How to be premed and still enjoy college

medical school admissions premed

As a college first-year student aspiring to a career as a physician, I thought that if I was going to get into a good medical school, I needed to pursue a traditional science major and take all of the premed requirements as an undergraduate. However, after taking – and loving – my first-ever economics course, I decided that I would instead pursue a double major in economics and environmental studies and postpone the organic chemistry and physics requirements until after I graduated from college. To this day, I like to take sole credit for this decision, though here’s the truth: my doctor parents strongly encouraged me to pursue a non-science major as an undergraduate (parents take note: this was strongly endorsed by two physicians trained at Harvard – so they hopefully know something, right?). In the end it was one of the best decisions I have made!

My parents knew that I could take science courses after I graduated and would spend the rest of my life studying science if I became a doctor, but I would not get the chance to take “European Art and Architecture from 1400 to 1800” in medical school. (Though please let me know if you find a medical school offering art history courses like this one; I thoroughly enjoyed it.)

I am very lucky that my parents were strong advocates of my putting off the premed requirements, as it enabled me to take full advantage of the other courses and extracurricular pursuits that my college had to offer. Many of my friends did not have similar advice from their parents, and thus struggled through organic chemistry and physics as undergraduates –– to the detriment of their grade in the course, their science GPA when applying to medical school, their work in their other courses, and their enjoyment of their college life. Some even had to re-take the course after they graduated in order to improve their grade and GPA.

Thus, in order to be successful in your pre-courses, get a fully comprehensive education by taking courses in a wide range of subjects, and especially if you are a college athlete, like I was, or are involved in other time-intensive extracurricular activities, I strongly recommend that you consider other options for ways to fulfill your pre-medical requirements. Here are a few great options:

1. Full-Time Post-Baccalaureate Programs 

These programs often run for one year and enable you to take all of the courses required for medical school during that time. They also offer advising for medical school admissions and some may make your admission to the medical school with which they are affiliated more likely.

2. Part-Time Night Courses

Harvard Extension School and other programs in other cities, as well as several online, offer evening science courses. You can take one or more at a time several nights a week. At Harvard Extension School, for example, the premed courses are often taught by the same instructors as courses offered to Harvard undergraduates. This was the option I pursued and I was able to take classes at night while working a full-time job during the day. My employer even paid almost the entire cost of my courses, so I essentially got to take them for free!

3. Summer Academics

In several programs across the United States, you can take two semesters of general chemistry, biology, physics, or organic chemistry in a concentrated two-month period during the summer. You can either take these courses during one of the summers during college or a summer after college graduation.

Although you may worry that these programs may not be seen as favorably as the courses offered in your undergraduate institution, I have seen many friends go onto some of the highest ranked medical schools, including Harvard, from these programs. Plus, there are so many other fun things – interesting jobs, fun volunteering opportunities, and other activities that can make you a stronger medical school applicant – that you can do while taking courses after you graduate!

Comments

topicTopics
academics study skills MCAT medical school admissions SAT expository writing college admissions English MD/PhD admissions strategy writing LSAT GMAT GRE physics chemistry math biology graduate admissions academic advice ACT interview prep law school admissions test anxiety language learning premed MBA admissions career advice personal statements homework help AP exams creative writing MD study schedules test prep computer science Common Application summer activities history mathematics philosophy organic chemistry secondary applications economics supplements research 1L PSAT admissions coaching grammar law psychology statistics & probability legal studies ESL CARS SSAT covid-19 dental admissions logic games reading comprehension engineering USMLE calculus PhD admissions Spanish mentorship parents Latin biochemistry case coaching verbal reasoning DAT English literature STEM excel medical school political science skills AMCAS French Linguistics MBA coursework Tutoring Approaches academic integrity chinese letters of recommendation Anki DO Social Advocacy admissions advice algebra art history artificial intelligence astrophysics business cell biology classics diversity statement gap year genetics geometry kinematics linear algebra mechanical engineering mental health presentations quantitative reasoning study abroad technical interviews time management work and activities 2L DMD IB exams ISEE MD/PhD programs Sentence Correction adjusting to college algorithms amino acids analysis essay athletics business skills careers cold emails data science dental school finance first generation student functions graphing information sessions international students internships logic networking poetry resume revising science social sciences software engineering tech industry trigonometry writer's block 3L AAMC Academic Interest EMT FlexMed Fourier Series Greek Health Professional Shortage Area Italian Lagrange multipliers London MD vs PhD MMI Montessori National Health Service Corps Pythagorean Theorem Python Shakespeare Step 2 TMDSAS Taylor Series Truss Analysis Zoom acids and bases active learning architecture argumentative writing art art and design schools art portfolios bacteriology bibliographies biomedicine brain teaser campus visits cantonese capacitors capital markets central limit theorem centrifugal force chemical engineering chess chromatography class participation climate change clinical experience community service constitutional law consulting cover letters curriculum dementia demonstrated interest dimensional analysis distance learning econometrics electric engineering electricity and magnetism escape velocity evolution executive function freewriting genomics harmonics health policy history of medicine history of science hybrid vehicles hydrophobic effect ideal gas law immunology induction infinite institutional actions integrated reasoning intermolecular forces intern investing investment banking lab reports linear maps mandarin chinese matrices mba medical physics meiosis microeconomics mitosis mnemonics music music theory nervous system neurology neuroscience object-oriented programming office hours operating systems