Can any upperclassmen students give me advice about how to be a successful pre-med student. I know about the basics of getting a good GPA, recommendation, interview, MCAT score. But I am wondering about what ECs and electives look good. Should I branch out in my electives to look better or should I take a language or should I just stick to medicine related electives. Also, how valuable is volunteering abroad vs just studying abroad or taking a leadership in a club. What specifically should I do outside the classroom freshmen year or just a good website to help me. Thank you so much!
I am not an upperclassmen but I am in pre-medicine as well. I’ve come to learn that we should forget about looking good and simply do what we are truly passionate about. The problem with doing things to look good is that during the medical school interview they ask you what you learned about those experiences. So if you are not doing what you love it will show through. They expect clinical exposure and interest so it is best to do medical related activities but they also want to see a good balance. A lot of schools asks for your interests or hobbies so you should spend the effort on branching out and challenging yourself too. If you like a club and it isn’t related to medicine you should still pursue it. They want to see you have interests outside of a hospital.
In regards to volunteering, they do expect clinical exposure like at a hospital or a hospice. But you should still do volunteering outside of a medical setting in something that interests you. For example, I volunteer at a hospital and at a hospice but I also volunteer at the humane society because I love animals.
Also a pre-med, but the advice that I’ve gotten from people who are already in med school or are upperclassman all goes back to doing what you love. That includes volunteering, hobbies, and ECs.
You are expected to have clinical and non-clinical volunteering in addition to shadowing. Keep in mind that clinical doesn’t just mean hospital- it can mean hospice, Planned Parenthood, a local clinic, etc. Find a clinical activity that you’ll enjoy! Non-clinical, imo, is really an opportunity to do some things that you enjoy while giving back to the community. For your freshman year, just explore the clubs and opportunities that your college has to offer! Try not to limit yourself or pressure yourself to join medical related clubs.
For electives, seriously just pick what you like. If you’re interested in medically related electives like public health or something, go for it! But if you’re not really that interested, the 4 years you have at college are the best time to explore other interests (art, music, foreign language, history, literature, whatever you like!)
Leadership is very important, but keep in mind that leadership can be found elsewhere even if you’re not in an official position. I’ve heard volunteering abroad experiences (as in those 2-week trips) are somewhat considered to be “voluntourism”, so they are most likely not heavily valued on applications. Study abroad is great if that’s truly something you want to do.
Edit: SDN, otherwise known as student doctor network is a good forum to ask pre-med/application questions later on. I wouldn’t really recommend going on there in your freshman year, you’re just going to psyche yourself out. However, later, it’s good to check it out- there are several users on there who are legit admissions officers and can offer accurate/realistic advice and insight.
Thank you so much! 
Check out the pre med years podcast!
The absolute most crucial thing you can do is make sure you protect your GPA. Many premeds never recover from a bad freshman year.
As a premed, anything less than a B Freshman year means Med school is getting away from you. You WILL suffer in orgo and probably in a class or two you haven’t planned on, so you need as high a GPA freshman year as you can.
That means knowing the deadline for withdrawing without the w on your transcript, the w deadline, and calculating your odds of getting at least a B in the class if you get an A- in the final (never calculate ‘if I get an A’ because the odds aren’t worth the bet.) Don’t hesitate to drop - you have to stay above 12 credits, so it means you should always take 15-16 credits in case you need to drop a class.
Don’t think things will get better ‘if’. Things usually become harder, not easier, as the semester goes. You can turn things around up to a certain point.
Being premed means withstanding the pressure of having to be top 20% in everything.
If by midterm you’re not getting a B in a class you’re already putting your GPA at risk. Many freshmen hang on to magical thinking that if they just do x, they’ll get an A and they’ll get the grade they want. It doesn’t work like that. Know how to calculate your grade and its projections.
You’ll likely have a class suxhvas 'freshman seminar for future biology majors" or 'college methods ’ … A one credit classes about studying and living in college. It’s an easy class. Take it for the gift it is, no matter how ridiculous it may sound to you at times, go to class and do what you’re told. It’s designed to be easy, so that freshmen who follow instructions have at least one A on their transcript. Don’t waste that easy A. There won’t be many of them.
Don’t pile up bio, Chem, and physics all at once. Start with only one from bio or chemistry. Add another one second semester.
It’d make your first year something like
Calc1, bio1+ lab, English, sociology, foreign language
Biostatistics (or calculus 2 depending on the university and your major) , bio2+Lab, chemistry 1+lab, psychology, foreign language.
This is applicable to any university for pre-med:
https://www.amherst.edu/campuslife/careers/act/gradstudy/health/guide