Wednesday, June 5, 2024
What should a premed student be doing over summers?
Many premed students get so caught up in over-analyzing the process that they forget they actually have to go and do the thing! That’s why this week, I’m essentially just posting one of our newsletters as a blog post.
We're right at the start of the application cycle for this upcoming year.
Just a quick reminder: the AMCAS application opened for editing in early May, and you can start submitting at the end of May or early June. If you’re applying to DO schools, the AACOMAS application opens around the same time, but submitting in May or June is considered early. So, if you’re applying to both, aim to submit your AMCAS application first.
This gives you extra time to secure a DO letter of recommendation and come up with a convincing reason for your AACOMAS application about why you're more interested in DO than MD schooling (we all know you’re just making it up -_-).
For those of you not confident in your personal statement – get more eyes on it! This is make or break! It's much cheaper to get help now than to wait another year and reapply! And for those of you who are overconfident, prepare to be humbled. By the way, we’ve got some major sales going on right now, click on the shop tab to check them out.
Freshmen,
I know what you’re thinking, “We’re freshmen, we don’t have to do jack squat,” and to be fair, you’re somewhat correct. Your main job is to get good grades and find a job or research position. However, if you want to apply during your junior year and skip the gap years, there are a few things you need to be doing right now.
First, ensure your academic plan covers ALL the necessary prerequisites. A lot of students think, “Technically, I don’t need to take psych or sociology,” but I’m here to tell you, “Buuuut, ya should,” just like Jake Peralta in Brooklyn 99. Future you will thank you for taking psych, soc, and those extra organic chemistry courses (and labs). For a full course list, we also have a blog post for you.
If you haven’t gotten involved in research yet, now’s the time to start looking for open positions at your institution or email professors whose research interests you. Don’t wait until senior year when they might say, “Sorry, you’re too old, and also, your ex works here and threw a fit when we wanted to hire you.” Avoid putting yourself in a position where you can’t commit to the people who trained you. It helps nobody.
If you’re an incoming freshman, see if your school has a premed program, premed advisors, or premed clubs. Get involved early and stay involved, so when it’s time to write your application essays, you can talk about a leadership position, which many med schools value highly.
Sophomores,
As you're coming up on Junior year, it’s time to start thinking about the courses you still need to take to cover the subjects on the MCAT. You’ll still need to study for the MCAT when the time comes, but it’s a lot easier if you’ve already learned the material. Here are some other things you might want to consider:
How were your grades during freshman year? Do you need to change the way you study? Med schools love upward trends if you started off rough.
Which professors from your first year do you need to stay in touch with? Seriously, you need to keep those relationships going so that when the time comes, they can write you a solid letter of recommendation and actually know what to say about you beyond “did an acceptable job in my extremely difficult course.”
If you haven’t found any leadership positions yet, start actively looking for opportunities. Keep your eyes open, and when an opportunity presents itself, take it. Start Googling leadership positions for premeds and go down the rabbit hole.
Stay focused and keep pushing forward!
Juniors,
Junior year is the make-or-break year when it comes to deciding on gap years. If you don’t want to take a gap year and you're heading into senior year, you need to be applying right now. If you’re panicking because you just realized this, relax. Taking a gap year doesn’t make you a failure. This is a long, grueling process, and many of us come to the game a little late. None of us regret it in the end. Medical school will probably be the most stressful time of your life so far, so take your time.
Now, here’s what you need to focus on this week:
Incoming juniors, plan to take the MCAT later this year. If you think you need six months to study, make a plan now. If you have a job, this is even more crucial because cramming for the MCAT in 20 days is impossible. Set up a study schedule. Also, it's an expensive test, so start saving, and schedule your MCAT as soon as possible to secure a nearby testing location.
Hopefully, you've been shadowing a bit over the past couple of years, but if not, it's time to start. Ask if you can shadow any doctors you know, or see if someone you know has a connection. If you have a job where you interact with doctors, ask them if you can do some official shadowing, or just make sure you can talk about your shadowing experiences at work. If you don’t have any connections or a healthcare job, start cold emailing and calling offices. It’s a numbers game that gets easier with each attempt.
Also, I know this is a bit scattered, but once upon a time, I worked in the PPACU, and we had a big book with all the surgeons' cell phone numbers and office numbers. I cold texted some surgeons, and they called me back asking when I could come in. Trust me, you're not a burden.
Seniors,
Okay, tough snippet time.
If you applied last year and didn’t get in, it’s official. You’re reapplying.
If you came to the game a little late and decided during the second semester of senior year that you want to go into medicine, then you’ve got a gap year coming. You need to plan to take the MCAT as soon as possible, try to line up a clinical job, keep volunteering or start if you haven’t, and look for shadowing opportunities. You came to the party late, which means you have less time to party, but you can party harder. Make sure you have all your prerequisites in line and take any remaining courses over the next year.
If you’re an incoming senior but haven’t taken the MCAT, plan to take it later this year. Your senior year will technically be your gap year because, let’s not forget, this is a year-long application process.
If you got in, I don't think you'd be reading this right now. Congrats!
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