How can I set myself up for success in med school and beyond?

[X0001234]

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I'm an incoming M1 at a T20, and am tentatively interested in a few hyper-competitive specialties (as well as some less competitive specialties—neurology and psychiatry both seem very attractive). I'm well-aware that my interests may change throughout the course of medical school, but I want to set myself up for success as early as possible if I do decide to apply to really competitive specialties in the future. I have a few questions:

Is there anything I can do over the next few months to create a strong foundation for pre-clinical courses? I've heard the pre-clinical curriculum is like drinking from a firehose, and I'm particularly worried considering I'll have been removed from science coursework for over two years by the time I matriculate (took two gap years).

How are extracurriculars valued in assessing residency applications? I feel my ECs were a huge aspect of my med school application, and I'm wondering if it's even possible to keep up the same level of extracurricular involvement while trying to learn high-volume preclinical content in M1/M2 and trying to honor clerkships in M2/M3.

Thanks in advance!

 

[LunaOri]

Learn to prep and cook easy meals, eat healthy foods, develop an exercise regimen, and get in the habit of getting 8 hours of sleep per night. A healthy lifestyle will help you more than pre-studying will.

 

[Sidus1011]

Whatever the most competitive specialty you are thinking of is, try to make connections early on in school to affiliated programs and try to get the ball rolling on research as early as possible. You can always pivot to a less competitive specialty if you find that you lose interest in the more competitive one. It's more difficult to do the inverse.

 

[Present-Row-4056]

If you are interested in competitive specialties, shadow them a bunch early on to see if the life/work is what you envision yourself doing in the future. If it is, build connections and start research as soon as you can.

 

[LunaOri]

The one “academic” thing I would suggest is to look at the format of the multiple choice “board style” questions (if your school uses these for exams). Many students haven’t taken a multiple choice exam (other than SAT and MCAT) since middle school—it’s an adjustment!

 

[Mr.Smile12]

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[Dr. Robb Bassett]

Hey! Congrats on the acceptance. Since you're thinking about competitive specialties, let me focus on the two things that'll actually move the needle for you.

Research Strategy (This is Make or Break)

Forget the "explore broadly" advice you'll hear everywhere. Pick ONE competitive specialty you're genuinely interested in and find research in that field by October. I've seen too many students spread themselves thin and end up with nothing meaningful to show.

IMHO, Here's what actually works: find a faculty member doing case reports or small studies where you can be first or second author. Two case reports with your name first beats being author #47 on some massive RCT that publishes in 2030. On the rare occasion that I see a med student who knocks out a couple of case reports before hitting the residency interview trail it can completely change their residency applications.

Don't waste time on "research experiences" where you're just data entry. Ask potential mentors upfront: "What's the timeline for publication and what would my role be?" If they can't give you specifics, move on.

Preclinical Prep Reality Check

Since you've been out of science for two years, spend August doing one thing: get comfortable with basic biochem pathways and cell bio. Not necessarily because the content matters a ton, but because it can rebuild your science stamina. Use something structured like Kaplan biochem review; don't try to wing it with YouTube videos.

The "firehose" thing is overblown if you're strategic. Most M1s waste time trying to learn everything perfectly. Your goal is honors/high pass, not perfect comprehension. Focus on high yield material from day one; use something like First Aid alongside your curriculum.

Bottom line: Be proactive about picking a research mentor with an active project or getting connected to a resident or attending with case reports to write up before the spring of M1year and get your first case report(s) submitted by summer between 2nd and 3rd year so that you can talk about them on rotations/interviews. Everything else is secondary noise.

 

[X0001234]

Hey! Congrats on the acceptance. Since you're thinking about competitive specialties, let me focus on the two things that'll actually move the needle for you.

Research Strategy (This is Make or Break)

Forget the "explore broadly" advice you'll hear everywhere. Pick ONE competitive specialty you're genuinely interested in and find research in that field by October. I've seen too many students spread themselves thin and end up with nothing meaningful to show.

IMHO, Here's what actually works: find a faculty member doing case reports or small studies where you can be first or second author. Two case reports with your name first beats being author #47 on some massive RCT that publishes in 2030. On the rare occasion that I see a med student who knocks out a couple of case reports before hitting the residency interview trail it can completely change their residency applications.

Don't waste time on "research experiences" where you're just data entry. Ask potential mentors upfront: "What's the timeline for publication and what would my role be?" If they can't give you specifics, move on.

Preclinical Prep Reality Check

Since you've been out of science for two years, spend August doing one thing: get comfortable with basic biochem pathways and cell bio. Not necessarily because the content matters a ton, but because it can rebuild your science stamina. Use something structured like Kaplan biochem review; don't try to wing it with YouTube videos.

The "firehose" thing is overblown if you're strategic. Most M1s waste time trying to learn everything perfectly. Your goal is honors/high pass, not perfect comprehension. Focus on high yield material from day one; use something like First Aid alongside your curriculum.

Bottom line: Be proactive about picking a research mentor with an active project or getting connected to a resident or attending with case reports to write up before the spring of M1year and get your first case report(s) submitted by summer between 2nd and 3rd year so that you can talk about them on rotations/interviews. Everything else is secondary noise.

Thank you for the detailed advice!

 

[Dr. Robb Bassett]

My pleasure, best of luck!