So you entered freshman year calling yourself a pre-med. Now you’re hearing horror stories of orgo and MCAT prep, and wondering what to expect on the road to an MD. I talked to a pre-med student, an advisor, and a first year med student to get the low-down on being pre-med, the med school application process, and what medical school is actually like.
College Days
Between taking upper level science courses, prepping for the MCAT, participating in extracurriculars, and oh yeah, finishing major requirements, the life of a pre-med student is hectic. Carnegie Mellon junior Pallavi Nair is studying chemical engineering but is also pre-med and hopes to become a cardiothoracic surgeon. Pallavi has kept busy filling her course load with tough engineering courses and the required pre-med courses, upper level biology and chemistry for example. Pallavi tells me, “to prep for the MCAT, I’m taking a Princeton Review class this summer. It’s 3 hours a day Monday through Friday for 2 months during the summer.” Life is certainly stressful as a pre-med but Pallavi notes, “this is the one thing I can see myself doing,” so it’s certainly worth it. To help cope with the craziness of the pre-med track, Pallavi joined a sorority! HC wishes her the best of luck when she starts the application process!
The Application Process
Dr. Amy Burkert is the pre-health advisor at Carnegie Mellon. She works closely with pre-med students and has several pieces of advice on the application process. If you’re studying for the MCAT, Dr. Burkert says, “Preparing for the MCAT requires good review materials, focused study, and lots of practice. The benefit of the course is that it actually gives you the structure to do that. But in the end the student must put in the hard work.” Ultimately, if you need a class structure to help motivate you to study you might want to consider a course. If you have good review materials and feel confident studying without the structure she has seen a number of students do very well without it! More than anything else, Dr. Burkert stresses the need for students to calm down before taking the test and go into it with confidence. She recommends having the test completed by April the year you will be applying to medical school. If you’re hoping to go straight into medical school after college this means have your MCAT done spring of junior year and you’ll begin the application process that summer.
Besides the MCAT, there are several different elements to a successful application. Dr. Burkert suggests, “many schools are looking for individuals who are broadly trained. A strong skill set in science and technology is necessary, but so is understanding how people think, behave, and interact.” Exposure to many situations and disciplines is valuable preparation. Always wanted to take a psychology or medical ethics course? Go for it!
One last piece of advice on the application process from Dr. Burkert? In preparation for medical school applications, “tap into the resources that are available and start early!” The American Association of Medical Colleges offers a great deal of online information for prospective applicants and most schools offer pre-health advisors to assist students as they prepare for and navigate the admissions process. Take the time to give the best first impression you can but work to get your materials out early in the cycle.
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Bridge Year
Many students take what Dr. Burkert calls a “bridge” year in between college and medical school. She notes that students may opt for a bridge year for many reasons but most pursue one of three pathways during that year: academics, research or service. Each pathway can help address an apparent weakness on your resume. If a student realizes she needs to improve her academic record, Dr. Burkert explains there are several post-baccalaureate and masters programs “specifically designed to strengthen a student’s academic foundation and to show the schools what the student is really capable of doing.” The next pathway is a research-oriented year. She specifically suggests the National Institue of Health’s Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award (NIH-IRTA), which is a 1-2 year intensive biomedical research fellowship. The program allows students to work with MDs, PhDs or MD/PhDs to encourage more people to include biomedical research into their career paths. Many students also work as research assistants at medical school laboratories. If students want to enhance their research experience, they might dedicate a year or more to that work. Finally the last path is service. Dr. Burkert notes that clinical experience is one of the most important elements of an application; it confirms for the student that they are making the right professional decision. Two popular service-oriented tracks include Americorps, a one-year program within the United States, and the Peace Corps, a longer time commitment abroad, which offer opportunities to gain service experience. Dr. Burkert notes that she’s had students work in a variety of different service fields from teaching in disadvantaged schools to support work in under-served health clinics.
First Year of Medical School
Emily Grauel, a first year medical student at Virginia Commonwealth University, gave us the inside scoop on what it’s really like to attend medical school!
Understanding that med school will be even harder than pre-med at college, many women wonder what the social scene will be like. Emily says, “Social life is what you make of it, it definitely exists but isn’t predominant. Social life is great for me, I have lunch with my friends every day and there are always people studying on campus and in local coffee shops. We have tons of organized class events such as IM sports, barbeques, bar and restaurant outings, shows, concerts, etc. I have weekly dinners with my friends too to help reduce stress!” Of course, the social scene will always vary across different campuses but at VCU there are plenty of options for the little free time med-students have!
Academically, the transition from a college to med school is a tough one. Emily notes, “Med School is very different from college, everyone has the same schedule, and the schedule is determined by the school (i.e., no choice in classes, except for electives). The volume of material in med school is incredibly increased from college. And there are very few breaks. It’s kind of equivalent to having finals week every other week.” And while her schedule is super packed (hard to imagine less time than during her pre-med track!), she does feel like her undergraduate experience gave her the necessary knowledge and skill set to succeed in medical school.
Emily’s piece of advice? “Don’t fall behind. Remember to take care of yourself too, eating well, working out, having fun are essential things to maintaining your sanity!”
Sources:
Pallavi Nair, Pre-med student, Carnegie Mellon ‘11
Dr. Amy Burkert, Assistant Dean of the Health Professions & Education Program, Carnegie Mellon
Emily Grauel, First year student, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical School