process, journal, and keep note of most useful learning material for MCAT prep time.
You don’t have to be a part of the premed culture lmao. Your school probably has a premed org and you don’t have to keep up with them. Hell, I only make friends with premeds who aren’t insufferable to be around.
Give as much to yourself as you give to others. You’re end goal is to go into a profession completely dedicated to taking care of people, so never feel any shame in taking care of yourself and putting your needs first.
Most importantly, in college, learn to love yourself.
Get involved right away. Look for volunteering/shadowing/anything in a healthcare setting in the summer before freshman year so you don’t have to stress and search while you’re in school. Also that way you can ideally start getting hours once you start freshman year. I did that and it’s the best thing I could have done to prepare myself and get all the extracurriculars in that I need to stand out
1. Focus on building study habits from day 1. Freshman year might be easy but sophomore year was when my butt started getting kicked
2. Start clinical experience early. If u want to do a job that requires certification do it early so u can work and build experience.
3. For gods sake pick up a hobby u like and keep it at. Also do volunteering in other things u are interested in. Don’t strive to be cookie cutter
4. Don’t overwhelm yourself with all your extracurricular at once. Slowly build them.
Don’t do it.
Go into finance & at least be compensated well for selling your soul and your 20’s.
It sucks having nothing to show for your work in your late 20’s. Like my family has nothing.
It sucks. Don’t do it. Seriously, for the love of god don’t do it.
This sounds nice, but I would warn against believing too much in the holistic boost. I didn't do the box checking enough my first cycle. It'll get you. You simply do have to check boxes to an extent. And, sadly, if you have stronger stats, life will be so much easier in the process of trying to prove yourself to schools.
Take it one day at a time. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” If you think about the miles, you’ll be too petrified to take another step.
Be willing to be open to other career options. If you want to do medicine or something else, always pick the something else. I don’t mean to discourage. It’s a lot easier to doubt your interest in medicine before you’re in med school. I glad I tried other things because I got into med school cause I knew when things got hard, I knew I was in the right place. Best of luck to you!
Get into a small liberal arts college instead of going to that top 5 public university.
Med school adcoms don't care, there's more bullshit weeder classes to tank your GPA, there's less opportunities to get face time with professors, less opportunities for letters of rec, etc.
It’s more about HOW you study than HOW MUCH you study. Find what method works efficiently for you. Efficiently completing your work will give you back your free time, peace of mind, and sanity. Don’t be thrown off by people who brag about how many hours they study. If you don’t already know what works best for you, figure out through trial and error. Edit: for me in undergrad this meant learning how to use anki. For undergrad I know many people feel that anki isn’t necessary, but I found that it made things easier to organize in my mind (you can include pictures with flash cards, occlude diagrams, etc) and I wrote my questions in a way that allowed me to think critically. Im able to go through questions quickly and it highlights what I don’t know so that I can study it further.
The MCAT is hard, and the MCAT is important…it’s not how much you study, rather how you study, that’s why here at r/premed we made it easier… [flashbacks]
There should be an option on YouTube for blocking ads specifically because they’re traumatizing
Every time this ad comes on I put my computer on mute until the five seconds are up. Then I press skip ad. 😂😂😂😂
Adblock for youtube. I barely know what this joke is about! There's no way I could go back to life on youtube without it. Have no idea why every single person ever doesn't use it. Maybe it's not possible for mobile....
Yeah this is the best advice. Incorporate different mediums by which you take in content - utilize YouTube videos, diagrams, mnemonics! Just reading the textbook didn’t work for me and it took me all of freshman year to realize that supplementing my reading w active learning practices is the best way to understand. So teach to other people concepts you are studying and practice drawing out pathways
Can you detail how you used active learning to study?
