pre med advice

Mar 19 2016

How to utilize class time most effectively in order to make good grades

How to make the most out of class time to improve your grades

One of our greatest opportunities to learn, ask questions, and prepare yourself to ace your exams. Yes, thats right. I am talking about class time. Now I’m sure you are thinking that this is obvious, all you have to do is show up and take notes right? Well I think theres a right and a wrong way to show up to class. And making these changes can help you get a lot more out of your class time. The amount of students I have seen making these mistakes is staggering. And if you can take atleast one or two of my tips about this then I am sure you will find yourself getting a lot more use out of your time in the class room!

Here are SIX ways you can make the most out of class time and improve your grades:

– Read and study ahead before coming to class

– Come to class with the intention to focus and pay close attention

– Get rid of all distractions

– Start asking questions

– Start taking notes the right way

– Make sure you always come to class!

Read and study ahead before coming to class: This is really important and will help you so much when you are actually in class. Especially when the material is hard. You want to do this so that you familiarize yourself with the topics and it won’t be the first time you ever heard of it when you are in the class. This is helpful because it helps you keep up with the lecture and not fall behind. And thats really important because if you have no clue whats going on in the class then its really hard to benefit from being there. You only need to skim through and just get the general gist of it, not hard studying. Just try to get an understanding of the basics and concepts. So make sure you start reading, checking the powerpoint, etc. BEFORE coming to class.

Come to class with the intention to focus and pay close attention: This is a mindset shift. Its probably the most important tip out of all the ones I’m going to give you. The best advice are the ones that help you be a better student and this is one of them. Theres something about class where most people just go into zombie or robot mode and kind of just get into a rhythm of write whatever the professor does on the board, copy the powerpoints (Make sure you check out this article about why doing that is the worst thing you can do), and then wait until the teacher writes on the board again to just copy it down. People seem to just think that is all there is to class time. Teacher says something, write it down. Or teacher wrote something on board, just write it down. But that is the wrong mindset. You need to come there and question everything the teacher is doing and spend your focus on learning while in class instead of making notes to study for later.

Get rid of all distractions: This is something that I see so many students doing wrong. All around the class room people are on their cell phones texting and there even people who are on their laptop surfing the web! It is crazy! Not only that but it is distracting to those who are trying to pay attention. Why even come to class if you are not going to pay attention. Obviously if you are distracted with your phone or technology then you are not learning anything from the lecture. You can use your phone or laptop after class. This is an easy change to make. So make it.

Start asking questions: This is one of the main benefits of being in class, that you can literally ask questions about what you are learning while learning it. You have your teacher’s time (the person who is making your tests and who’s job it is to prepare you for it) to get answers to anything you are unsure about. This is the main benefit to being in class versus just being at home studying the powerpoints. This is a big deal and can make a giant difference in your confidence in the material. Also you don’t have to ask in front of the class, you can wait until class is over and ask him/her any questions you had from lecture. Its very helpful to clarify things.

Start taking notes the right way: I wrote an in depth article on the best note taking methods you can do, so check it out here. But taking notes in a way that helps you actually learn is extremely beneficial to how well you learn the material and how you study for the test. There definitely is a right and wrong way to take notes, so make sure you’re not making those mistakes and check out my other article for clarification. Improving your note taking is a game changer and will improve how you use your class time.

Don’t skip class!: This sounds like a no brainer but there are so many students who just simply skip class. This is a huge no no. Its a big mistake. First of all you are paying for school why waste your money or your parent’s money by not even showing up. Whats even the point of going to college if you don’t even utilize the resources it provides you. Who would want to hire someone who never actually attended their lectures? But also by missing the classes you miss out on both learning from the professor directly and also you miss out on the little tips and bonuses you get from coming to class. There have been so many times that just because I came to class and so many students didn’t , the people who did come to class got free bonus points on a test or something. Also professor’s only mention some things in class and if you don’t attend you will never find out, and next thing you know there was a homework due that you didn’t know about or a pop quiz. Don’t let that happen. Come to class.

Let me know in the comments down below what your best advice are for making the most out of class time! I would love to hear them! And I hope these tips helped you! I have a ton more I want to share with you! I am going to lay out exactly how I have been able to maintain a high GPA in a tough pre-med program. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to get free access to all our exclusive premedical advice! Don’t forget to comment below and let me and all the other pre-meds know what you think.

