How should one approach his/her undergraduate education as to succeed in med school

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JoyKim456

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I am NOT asking what somebody should do to look good on the medical school app. That's bogus. It's useless because it is just a race for volunteer hours. I am actually asking what you wish you had known when entering undergrad that could have helped you in med school (regardless of whether adcoms care or not). For example, you can mention a certain class or job that gave you skills that helped you in medical school?

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finding something you're passionate about
 
Do something you really enjoy, but also something you will excel in. Also, be aware that you may not get in right after 4 years, so put yourself in a position to have a productive gap year (or few) if need-be, whether that means networking, having internships, taking classes that will give you skills marketable in the private sector or whatever.

I got stuck in a rut of doing things I thought would look good for apps/jobs: taking unnecessary and hard upper division classes, picking up minors, etc. I got stuck in the circlejerk mentality of my science major and I hoped to get things that would make me look good on paper. I would've been happier giving up a few of those hard science classes to learn another language while I was still in college, study abroad or spend time tutoring kids in my community, all things I gave up for research and science courses that in all reality I won't directly apply in my life after college.

You can check boxes and be miserable or you can plan ahead, follow your passions and still have all the dorky pre-med pre-reqs completed.
 
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Time mgt and good coping skills.

I am NOT asking what somebody should do to look good on the medical school app. That's bogus. It's useless because it is just a race for volunteer hours. I am actually asking what you wish you had known when entering undergrad that could have helped you in med school (regardless of whether adcoms care or not). For example, you can mention a certain class or job that gave you skills that helped you in medical school?
 
Work really hard and do what you love.
 
Start making good grades early. It's much harder to catch up than it is to stay ahead.
 
@Goro coping with what?

Issues and struggles in your life. If you are overwhelmed by school work or your environment, do you toughen it out and address those problems at their core or break down, run home, cry in the corner for 8 hours, then decide to drop out?
 
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Or instead of trying to stop and fix things, you bull ahead, despite not being able to do your best. This is NOT a virtue, it's a sign of wishful or magical thinking. Always better to take time off to heal.

Issues and struggles in your life. If you are overwhelmed by school work or your environment, do you toughen it out and address those problems at their core or break down, run home, cry in the corner for 8 hours, then decide to drop out?
 
I usually try to push through whilst cutting out things I don't need. If a class, for example, is bothering me, I'll cut down my work hours and EC activities for more effort in that class. If it is personal/emotional then I will toughen it out and not think about it. If it is terrible like death of a family member then I do not know what I would do because I've never had to deal with something like that (grace be to god),
 
Take some classes off the beaten path. Maybe there's a history topic you're really interested in or a course in religion or literature. See what you can do to take it. I've noticed some of my peers get way too locked into the whole premed thing and completely abandon other interests, but I think that's a big mistake.
 
I am NOT asking what somebody should do to look good on the medical school app. That's bogus. It's useless because it is just a race for volunteer hours. I am actually asking what you wish you had known when entering undergrad that could have helped you in med school (regardless of whether adcoms care or not). For example, you can mention a certain class or job that gave you skills that helped you in medical school?

Learn to stay caught up in class. Learn how to learn. Figure out what an adult learner is and become one.

Get a job. If possible, maybe even work between college and medical school.
 
Thank you very much. Were there any classes that you thought to yourself that it would be more productive if you had prior exposure? Physics, for example. Did you think high school physics did/would have helped? Were there subject (like molecular bio) that were more memory orientated that you could have self studied before the semester started and the head start would help?
 
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