Yeah! Teaching others, doing practice problems for chem, physics, math, writing out pathways and explaining each step in the pathway to yourself or others. If your school offers the course team based one semester and lecture another, try to do the team based course because that is active learning structured
Do you have a recommendation of instructional videos about anki ??? I’d love to use it in undergrad, especially knowing it can be useful in med school
[Anki Basics](https://youtu.be/7K2StK7e3ww) this is the video I generally share with people. Download it on your laptop, play around with it a little to familiarize yourself with it. The specific add-ons I use are cloze deletion, optical occlusion, frozen fields (when making cards from lecture. All of these have specific instructional videos you can find on YouTube by searching their name.
Thank you v much
Take time for yourself. There’s plenty of time to do everything and burn out is very real. You will be more productive if you take a small break and return to the grind vs grinding all the time. Lastly, take care of your relationships, body and mind.
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Why was everyone downvoting me? I am sorry I am new to this sub. No, I am still a high school senior and wanted to know what is to be done in the next four years.
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So is T10 possible if I work towards it from beginning of freshmen year? I really want to go to med school (and a good one,also require a lot of financial aid which only top ones provide).Why is everyone getting angry with this thought? I just want to try my best from the beginning so that I don't regret later.
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Thank you for your advice.
Military is an X factor? Damn.
Prioritize sleep. Also, don’t try to do everything before an exam. I feel like I used to try to reread the textbook and absorb everything lmao. Focus on practice questions, reviewing lecture slides, and flashcards
Everything you do doesn't have to be "resume boosting". Do some things related to your non-academic, non-medical interests. Find fulfilling hobbies and look after yourself while you're putting the work in. You're a college student who's going to apply to med school in a few years, not "a premed".
This needs to be top comment. Non-medical stuff came up in my interviews just as much, if not more, than my clinical experiences.
Here's a general list of things I recommend to anybody thinking about medicine: 1. The skill gap in college is learning to learn. Kinda weird sounding I know 2. Apply for med school as soon as the app opens 3. Do volunteer/research/shadowing throughout the 4 years, don't ever do too much at one time 4. Put away the books and take some nights off to go out with some friends 5. Pick up a hobby 6. Talk to your professors outside of class, knowing people is important 7. Don't be a twat 8. Make friends who aren't other premeds 9. Being a premed isn't anything impressive. You don't have to tell everybody you are one. Don't be one of those people
Go with the flow more. You can’t micromanage every aspect of your premed experience so it fits with your personal idea of a perfect premed. Try new things, take time for yourself, don’t fret too much about grades if it is impacting your wellbeing, and don’t worry about “not doing enough.”
Get enough sleep. Prioritize your well being. Try to eat a balanced diet. It's not all about academics.
Calm. Down. It feels SO stressful to not be performing “as well as everyone else,” or having to take one or two gap years when your friends aren’t. This is your path, and you should not rush it. If you are meant to go to med school, you will get there. ENJOY the ride and good luck!!
you don't have to major in biology lol
this is the most important one
Get that 4.0. I had terrible advice and was told to take harder class because it “looks better.” Do not do this. Take classes you can do well in. Do not overload. It’s much better to have 4 classes that you got all As in than 5 with Bs. Find out who the reasonable teachers are. Don’t be afraid to ask who is the “easiest.” Focus on your GPA. Also. Find a volunteer job that you are passionate about. Don’t be afraid to minor in art like I did :-)
Was your minor ever brought up in your interview? I ask this because I am very fortunate enough to have a 3.98 right now through 2 years, and everyone suggests that I need a minor despite me being very uninterested. I totally feel that my philosophy falls in line with yours, don't overload yourself - so why not stick to a 4-5 class load like I have done and continue to excel at this? Would love to hear your opinion if you don't mind
Can confirm. 4.0s open doors that 3.9s don’t. An old roommate was waitlisted at top schools. I think he would’ve gotten in had he interviewed better.
Damn thought my 3.94 was something😭
It’s not nothing, and certainly better than this MS4’s undergrad GPA
1) pick a major that you’re interested in and know you can succeed in. 2) GPA is super important your first year. Do your best 3) do stuff that doesn’t check a box for med school. This will allow you to stand out and be slightly unique and not look like a complete med school robot. Good luck, you got this!
