I’ve gotten a number of really great emails from high school and college students recently, asking for tips on getting into medical school, what my college major was, if I needed good math scores, if a person’s grades are good enough, and even “I have to go to medical school, it’s the only thing for me!” Here’s some advice, support, suggestions, tips, and tricks for what I can remember of the pre-med and med school process:

• If you’re in high school or college, and you haven’t shadowed a physician, or seen what a doctor does all day long, do it. Now.
  I had the most romanticized notion of medicine while I was in high school and part of college. It was exciting! It was helping people! It was… I don’t know what else! I don’t care if you come from a line of physicians including Hippocrates himself–you don’t know what doctors do until you go see for yourself. Hollywood conveniently edits out the paperwork, the phone calling, the mean patients, the mean nurses, and hell, the mean doctors. And all the people with bad breath. It doesn’t show the ass-kissing expected as a clinical student. It can’t possibly illustrate all the paperwork you have to complete. (I know, I said paperwork already.) It forgets the fear you feel that your patient’s life is in your hands. You don’t realize doctors spend all day long hanging around sick people, dealing with phlegm, urine, stool, and pus.
  So find all that stuff out for yourself! Shadow a doctor on his or her worst, most monotonous day. Not the best. Medicine is fun, it is exciting, it is helping people, but most of you considering medicine will love the best parts of medicine. The challenge is really to see if you feel like the best parts–that you sometimes maybe only get to experience once in a week–still outweigh the worst parts.
  If you find that medicine’s not right for you, that’s okay. That’s wonderful. Better finding out now than after you’re already a doctor, right? If you still want to be involved in health care, look into nursing, physician assistant programs, or nurse practitioner programs. All of these professions arguably contribute just as much (if not more) to patient care in many ways.
• Figure out everything else you could possibly see yourself doing, and either do it before medical school, or rule it out.
  I thought I might want to be a policy wonk; I was a social policy major in college. So I spent some time in college and before med school doing policy work. I’m also a big computer geek. But I realized that wasn’t for me, either. It came down to the fact that everyone has to do something to pay the bills, and if it’s between having the opportunity to practice medicine and something that’s maybe more steady or easy but more monotonous, medicine wins hands down. But you have to come to your own conclusions.
• Take some time off to learn about yourself!
  I spent all four of my college years living in the residence halls. I had no idea how to setup apartment utilities, how to cook, or even how to really live on my own, as a full-fledged adult. I couldn’t be happier that I took a year off before medical school to mature as a person before I started with the task of learning how to take care of other people. Get your life in order, do what you need or want to do. Want to see the world? Go now! Medical school doesn’t leave a whole lot of opportunities. I’d say at least half of my class took at least 1 year off before starting school. It’s a common trend. As long as you don’t spend your time solely playing video games in your parents’ basement, it’ll be worthwhile, and I think your application will be stronger.
• Be ready, willing, and prepared to sacrifice. A lot.
  I tell this anecdote way too many times, but it’s appropriate. We had a great speaker at our first day of med school orientation who said, “You know, you probably think that becoming a doctor is a really giving, honorable thing to do. And it is. But you forget how much it takes from the rest of your life–your significant other, your family, or your children.” Truer words have never been spoken. Learning medicine will at least suck up a decade of your life. It will make your schedule inflexible. It will strain your relationships. It will try your family’s and friends’ patience. You may miss out on friends’ weddings. Or ski trips. Or reunions. It will change the ways in which you think about and understand the world–for better and for worse. It will perhaps mean less time you get to spend with your child. The rewards are great, but, as you’ll be taught to understand: everything comes with a price.
• Do what you love.
  One of the most common questions I’ve been asked is “What should I major in?” My advice? Whatever keeps you up at night. Whatever makes your heart beat faster. Whatever excites you. Whatever you’re passionate about. Medical schools want to see that you care about something, that you’re dedicated to it, and that you don’t give it up. (You’ll need these skills to make it through medical school.) If biology is your thing, be a bio major. Do something really cool with it. But if you’re not head-over-heals for DNA and RNA polymerases, find something you care about, and dig in. Do research. Volunteer. Join or start a related student group. As long as it’s interesting, it’s fine. Don’t obsess about if it’s a “good” major for medical schools. If you can explain why you majored in it, why you care about it, (and perhaps how it may relate to medicine or health), you’re golden. I’d much rather have a classmate that’s passionate about 19th century politics than someone with a fleeting interest in cell biology.
• Are your grades good enough?
  Do your best in high school and college. A public school doesn’t preclude you from getting into medical school by any means, and a private school doesn’t guarantee admission, either. You need to have good grades in your major and your pre-med courses, but realize that except for several important concepts and ideas from chemistry, biology, and physics, they’re really testing your ability to learn, synthesize, and memorize. (I suck at math; I think Calc 2 is required? The most math you’ll need for medical school is simple algebra for renal physiology.) The MCAT is a test of confidence and time-management as much as it is knowledge. Remember: grades and scores are cutoffs; once you reach the cutoff, it’s the rest of your application and interview that make the difference.
• Again, make sure there’s nothing else you can see yourself doing besides medicine.
  Otherwise, you’ll spend medical school being jealous of your friends who are working in their 20s and partying and having fun and turning all adult while you’re still a student. (And you will still probably do this at some point, because med school just sometimes sucks like that.)

If you have other questions you’d like answered, please leave a comment, and I’ll consider writing up a Part 2.