advice

Feb 12 2017

One of the most underrated resources available to a pre-med

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Hey pre-meds! In this article I got a quick tip or rather a reminder that could help ensure you make better grades. I don’t see many pre-meds taking advantage of one of the best resources available to them. The one right under their nose. Yes, I’m talking about their teachers!

Your teacher’s job is to teach you what you need to know to do well on their tests and learn the material. This is what you are paying for so you should make them work! They can be your number one resource for passing their class. Because not only are they the ones who are making your tests and grading your papers, but they are extremely knowledgeable in whatever they teach. This means that they can probably answer any question you have and make sure you understand it. Not only that but most teachers love the students who are very eager to learn and ask many questions, so it could lead to a potential letter of recommendation too if you are consistent enough! Also seeing that you want to succeed and are so motivated will also help make them more invested in your success too.

Okay so what are the best ways you can start utilizing your teacher more to get better grades?

Visit them during office hours
Asking them questions after class
Sending them emails

Visiting them during office hours: This is a great way to get some one on one time with your teacher. Think of it almost like having a free tutoring session with the person who will be making your tests! Thats pretty awesome! When you come to their office, make sure you have made a list of the questions and problems which are giving you the most trouble. Come with a specific set of questions and or problems to get help with. Your professor wants to help you and it will make it much easier if you come prepared. It can be anything from asking questions about the upcoming test and what will be on it to asking for help on a specific problem you don’t know how to solve.

Asking them questions after class: This is something you should be doing after every lecture if possible. You can’t spend too long asking questions because usually another class is coming in or the professor has some other obligation. But this is a great opportunity to ask one or two simple questions you had from lecture. Use this opportunity to help clarify anything that you found confusing during the class. This is important because it will save you time later from trying to figure it out on your own. Don’t leave lecture without trying to get some clarification on something that confused you. Remember, don’t be afraid to use your teachers to your fullest!

Sending them emails: This method is not as good as seeing them during office hours or asking them a question or two after class but it still can provide you a good opportunity to get some of your questions or problems answered. Obviously talking to your teacher in person will be more productive but it still can be very beneficial to get clarification through email. This can be useful for when you don’t have time to see them during office hours or ask them questions after class or especially if you have some pressing question that must be answered. I have sent my teachers plenty of emails and gotten very helpful responses.

Don’t be afraid to go see your teacher and ask them questions. This is what their job is and what you are paying for. Most teachers will be delighted that you are so interested in what they teach and it will actually help build a relationship with them. Your teachers can be your number one resource. They are the ones making and grading your exams so who better to ask questions to? If you are consistent and motivated to learn they may even be willing to write a letter of recommendation for you. So go see your teacher during their office hours, ask them questions after class, or go send them an email! I hope this helped or was a friendly reminder!

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Sep 10 2016

How to get great recommendation letters for medical school

Pre-Med Guide: How to get great recommendation letters for medical school

One thing which is often underrated when it comes to getting accepted to medical school is the recommendation letter. Many pre-meds are too focused on maintaining that good GPA and getting a high MCAT score that they can sometimes forget the other aspects of application. A good recommendation letter can be the difference between you or someone else getting called up for an interview. Between applicants of similar GPA and MCAT, things like recommendation letters can be what make the difference. Just imagine if you are one of the people on the admission’s board for a medical school. You get two applicants who have almost identical GPA and MCAT, but one of them has a powerful recommendation letter that paints you in a great light. You will probably choose the one who has the powerful recommendation letter! In this article, we are going to go into: Who to get a recommendation letter from, how to ensure you get a good one, and how to ask.

What are the recommendation letter requirements for most medical schools?

Each medical school has its own requirements for letter of recommendation. So make sure you learn the specifics when it comes to who your recommendation letters should be from and how many you will need. Typically most medical schools want around 3-5 recommendation letters. These should normally come from a science professor, non-science professor, pre-med committee, and a physician. Make sure you check the requirements of the school you are applying to ahead of time for its recommendation letter requirements!

Who do you want recommendation letters from?

When it comes to recommendation letters, quality and diversity is everything. You have to check for the specifics for your school, but usually they want something like: two recommendation letters from science teachers, one from a non-science teacher, one from your pre-med advisor, and one from a physician. Each school has their own requirements. But in general these are the people you should be asking for a recommendation letter. Each can add something different they can say about you and help paint a better picture overall for the people reviewing your application. You want to make sure those who are going to ask for a letter of recommendation are knowledgeable about: The demands of medical school and the medical profession, and your unique characteristics and credentials that would make you a good fit for being a physician.