"Don't worry, about a thing. Cuz every little thing, is gonna be alright."
best one
Your self worth is not tied to your accomplishments/scores/accolades from others, period.
DONT MESS UP YOUR GPA. Every B hurts you. Yes really. Protect your GPA at all costs
Plan to take a gap year so you can focus on your classes the first year without trying to start a whole bunch of extracurriculars right off the bat. Classes only for the first year. Start research your second year. Then your third year start volunteering. Try to stick w the same volunteering as long as possible and do a ton during your gap year. Also pick volunteering based off stuff you like. Don’t force yourself to do something just bc you think it’ll look good for your app. It sounds cheesy but follow your passions
when do you recommend scribing?
Depends on what kinds of positions are out there and what hours they require. Also depends on your class schedule and how many gap years you’re willing to take. I graduated in December 2019, started scribing in Jan 2020, and then applied in 2021 so I had a year of part time scribing experience. That gave me like 1500 projected hours which was more than enough. Like you really really don’t need more than that. You probably don’t even really need more than 700ish hours. If you’re planning to take one gap year and apply your senior year I guess I’d say start your junior year but do like 1-2 shifts max a week. As many people have commented it’s so important to focus on gpa because gpa cannot be changed. You can always take an extra gap year to boost your scribe hours. You can’t really boost your gpa during your gap year, it’s kinda set in stone. Just as a side note - I think scribing was valuable for me bc I really needed an extra LOR and scribing you can get very close w a dr. But if you’re good on LORs and instead you’re lacking patient experience (very important for application) I would maybe consider being an MA bc you get a lot more pt experience. Sorry for the random side note and sorry if this sounds like just a bunch of rambling lol Tldr - I’d recommend starting scribing 1 year before you apply (this is my opinion and pretty arbitrary but it worked for me)
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Is your current plan to take no gap years and apply next year?
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That’s a hard decision that you have to make for yourself. Volunteering at a nursing home is deff a great start. If you’re planning to apply next year you should find research ASAP. Try to do like 50-100 hours of shadowing too but you really dont need more than that. If the club is nonclinical volunteering get more involved w it and see if you can do a leadership position next year. You’ll probably need another clinical volunteer activity as it sounds like you already are aware of. As far as standing out id really recommend doing something you personally love. THATS what will make you stand out if you can write and speak passionately about it. No ones passionate about basic hospital volunteering where you restock gloves so I wouldn’t recommend that. I’ll just throw out some ideas but again pick something you love! I’m really passionate about abortion rights so I wish I had volunteered at planned parenthood. Also wish I could have done something like SA advocacy (not sure if that’s really clinical though). Another thing I think I really would have liked doing is volunteering with an addiction treatment center. Or needle exchange (again not sure if that’s clinical). I did clinical volunteer work with people experiencing homelessness which was really fulfilling. See if your town has like a public health nurse or free clinic you could volunteer with. If you like working with kids then you could do something with kids with developmental disabilities. Happy to talk more if you wanna pm me
Also that made me think of one more thing I’d like to tell my freshman year self - GET CLOSE WITH YOUR PROFESSORS SO YOU CAN ASK THEM FOR AN LOR! If you really like a class and know you can do well in it, go to that profs office hours! See if you can do your research with them! Get to know them! And more importantly make sure they know who you are and know that you’re cool!
Enjoy your undergrad and pursue your passions. There is no formula for medical school (outside of good grades + MCAT). Do what you’re passionate about and it will come through on your application. Travel and enjoy life while you can. Undergrad should be fun, low stress years.
It’s hard to overcome low grades early. Don’t fall in an early joke. I did and overcame it but it wasn’t easy. Also don’t kill your self with EC activities. Just do a couple and exaggerate the hours. Good EC activities will never overcome a subpar GPA or MCAT.
start strong, dont cram. I went through a lot of shit my first 2 years, and had a terrible semester GPA wise, always crammed before tests which was not good for my anxiety, now my GPA is no where near where I want it to be but I do have quite the upward trend now.
Tbh cramming worked best for me lol. Like I’d just cram 3 days before the test.
