Tips for surviving as a pre-med in a challenging undergraduate program?

[deleted822674]

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Hi All!

I'm currently a freshman at UC Berkeley planning to major in either Public Health or Economics. I'm doing pretty well as far as academics go for now. However, with the amount of work that I've been doing everyday, I've found it hard to find extracurricular activities that can fit into my schedule. I think this may be due to the problem sets and weekly essays that I've been getting from my classes as they all are introductory courses. I would really appreciate it if I could get some tips on how to succeed as a pre-med at a relatively competitive undergrad institution. I'm mainly struggling with finding extracurricular that fit into my schedule and also being efficient in my work after going through a couple hours of lecture.

Thanks!!! 🙂

 

[863168]

Berkeley is notorious for grade deflation. I would honestly invest solid time into just academics so you can get your own flow down and also to create a process such as a scheduler or planner that is efficient for you. You can always add EC's later on in the process, but you can't take away a bad grade because of poor time management.

 

[BabyDaddy]

I don't think my school was especially hard, but I think the general advice to focus on doing really well in classes is universally useful. Maybe after a couple semesters you can get into a good flow where you find time for other things to add to your CV. If your grades are low, it won't matter that you have ECs.

Good luck!

 

[CJhooper123]

I’m sure you’ve heard this, but time management is essential.

I attended a competitive undergrad and played a D1 sport. As a freshman I literally had no idea how to balance things. I continued working hard and staying focused - my tolerance for dealing with difficult pre med courses expanded. Once my tolerance expanded, I was capable of adding more extracurricular activities.

Things I wish I was better at as a freshman... 1) planning my semesters (e.g. looking at course syllabi and putting exams/projects/quizzes on a calendar). This helped me realize when I had time to for EC activities or hanging with friends
2) communicating the professors. Improved communication with professors significantly helped me prioritize my work and be more efficient. This can helpful when trying to find more time for EC’s

 

[BabyDaddy]

@CJhooper123 Good advice, congrats on getting accepted!

 

[CJhooper123]

@CJhooper123 Good advice, congrats on getting accepted!

Thank you!