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Nov 18 2015

How to choose classes for next semester as a pre-med

As a pre-med knowing which classes to take the next semester can be confusing. There are many factors to consider when trying to create that perfect schedule. Will I be able to handle this course load and still make good grades? Will these courses look good to medical schools? Am I doing the courses in the right order? Timing of courses for MCAT? Well we will cover that to make sure you have the best semester you can!

As I mentioned there are alot of things to consider when scheduling for classes. I will go over the steps involved in making a schedule that accomplishes what you need as a pre med. But before we go over the steps, lets talk about what our priorities are when it comes to making an awesome schedule for next semester.

Scheduling priorities:

1. Making sure that you can still maintain a good GPA

2. Maintaining steady progress through pre-med requirements

3. Preparing you for MCAT

4. Doing courses in the right order (Important for getting your degree on time!)

5. Class times

Making sure you can still maintain a good GPA: This should be the most obvious priority in the list, however many pre-meds make the mistake here of either scheduling too many hard classes in one semester or not enough. Its important to find a balance and know your own limits. Trying to take Organic Chemistry II, Physics II, Biology II, and Calculus all in the same semester is a great way to NOT make the grades you want. That is just putting yourself in a situation to fail, and we want all of the odds on our side when it comes to getting a good GPA. At the same time if you only take one hard class, lets say Organic Chemistry. Then you will not be making enough progress to graduate on time or take the MCAT on time. The key is finding a balance and that depends on you. In general, I say that taking a minimum of two of your hard science classes/pre-med requirements per semester is good. But depending on you three can be a good number. Don’t forget that for every science class you take, you usually have a lab that goes with it. Don’t sacrifice your GPA to graduate faster. Know your limits and choose your classes according to that.

Maintaining steady progress through pre-med requirements: This goes along with what I was saying in the last point. While you do want to make sure you are able to maintain a good GPA and get the grades you want, you have to make sure that you are still making steady progress through your pre med requirements. This is essential to getting accepted into medical school immediately after college. If you want to start medical school right after graduating then you must get your pre-med requirements done as soon as possible. Remember, that alot of medical schools don’t even require you to have a degree to get accepted. Just the pre-med required classes and your MCAT. So this means that you can apply to medical school once you have completed those. In order to do that, you must prioritize completing your pre-med requirements (Gen Chem, Biology, Physics, Organic Chem, English, sometimes Calculus) before your general education classes and other classes.

Preparing you for MCAT: One of the most important things your college classes can do for you is prepare you for the MCAT. The MCAT is based off of what you learn in your pre-med required classes for the most part. Although there are now sections on it in Biochemistry and Psychology/Sociology. This is another reason why its important to focus on getting your pre-med requirements out of the way as soon as possible. You will do much better on the MCAT if you actually took the courses that cover what the MCAT is covering. You want to try and take any class that can help you for the MCAT. So this means you should be focusing on taking your pre-med required classes and if you have room for another then maybe take Psychology. Remember, you are doing yourself a big favor by taking these classes before taking the MCAT. You will be thankful when you have to only review for the MCAT instead of learn everything at once.

Doing courses in the right order: This is super important if you are trying to get an undergraduate degree and also still really important for being able to get into medical school on time. As a Biochemistry major, I have some classes that have multiple requirements to be able to register for them. And often these classes are requirements for other classes. For example, for me to take physical chemistry I have to have first done Physics I and II, as well as calculus. This is why its important to know what your upper level classes require for registration. In this case, I have to make sure I get calculus and Physics done as soon as possible. Otherwise I won’t be able to register for physical chem. If I can’t register for physical chem I won’t be able to take inorganic chemistry. If you wait around to take important classes that are required for registration then you might not be able to take the courses you want during the semester you want!

Class times: This is the last of things to consider when it comes to creating the perfect schedule. While it is nice to have all your classes on the same day or at the right time, that is not the biggest priority. First make sure you take the RIGHT classes and then worry about getting the right times for it. If that means you have to come to school on monday, tuesday, wednesday, thursday, friday instead of just MWF then so be it. Its a bigger priority to graduate on time, be ready for the MCAT, get good grades, and make progress through your pre-med requirements. With that being said, I always try to schedule classes on the same day. It can save you gas money and time that you could spend studying or working instead. This might not always be possible if you don’t have class registration priority. Always try to get the classes consecutively, the more free time you have the better! That means more time for working, shadowing, studying, relaxing, and volunteering!

Making it practical:

Here I will go over an example of how I would schedule for classes and why I’m doing what I am.