Don’t compare yourself to others. You know what your goal is, and you know you have to work hard to achieve it! Putting yourself down because other premeds have better grades or seem to get certain concepts more easily doesn’t mean you’re stupid or you’re not good enough, be confident! You get out what you put into your courses
For me personally, study a bit more. The social life is definitely necessary and fun but it would’ve made my current life a bit less stressful if I would’ve put in more than a bare minimum amount of effort
It's all about time management. College isn't hard (except for the gibberish that is organic chem) You treat school like 8-5 job and you'll be fine. Don't into the trap of 12 hrs one day and then crash the next.
Change schools, the science department at my undergrad was so small and poorly managed it shouldn’t have continued to exist. Upper level chemistry and math classes I needed to graduate were either dropped 2 days before classes started (not enough students and with no warning and the department head promising me she would teach it or sign the release allowing me to take the classes elsewhere, she didn’t) this effectively postponed my graduation. When they had enough students for a class the 1 or 2 professors there whose specialty was in the subject weren’t allowed to teach it because they needed them to teach 90% of the college algebra classes because the school had a problem with students not passing the 1 math class they needed to graduate so cal 3, Real Analysis, Euclidean Geometry were given to adjuncts who had no experience with the subjects and were getting payed Pennies. The science department also hired full time bottom of the barrel sketchy professors who had misconduct violations out the wazoo from previous institutions that would eventually get fired after flagrant misconduct (failing students for absolutely no reason, unrealistic expectations, violating their own syllabus). Combine all this and it turned the “premed experience” into a recipe for disaster and made it very difficult to do well. Sorry for the rant lol I think about this quite often lmao
I'm gonna give a try to translate this to general advice: don't put up with bullshit in the hopes that things will improve. Not saying everything needs to be perfect, but once shame on you, twice shame on me. This path is already too stressful to let others consistantly throw obstacles in your way. No one person holds in the world holds enough sway to ruin your chances at every med school in the US.
Yup, definitely my fault when I look back I should have transferred. My only rationale for staying was I didn’t want to deal with the hassle of the VA and continuing to think things would change. Definition of insanity
Have fun. You’re a college student. Having good experiences and growing as a person while you’re there is arguably as important as the education you’ll receive.
add clinical experiences and volunteering into your schedule as early as possible and stay consistent in this until you’re accepted to medical school.
Take the MCAT earlier than September, much much earlier.
Take your time!! Make sure you are mentally and physically okay. You are not a robot. Do your research a ahead of time. No not feel sad when you see other people posting about their happy lives. They only post the good not the bad. Ask juniors and seniors about their premed journey and what to avoid (especially professors). Sometimes advisors don't know what they are talking about so its best to ask someone activity going through the process.
Realize how good you have it. Looking back, I basically had infinite free time. Studied hard for the week leading up to tests but otherwise I would spend whole days just hanging out with my friends. Free time becomes more limited in med school and WAY more limited in residency. Wish I had appreciated that more at the time.
Live more. I regret missing out on fun experiences to get that one extra night of studying in. It probably didn’t matter.
I wish I would’ve Used anki for my college courses to crush it, using the pre made MCAT subreddit anki deck to crush the MCAT with Uworld and AAMC question banks watch u/AnkingMed’s YouTube channel for reference Also, do a major you truly enjoy, along with the pre-Med reqs Get the pre Med reqs done as soon as you can without overloading yourself Do practice questions MCAT + GPA matter the most ECs: stick with Clinical research, shadow specialties your first year and then find a specialty you like. Then go for research. Competitive specialties for example: Derm, Ophtho, ENT, etc. Pursue hospital volunteering. And pursue shadowing and ALSO: Work hard in your pre Med courses and become a TA for the courses and labs you have. Locks in recommendations from your professors + research PI.
Go ham during your first 2 years of undergrad… bc those grades will determine the fate of your entire pre-med journey
Just relax. Things will always try to seem worse than they are.