People you want recommendation letters from:

Physician
From a manager in a job or volunteer work related to school or medicine
Teacher(s) (Science teacher ideally)
Research Professor
Pre-med advisor (If your school has it)

How to ensure you get a good recommendation letter:

The most important part to getting a good recommendation letter is having a relationship with the person who is writing it. You want them to get to know you well and be able to have a lot to say about you. Let them know your dreams, aspirations, and how much getting into medical school means to you. You should have spent building a relationship with them for atleast a few months before asking for a recommendation letter. It is important that they have had enough time to get to know you and can say many great things about you. Before asking someone for a recommendation letter, ask yourself this. “If I ask them for a recommendation letter, would they be able to speak well about me personally? Do they have any personal examples that showcase well my characteristics and abilities?”

Specific tips:

Professor/Teacher: Spend extra time going to their office hours. Talk to them after class. Ask more questions in class. And obviously make good grades.

Physician: Get there early. Be prepared before shadowing. Ask many questions. Show your enthusiasm for learning. Try and get to know them more personally.

Job/Volunteer Manager: Make sure you overperform at your job. Others have good things to say about you. Good feedback from co-workers or customers.

The specific characteristics that most medical schools want to see in an applicant:

adaptability
critical thinking
integrity
logical reasoning
oral communication skills
personal maturity
reliability
self-discipline
work habits
compassion
cultural competence
intellectual curiosity
motivation for medicine
persistence
professionalism
resilience
teamwork

Make sure to consider these characteristics when interacting with your potential letter writers!

The key to a great recommendation letter is finding someone who can speak on behalf of you personally and can emphasize your individual characteristics that make you shine. Start building relationships with those you might want a recommendation letter from now!

I hope this helps! Please share this article with a fellow pre-med!

I hope you found this advice helpful! Tell us what you think by leaving a comment down below! For more pre-med tips and advice, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook, twitter, and pinterest!

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May 13 2016

How a Pre Med should spend summer to boost their medical school application

How a Pre Med should spend summer to boost their medical school application

While most students see the summer as an opportunity to relax and kick back, the pre-med should see it as an opportunity to boost their medical school application. Summer provides a great chance to boost your med school application and do things which can separate you from the average pre med. During the school year there isn’t always enough time to get done all of the many things a pre med should do. Making good grades usually takes priority over volunteering, shadowing, and research. Thats the great thing about summer, it gives the busy pre med time to get things done. And over the course of 3 to 4 summers , you can easily do everything you need to build up an amazing application. So what should you be doing during your precious summer if you want to get into medical school?

Six ways you can productively spend your summer to help make an awesome med school application:

Do a lot of volunteering
Shadow a physician
Get medical experience
Do research
Study for MCAT
Take summer classes

Do a lot of volunteering: One of the most underrated aspects of medical school applications is how many volunteering hours you have done. This is actually a huge deal to whether you get accepted or not. Applicants who have great GPA and MCAT scores don’t get accepted because they don’t have enough volunteer hours. This is great news for those who have lower and less competitive GPA’s because it helps even the playing field. Use summer as an opportunity to rack up a huge amount of volunteer hours and help give yourself a big boost to your application. Click here for help finding volunteering opportunities.

Shadow a physician: Every pre-med knows that shadowing a physician is very important for having a good medical school application. It is often very difficult to find a physician to shadow and also just as difficult to find the time during the week to shadow a doctor. Often most doctors start work early in the morning and a round can last several hours, which might interfere with your classes. If you have a busy school schedule then you might not have time to shadow during the school week and summer becomes the only viable time to do it. (Find out some of the best ways to find a doctor to shadow)

Get medical experience: Even if you can’t shadow a physician, just getting experience in a medical environment is definitely better than none. Working in the hospital doing almost any job, whether that is just desk work still counts towards medical experience in the eyes of the medical school. If you are doing desk work try to have a proper ergonomic office chair so that you take care of your posture. Most importantly , medical colleges want to know you have been exposed to the medical environment. Summer is a great time to get experience in the medical field while also earning some money. Things like being a tech or an EMT can be very rewarding but also hard to get into.Search online for possible job opportunities near by that will look good on your application.

Do research: This is another thing you can do to help spice up your medical school application. While it is not necessary to do research to get into medical school it is always welcomed and looks good. This could be what separates you from the other applicant they are considering. You can do research for one of your professors at school or you can find summer research programs. Check here for help finding research programs.

Study for MCAT: This might not be for everyone since some of you may have already taken the MCAT but for those of you who haven’t, summer can provide a great opportunity to prepare for it. The MCAT covers a lot of material so summer is a great because it provides the opportunity to really focus on the MCAT. There are many great resources for studying for MCAT and prep books that can really help. If you have the MCAT ahead of you , don’t waste this opportunity! (I will be posting a thorough guide on how to prepare for MCAT soon!)