Example: I am a Sophmore who will take the MCAT next year.

1.Pick the classes you want to take:

Organic chemistry II and lab
Biology II and lab
English II
Easy general ed class

– I chose to take just Organic Chemistry II and Biology II in the same semester since they are kind of related. These classes are also pretty hard and I don’t want to risk getting a bad grade, so I won’t take a third science class. This is why I chose only two science classes. This still keeps me on steady progress through my pre-med requirements and helps prepare me for the MCAT next year.

– English II is not too difficult of a class and also is a pre-med requirement. So I will be getting another requirement out of the way.

– Easy general education class to make sure I have enough hours. This is important if you are on scholarships. This class is easy and shouldn’t take away from studying for the harder classes like Organic Chemistry or Biology.

2. Get the best times you can for them.

– Try to get them onto the same day if possible.
– Avoid early morning classes if possible.

I would go for taking these classes on a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule. This gives me enough time to not be overwhelmed by them but also enough for extracurricular activities.

Was this helpful? Let me know! And what kind of articles do you want more of?

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More helpful premed resources:

Get our free ebook , “The Pre-Med Beginner’s Guide”, which summarizes everything that every premed must know!

Also get free access to our comprehensive lists of medical school rankings! Click here to download

Good luck on your journey to medical school! Premed Community is here with you every step of the way!

Oct 05 2015

The Premed’s guide to time management

The pre-med’s guide to time management

Exams, homework, research, volunteering, shadowing , MCAT.. There are so many things that you are supposed to be doing as a premed! How will you ever be able to have time to do all that? And on top of that be able to go out with your friends and still maintain a social life? The answer to that is, you must master the art of making the most out of your time. Time management.

I’m sure that you would love to go out and see that new movie with all of your friends, go kick the soccer ball around, play videogames with your buddies, or whatever it is you like to do much more than sit inside and study. Part of becoming a doctor means that you will have to make sacrifices in order to make your dream a reality. If becoming a doctor was that easy, then everyone would do it! So try to take pride and enjoy the fact that you are going to have to work really hard to become a doctor! It is the hard work and dedication required that makes it so rewarding to get into medical school.

With that being said, you will definitely have to learn how to manage your time well! Juggling exams, extracurriculars, MCAT, and everything else you want to do is no easy task! But it can definitely be done. For all of you who are worried that you won’t have time to do anything, that is simply not true! You will have time to do what you want to do and STILL make good grades and all the things you need to do to get into medical school.

Time management is a skill that transcends just being a pre-med, it actually is something which will improve your entire life and be essential to your career as a physician. Time management is all about utilizing your time efficiently and planning things out ahead. Alright lets get on to the guide!

Before we start there are a few things you must abide by in order to be successful with time management:

– You must stick to your planned schedule

– You must be honest with yourself about how much time certain activities will take you

It is crucial that you must stick to the schedule you plan, this sounds obvious. But lots of people will plan out a schedule and then when they get new plans they will change it. So this means that when your friend asks you if you want to hangout on saturday, and you have already planned a few things you should try to work that around your schedule and not make your schedule fit their plans. If you are able to move what you planned to a new day and it won’t impede your ability to get it done. Then that is fine. But more often then not, it is better to stick with your plan and commit to it. Hanging out with friends or something more fun should not have priority over getting the things you need done completed. It is always better to finish what you need to do FIRST, that way you can enjoy whatever it is you want to do. Nothing is worse than trying to have fun but knowing you should be doing something else. So when in doubt do what needs to be done before other things.

Another essential component to being able to manage your time well is to simply be honest with yourself about how much time it will take you to do certain things. We all like to think that we can study for that exam in one hour long session, but most often we will need to commit more time to our studies than that if we want to make an A. So when making your schedule and trying to manage your time, give yourself an honest evaluation of how long you will need. Remember, you are trying to help yourself! So there is no shame in taking an extra hour or two to get it done properly.

Now that we got that out of the way let me share with you some important tips for managing your time:

– Prioritize your most urgent and important activities

– Sleep is important!