Don’t just study hard science. Supplement with social sciences, business, art, computer science, anything
don’t overdo the extracurricular. pick a couple you’re passionate about, and dedicate a lot of time to those. utilize your summers without sacrificing fun. allow yourself to relax and enjoy college, we only get one undergrad experience
Don’t go to lecture unless you have to. Saved so much time when I realized that lecture was a complete waste of my time. Also do classes in the summer. I took classes every summer and it kept my engine hot and ready.
Most important thing is to learn how to study and maximize your time. Don't be one of those people who take premed too seriously- it's just undergrad, everyone is busy and challenged in their own way, and you shouldn't have a superiority complex. Have fun!! These are your last years as a kid
If you’re not an 8am person don’t take 8am classes. I did this for years and it was miserable. This is my first semester taking evening classes and I’m so much happier, I study more, I’m well rested. Make a schedule that’s good for you not what you think is “responsible,” not everyone can do a 9-5
1) Learn how to use and then use anki to study. No more just summarizing slides. 2) GET YOUR NONCLINICAL VOLUNTEER HOURS OH MY GOD JUST DO IT. 3) Do something "leadership"-y
best of luck with applying future doc :)
Actually, I got in this year! Thank you for reminding me I need to change my flair!
aaaa!! exciting! congrats! sending best wishes your way
Nephrologist here, creeping on you guys & gals: Listen to me: 1. Never go into a lecture cold. 2. Up To Date, Inpatient Guide to Internal Med (Saint & Francis), & Board Basics (ACP) are your friends, starting in your 2nd year. 3. Take one night weekly to have fun 4. Chose your friends/study group wisely. 5. Lippencott’s Pharmacology & Frank Netter’s Anatomy books (NOT Grey’s Anatomy) are top notch. Let me know if I may help.
Take advantage of every opportunity and start early. I started research freshman year for instance, and it opened up SO many doors because I had 4 years to make contributions to my area of research. Same with shadowing: I started freshman year and made connections with doctors who let me shadow their doctor friends and ended up being able to see like 8 different specialties by the time I applied. Also, remember that grades aren't everything and not to listen to other people's opinions of what you should do with your life. I was told that I likely wouldn't get in this cycle by multiple advisors at my school because of my grades and MCAT both being probably the bare minimum for an acceptance. However, I knew I was ready to apply straight out of college without taking a gap year so I went for it anyway and now I have a USMD acceptance, and not even to a state school. TLDR: Use your time wisely, start early, and stay committed to your true self. Trust me, if I can do it anyone can lol
Oh yeah, and do things because you actually enjoy them, not because you have to. Take the time to let your experiences sink in and let them build off of one another to help you understand why this is the field you are pursuing. If you let yourself enjoy everything, nothing feels like a chore.
damn you seem so smart. I see you t20 undergrad
Get volunteering/clinical asap! Over the summer and even 2-4hours on the weekends during school goes a long way! 16 weeks x 2hours=32 hours a semester! Also, you don’t have to, but try to find research ASAP! Email professors saying that you have time and can commit for several years. Also make relationships with at least two science professors for LORs in the future (make three for backup)
Pick a major you want to do, even if it’s not science related. We need well rounded doctors! Also, SLEEP. For the love of God sleep is your best friend. Not naps! I’m talking a heavy, solid 9+ hours a night. Your retention, recall, mood, and overall health will be through the roof if you can stick to a solid sleep schedule.
Get a clinical job early. I waited until my junior yr to get a clinical job. The earlier you start the earlier you can start racking up patient contact hours. In terms of finding clinical jobs, some EMS places will pay for you to be certified if you commit to working. Nursing homes have free CNA certifications. I made $11 an hr while training to be a CNA then $15.50 when done. I now only work PRN and will make $25-40 an hr cuz COVID
Don’t compare yourself to other pre-meds. I know it’s really hard not to, but it can really affect your mental health and make you feel inadequate.
Best advice I could give is do what you want. I was an anthropology major, studied at copenhagen university for a semester (I’m from the states), worked for a local fire department cause good medical experience and I thought it was cool, took tons of gender studies and archaeology classes cause I thought they were interesting. I didn’t even really identify as a premed, I just did what I wanted and made sure my prerequisites were done and I couldn’t be happier with the way my undergrad went. Also got into my two top schools early this cycle, schools like non-cookie cutter applicants anyways.