Take summer classes: Summer classes are great for two main reasons. First, they will help you graduate and move through your pre-med program faster. This is important because it allows you to become a doctor that much sooner but also it might make a difference when you take the MCAT or you apply for medical school. It could mean the difference between getting in one year or the next. Second, summer classes provide a great chance to boost your GPA. Taking a class during summer is usually a lot easier than taking it during the semester. This is because during the semester you have to focus on about 5 different classes, while in summer you only have to focus on one or two. This gives you much more time to study and not be overwhelmed by too much coursework. Taking a class during summer can help give you an edge in making an A.

These are my recommendations on how you should spend your summer if you want to boost your med school application. I don’t recommend trying to do everything in one summer, while you certainly can, if you just focus on one or two things from this list you will do yourself a great favor. I hope this helps!

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Apr 22 2016

Pre-Med 101: What is the best major for getting into medical school?

Pre-Med 101: What is the best major For getting into Medical school?

This is a common question that many new pre-meds have. What is the best major for getting into medical school? As mentioned in our other premed 101 article (Is there a premed major?) , you don’t need to major in any specific degree as long as you get the premed required classes done. But even though you don’t need a specific major to get accepted into medical school there still might be some things worth looking into before deciding what you want to major in. There isn’t a “best” major but there are pros and cons to the different types of majors you can take. So let’s take a look at that, and you can decide for yourself what the best major for YOU is!

Generally speaking there are two types of majors you can major in if you are a premed. Science major or non-science major. So I will discuss the benefits of both.

Science major:

Pros:

– Helps prepare you better for MCAT and the rigors of medical school

– Will give you a headstart in medical school

Cons:

– More difficult curriculum, can hurt your GPA

– There are many science majors applying to medical school

Non-science major:

Pros:

– You can take a major on something you are really interested in and enjoy
– Will be better for your GPA
– Shows well roundedness and helps make you more unique on your application

Cons:

– Won’t prepare you as well for MCAT or rigors of medical school

These are the general pros and cons associated with either being a science major or non science major when it comes to being a premed. Science majors are better trained for doing well on the MCAT and in medical school because of the rigor involved in a science curriculum. However that same difficulty involved in studying the sciences can make it harder to maintain that great GPA. But it will prepare you best for medical school. On the other hand taking a non-science major might be a bit easier academically and thus be good for your GPA. But also it will not prepare you as well for the rigors involved with medical school and taking the MCAT. That being said its also important for you to consider what you would enjoy studying. And if medical school doesn’t work out and you chose a science major even though you don’t actually like science, that would be a bad position to be in. So you also have to consider what happens if you don’t get into medical school. But that won’t happen because you got premed community here!

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Apr 18 2016

Pre-Med 101 : Is there a premed major?

Pre-Med 101: Is there a premed major?

Welcome to our Pre-Med 101 series! Here we will go over all the basics it means to be a premed , answer common questions, and debunk premed myths.

Todays question is : Is there a premed major?

This happens to be a common misconception about being a premed. Many people think that you have to major in “premed”. But actually the term premed simply refers to your intention to go to medical school, it doesn’t say anything about what undergraduate major you are pursuing. In fact you can major in anything and still be a pre-med! Being a pre-med does require you to take certain classes and take the MCAT (Medical College Admission Test). These are whats known as the general premed requirements because almost every medical school requires them for admission. No matter what major you are you must still fulfill all of the premed requirements before applying to medical school. So what are the general premed requirements?

English (2 semesters)
Biology (2 semesters)
General chemistry (2 semesters)
Organic chemistry (2 semesters)
Physics (2 semesters)

These are the courses you need to apply to medical school. However, some schools may also require you to take biochemistry, calculus, genetics, or some other class. But the classes mentioned above are standard for almost all medical schools.

You can be any major as long as you take those classes. And sometimes being a non science major can be beneficial to your medical school application. It helps make your application standout and shows diverse set of interests. Medical schools want applicants that are well rounded. On the other side of the coin, being a science major gives you an edge for the MCAT and might better prepare you for the rigors of medical school. Whats important to know is that you can be any major you want and still apply for medical school! Just make sure to take the required pre-med classes and complete the other aspects of the application (volunteering, shadowing, MCAT, extracurriculars, letters of recommendation, etc.).

I hope this helps! If you haven’t already click here to sign up for our free membership and download our e-book , “The Pre-Med Beginner’s Guide” and get our comprehensive list of medical school rankings! Sign up and download your free ebook now! We post new content regularly, so make sure to follow us on Facebook or Twitter to stay up to date! Thank you for reading! Check back later for more content to help you on your journey to medical school!