– Put in scheduled time for relaxing and healthy activities

– Have a note on your computer that has all your homework and school information on it

– Split studying up into multiple short sessions instead of one long session

– Always make sure that leave yourself extra time to work with

– Don’t run yourself too thin

Prioritization: This seems like an obvious point, but it is one that alot of people don’t do properly. Often we are so busy with so many different assignments and things to do its difficult to know which one we should give attention to. Should we first get the quick and easy assignments out of the way and then do that long paper? The answer is not always so simple. My experience has been that I do better when I first get the quick and easy assignments done first. This lets me not have to worry about them when I’m trying to do my big assignments. By having done the quick assignments first, I can focus my full attention on my more important assignments. But if it is last minute and you only have time for one assignement, you will always choose the one that’s more important. So when it comes to managing your time, it is important to consider what has priority over something else. Priority is based on how important it is, when it is due (or when the exam is), and how long it will take you to do it. The more important, the sooner it is, and the longer it takes all increase its priority.

Sleep: This is something alot of people don’t talk about when giving advice on time management. I think this is a really important factor that is often never given any consideration. Sleep is so crucial to your success in making good grades that you cannot afford to not consider it. As a premed you will often find yourself doing anything for more sleep! And honestly sleep is my biggest complaint about being a premed, not having enough sleep makes life much more difficult. Getting more sleep can actually make the difference between making a B or an A in a class. So it is critical to consider it when making your plans. Always plan your schedules around sleep, ensuring that you get enough sleep to be at your best. When making your schedule, give yourself enough time for sleep. This is the most important activity you can put into yours schedule.

Plan out relax time and healthy activities: While this might not seem necessary for a premed, it actually makes a HUGE difference. You will be studying for exams, doing homework, volunteering, etc.. which basically means you will be burnt out! This can have serious effects on your health. You will be mentally exhausted from everything, so you need to give your mind time to cool down and relax. Take a break and go enjoy yourself. Also you will be sitting for alot of the day, your body needs some exercise. Exercise can even benefit your grades. So try not to forget to give your body time to relax and time to get it moving!

Have a note with your assignments on it: This is a REALLY handy way to keep track of what you need to do. You basically make a simple note on your computer where you put your classes and homework on it. You can also include anything else you need to do on it. I use the application stickies for the mac. And I keep this note open all the time on my desktop, and frequently refer back to it to make sure I get my assignments done. The reason this is so useful is that it is on your computer, so if you use your computer alot you can never forget your assignments. Just keep it open on your desktop so that you constantly see it, and are reminded of it.

Here is an example of it:

You can see that I have my classes and homework on it. And I also put in a note to get research from one of my professors. Simple but effective.

Split studying into multiple short sessions: It is always better and more effective to have several short sessions than one long session. The way our brain learns is through repeated exposure to information. Not cramming it. Check out my article here where I talk about spaced repetition and how to use it to improve your grades. When planning your schedule , try to plan for 2-3 study sessions instead of one long cramming session!

Leave yourself extra time to work with: It is really important to leave yourself some extra time to work with. Things don’t always go according to plan, life happens. So thats why you should always give yourself a little leeway when making your plans. For example if you are supposed to be somewhere, account for the time you will take driving there and back PLUS potential traffic. Also try to leave room in your schedule where nothing is planned, this way if you need it you can use that time for something you weren’t able to complete before. Always leave yourself some leeway in your schedule, don’t pack everything back to back if possible.

Don’t run yourself thin: This goes with the previous point. Do NOT make your schedule too overbearing, you need to give yourself time to relax and unscheduled time. If you overload yourself with too much you will quickly burn out. You also don’t want to be too laxed about your schedule. You have to make sure you get everything you need done. The key is to find balance.

Making it practical:

I like to try and make things practical for you, so you can know exactly how to use this to help yourself! So here is a quick example of how to put everything together. I will go ahead and show you an example day and why I do what I do.

Let’s assume that I have class from 8 am- 2 pm. And the things I want to get done are: prepare for a genetics test, do a lab report, and go hit the gym.

General schedule:

7:00am: Wake up, eat breakfast. Head to school.

8:00am-2:00pm: Class

2:30-3:00pm: Study for genetics test (Its a good idea to study right after classes)

3:30-4:00pm: Work on lab report (Small break in between. Switching things up)

4:30-5:30 pm: Go to the gym (Now is a good time to go the gym, I just finished studying and need to give my mind a break)

7:00-7:45pm: Study for genetics test again (Remember to break studying into multiple sessions)

8:00-8:30pm: Relax, watch netflix (notice how I put relax time after studying. Once again to give my brain time to cool off and let what I learn sink in)

8:30-9:30: Work on lab report (Giving my self plenty of time to work with. Lots of leeway)

10:00pm: Review genetics again

11:00pm: Head to sleep (Remember sleep needs to be accounted for!)