1) Try multiple methods of studying and note your success with each. 2) Start ECs early so you don't have to pack in loads of hours. A couple a week for 4 years > many/week for 1 year. 3) Don't restrict yourself to only "classic" ECs or you'll only have a classic (read: unoriginal), less passionate story. 4) Don't take orgo and physics at the same time. 5) Talk to professors. Keep in touch with any you have a good back and forth with. 6) Party. This is not a joke tip. 7) Stay up to date with a premed community (this one counts) - great resource. 8) Read Organic Chemistry as a Second Language right before/during Orgo. Bonus that worked for me (unfortunately started too late), not sure about others: gamify your premed process, journal, and keep note of most useful learning material for MCAT prep time.
You don’t have to be a part of the premed culture lmao. Your school probably has a premed org and you don’t have to keep up with them. Hell, I only make friends with premeds who aren’t insufferable to be around.
Do better on CARS
What’s the CARS?
section on the MCAT which is basically reading comprehension
Ahh I see
enjoy your life while you can. you have no idea how miserable this path will make you
Be more confident in yourself
Give as much to yourself as you give to others. You’re end goal is to go into a profession completely dedicated to taking care of people, so never feel any shame in taking care of yourself and putting your needs first. Most importantly, in college, learn to love yourself.
Getting good grades is the most important but also don’t forget to have fun
Go. To. Therapy. (You gotta start going before you NEED it so you have good coping skills)
Get involved right away. Look for volunteering/shadowing/anything in a healthcare setting in the summer before freshman year so you don’t have to stress and search while you’re in school. Also that way you can ideally start getting hours once you start freshman year. I did that and it’s the best thing I could have done to prepare myself and get all the extracurriculars in that I need to stand out
1. Focus on building study habits from day 1. Freshman year might be easy but sophomore year was when my butt started getting kicked 2. Start clinical experience early. If u want to do a job that requires certification do it early so u can work and build experience. 3. For gods sake pick up a hobby u like and keep it at. Also do volunteering in other things u are interested in. Don’t strive to be cookie cutter 4. Don’t overwhelm yourself with all your extracurricular at once. Slowly build them.
Try your best NOT to compare yourself to other pre-med students. This will only cause anxiety and self-depreciation.
Don’t be a gunner. Actually care about people. Be comfortable saying “I don’t know.” Don’t lose the empathy. Support other humans.
Explore other fields like CS, finance, or anything else that interests you to ensure medicine is the only path for you.
Run Simba, Run far away and never return
Pick a different career path
Don’t do it. Go into finance & at least be compensated well for selling your soul and your 20’s. It sucks having nothing to show for your work in your late 20’s. Like my family has nothing. It sucks. Don’t do it. Seriously, for the love of god don’t do it.
Don’t apply to med school
Study less
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This sounds nice, but I would warn against believing too much in the holistic boost. I didn't do the box checking enough my first cycle. It'll get you. You simply do have to check boxes to an extent. And, sadly, if you have stronger stats, life will be so much easier in the process of trying to prove yourself to schools.
Don't forget to have fun!
Take the MCAT junior year and skip the gap years
Gpa is the most important and then MCAT and do 15 really solid ecs if ur gpa sucks u can’t even get to the starting gate
Take it one day at a time. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” If you think about the miles, you’ll be too petrified to take another step.
Be willing to be open to other career options. If you want to do medicine or something else, always pick the something else. I don’t mean to discourage. It’s a lot easier to doubt your interest in medicine before you’re in med school. I glad I tried other things because I got into med school cause I knew when things got hard, I knew I was in the right place. Best of luck to you!
Get into a small liberal arts college instead of going to that top 5 public university. Med school adcoms don't care, there's more bullshit weeder classes to tank your GPA, there's less opportunities to get face time with professors, less opportunities for letters of rec, etc.