<p>Any opinions on what being a biology/pre-med student from first hand sources? Lifestyle, homework, etc.??? it would be great if i could hear from some college students</p>
<p>Well, I was pre-pharm, not pre-med and I majored in biochemistry, not biology (three classes away from majoring in biology, though), so I can give you a decent idea. From my experience, the pre-pharm coursework is almost exactly the same as pre-med plus pharm had some extra requirements (at least my school did), but I won’t go into that.</p>
<p>It’s really nothing to be worked up about. Biology coursework can take up a lot of time because of the labs involved and the nature of the material, but if you are driven and develop effective study habits and time management skills and you will be OK. Make sure you study to learn the material and not just regurgitate it for the exams. It will put you in a much better position for when you are preparing for the MCAT. I would recommend trying to become a tutor. It will help you understand the material better, retain it, and it will look good on your applications.</p>
<p>Med schools also look at what you do outside of academia. Volunteer, shadow, get involved in various ECs, develop relationships with people that will give you good LORs, do research, develop leadership skills, etc. I think this is what a lot of people get stuck on. They put time into studying, but forget about all of the other stuff. Students with a good MCAT score and GPA are a dime a dozen. In order to stand out to adcomms, you have to work at being “well-rounded.” A good place to start would be to see if your school has a pre-med club.</p>