*Note that these are relative times, you want to just give yourself an idea about how you will spend your time.

– Notice how I give myself some leeway between scheduled events.
– Notice how I split studying up into 3 short sessions and I give myself time to relax in between . Always give yourself time to relax so you don’t get too overloaded
– Also notice how I am giving myself extra time to work with. This allows my schedule to be solid but also flexible.

– Make sure you don’t run yourself thin.

These are my tips for managing your time! The key is to create a schedule you know will work for YOU. You know your own habits. So be honest with yourself, don’t try to force a schedule that you know you can’t keep up with. Remember, that this is only a vague schedule it is not set in stone. You want to give yourself an idea of how you will spend your day and then do your very best to stick to it. And when coming up with your game plan for managing your time, make sure to consider all of the tips I gave you. With that you will be a time managing boss! You will have time to fight crime, hit the gym, hang out with friends, do your extracurriculars, and get good grades!

Let me know what tips you have for managing your time in the comments below!

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Get our free ebook , “The Pre-Med Beginner’s Guide”, which summarizes everything that every premed must know!

Also get free access to our comprehensive lists of medical school rankings! Click here to download

Good luck on your journey to medical school! Premed Community is here with you every step of the way!

Sep 27 2015

How to have more motivation to study

Studying is often the most dreaded part of any pre med’s life. Whether you hate it or love it, studying is the MOST important part of making good grades. Without spending enough time studying you are practically guaranteeing yourself to not make the grade you want. We all know that studying is important, but why is it that 64% of students now today study less than 15 hours a week? The biggest problem is motivation.

If you don’t have motivation then you will not study as much and the time that you do spend studying will be far less efficient. I have several articles on tips to help you improve your studying, but that really won’t help you unless you first are motivated to actually study. If you don’t spend enough time studying, no shortcuts will save you. So if we are able to find the motivation to study, that could literally revolutionize our grades on exams and ultimately your gpa.

Here are a few methods to help you get more study time in:

– Make a study group

– Pick a specific time of day to study

– Learn to love what you are learning

– Use your desire to make an A to motivate you

Make a study group: This is often an incredible motivator to study that is really underrated. Quite simply, if you are studying with other people it is a lot more fun! Also studying with your classmates and friends is one of the BEST ways to make sure you understand the material. Often in study groups, each person has an area they are good at and bad at. So people in the group can cover each other’s weaknesses while at the same time helping each other out in the areas they are strong in. Just make a few friends in class and ask them if they all want to meet up and study. Its that simple!
Pick a specific time of day to study: People are creatures of habit. So it goes without saying that an extremely powerful tool to help you study more is to simply get in the habit of studying at a specific time of day. Studies show that people spend more time studying between 10am-12pm. What time of day you pick is up to you, but the key is to pick a time of day that you know you will be in the mood to study and commit to it! It is optimal to have atleast two study sessions per day, each that are about 30-45 minutes long. (Check out the article on spaced repetition, to find out why).

Learn to love what you are learning: If you love what you are learning, then you don’t need ANY other tips! You will already have all the motivation you need to study and more! Put quite simply, this is the single most important factor in my opinion when it comes to finding time to study. If you love what you are learning and are fascinated by it, I am 90% sure you will make an A in that class. Period. It is that powerful. Check out this article which teaches you exactly how I learned to love all of my hardest classes and how I started getting A’s because of it!
Use your desire to make an A to motivate you: Now this might sound like an obvious one, but this is honestly one of the EASIEST methods to motivate your self to to study. If you are really serious about becoming a doctor, then I am sure making A’s to you is one of the most important things to you in your life. In that case, channel that energy into studying! Tell yourself that the more time I put into my studying the better grade I will get! I am going to study super hard, because I want that A! Even while you are studying, keep reminding yourself of this. “Once I get the concept down, I am going to do even better on that exam!”. What I am saying here is, try to channel all of that energy you have about getting into medical school, improving your gpa, making good grades into your motivation to study. Because studying is the key to all of those things!

Getting those good grades is about being a good student. Here at premed community, we will teach you how to be that student which makes good grades and really gains alot from their studies. Remember, being a good student is a skill. A skill which must be practiced like any other to get good at it. Its not about being a genius, its about understanding the fundamentals of good studying and work ethic. Tell us in the comments below what are the ways YOU motivate yourself to study?

Pre-med poll! How good is your GPA?

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More helpful premed resources:

Get our free ebook , “The Pre-Med Beginner’s Guide” , which summarizes everything that every premed must know!

