If you are, or have ever been a pre-med student, or even if you have ever talked to a pre-med student about applying to medical school you have heard of the term: “pre-med checklist.” But... in case you have not heard of this term before, it is the term used to refer to all the things pre-med students “have to do” to get accepted to medical school.
Items on the list include (but are not limited to) ...
Taking all the pre-requisite courses needed
Shadowing
Clinical experience
Volunteering (clinical and nonclinical)
Extracurriculars
Research
Work experience (clinical and nonclinical)
MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test)
Leadership experience
While the check list does exist, a lot of people misunderstand it and therefore misuse it in the process. What I mean by saying it is misused and misunderstood is that many people put so much emphasis on checking every item off.
Some items like the MCAT and pre-requisite courses are non-negotiable. Meaning it is impossible to get into medical school without taking the MCAT and the pre-requisite courses (and performing well on them.) But other items like research, clinical volunteering, or hobbies have a little more wiggle room. This is where things get tricky... and where a lot of people get consumed or lost in the list.
Please keep in mind that I have not yet begun applying to medical school and for that reason I recommend you take everything I say with a grain of salt. However, I have spoken with many medical students, my pre-med advisor, and doctors I have shadowed about the “check list” completion mentality and the pros and cons associated with it.
From my conversations and my brief time as a pre-med I have learned that it is important to be yourself. I have seen how important it is to stick to things that will
1) reflect who you are as a person
2) reflect what things you love and are passionate about
and
3) are things that will add strength to your application.
It is important for your mental health and for your application to have things on there you genuinely care about and that you have a genuine passion for. While being in every organization at your campus shows you can juggle numerous things at a time, it doesn’t give medical schools the clearest representation of what you are genuinely passionate about. How are they supposed to know if any of the things on your aaplication truly matter to you if it looks like you just picked everything offered at your university? Medical schools need and want to know who you are... not who you think they want you to be.
For example, when I apply this coming May, my application will not have any research experience on it (unless I find an opportunity of interest before then.) This is not because I am uninterested in research as a whole but rather, I have not found any research at my university that relates to a topic and focus I am intrigued to learn about. While I could sign up for the research being offered regardless of the focus and get that checked off my list, I would not be able to write about the experience on my application with the same passion I will write about my shadowing, volunteering, and hobbies with. The experience would not be a genuine and authentic representation of who I am.
Another example is clinical volunteering versus nonclinical volunteering. Both are amazing and I do not believe that one is necessarily greater or more valuable than the other. When it comes to volunteering it is important that you have a love and passion for the organization you are volunteering for. Do not go volunteer at your local food bank if you would rather be volunteering at your hospital, and vice versa. Volunteer at places and with organizations that you have a personal connection to and that you want to advocate for. Erase the thought of “what would medical schools like me to do” and “where would medical schools like me to volunteer.” With those thoughts eliminated from your mind go out and do things that you enjoy, pour your love into activities that make you feel fulfilled, spend your time at places that add something to your life and let medical school admission committees see that genuine love and passion.
If I were to do things simply to have them checked off the “pre-med” checklist my application would not depict who I am, what I enjoy, what I am passionate about, or what my skills are.
Be yourself and show your passion through your actions (not through your ability to check items off a list.)
If you read all the way to the end; thank you.
I love you all and am forever grateful for the support,
Chasadea
Don’t forget to follow me over on Instagram @chasadea.premed and on Tik Tok @chasadea
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