Also get free access to our comprehensive lists of medical school rankings! Click here to download

Good luck on your journey to medical school! Premed Community is here with you every step of the way!

Aug 26 2015

5 ways to still be competitive with a low GPA

Having a good GPA is an essential component to any good medical school application. But not everyone has a 3.8+ GPA, so what can you do when you have a low GPA? Should you just give up on getting into medical school?

The short answer is NO! Don’t give up hope yet on your dream to become a doctor! You can still get into medical school even with a low GPA! GPA is only one component of many that makes a strong application. There are still many other factors that go into whether you get into medical school. So still believe in yourself! You can do this! People get into medical school all the time with a low GPA.

So how can you still get into medical school with a bad GPA?

You are going to have to polish up other parts of your application to compensate for your GPA. Medical schools care about having a well rounded applicant that shows a strong interest in medicine. GPA is used as a gauge to see if you can handle the rigor of medical school. But GPA is not an indicator of much you care about helping other people or pursuing a career in medicine. Yes, GPA does matter. And you do want to always try to make good grades.But there are other things that medical schools look for in an applicant, so you have to use these to your advantage if your GPA is not high enough.

Another thing to note is that medical schools look at your GPA trend. That means if you started off getting bad grades, but Junior and Senior year you made all A+ then that actually looks good to most med schools.

If you are only a freshman or sophomore, and you have a low GPA then the best thing you can do is try to actually improve your GPA. Start getting those A’s now! Like I said earlier, if you show an upward trend in your grades then med schools like that. Check out my other articles on how to improve your grades! (Proven method to improve your grades!)

If you are not in a position to improve your GPA , then you will have to focus on improving other aspects of your application.

5 things you need to start focusing on if you have a low GPA:

1. Do a ton of volunteering

2. Get lots of experience in clinical settings

3. Do research

4. Get involved in clubs and obtain leadership positions

5. Do something particularly noteworthy

Do a ton of volunteering: Volunteering is huge to medical schools. Medical schools use volunteering as a way to see how much a premed wants to help out his community, something every doctor should have the desire to do. Volunteering is suppose to show your personal qualities that would make you a good physician. Also medical schools LOVE to ask about volunteer experience during interviews, so you want to be prepared when they do! So even if you have a bad GPA, if you have alot of volunteer experience you can make up for it. (Click here for our volunteer opportunities page)

Get lots of experience in clinical settings: This is important because med schools want to see that you know what its like to work in medicine. They want to make sure you are excited about medicine and will be comfortable having a job in it. Shadowing is the best way for you to find out if you really want to be a doctor. So if you can spend many hours shadowing different doctors, then med schools know that you won’t be scared by it. Many people go shadowing once, and then decide medicine isn’t the path for them. Thats the whole point of clinical experience, to let you know if this is something you want to do. So by having lots of experience in clinical settings, you show the medical colleges that you are serious about a career in medicine. And that is a definite plus for your application! Check out our article on how to find shadowing opportunities. And click here to learn about becoming a scribe.

Do research: Doing research is not something required by most medical schools but it is something which can enhance your application. Research is also a great way to get a recommendation letter. Research indicates a strong interest in science and a desire to understand, qualities which would benefit any doctor. Research is actually amazing in many other ways, so make sure to check out my other articles about that! Click here for our premed research opportunities page

Get involved in clubs and obtain leadership positions: Getting involved in clubs shows that you are involved in your school and make your school an even better place. This is something that medical schools value because they want their students to be involved with faculty and other students. This is something they are looking for in every premed applicant. Obtaining leadership positions in those clubs is even more valuable because this a great way to demonstrate to the medical school you are applying that you are a leader. Being a leader is absolutely essential to being a good doctor. As a doctor, other people rely on you constantly so you will need to be comfortable with the pressure of leading everyone. Check out this article for a great way to do that.

Doing something particularly noteworthy: Now this might sound obvious, but doing something noteworthy might actually have med schools taking special note of you! This is a great way to make yourself stand out from the other applicants (For more ways to make your application stand out, check out this free E-book (3 ways to make your med school application stand out) and grab the attention of the admissions team. Some examples of noteworthy things you can do are: Create a club at your school, publish in a science journal for your research, etc.

Remember, medical schools look at you as an applicant as a whole. Not just your GPA. They want to see a well-rounded applicant, and you can do just that if you focus on these aspects of your medical school application. Other people get in all the time without having a 4.0 GPA and you can too!

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