- Joined
- Oct 8, 2007
- Messages
- 602
- Reaction score
- 5
Several articles have been written criticizing pre med students:
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/04/top-5-reasons-t.html
This wired article is probably the best example that I've come upon, and the discussion below it is really interesting.
For those who don't feel like clicking:
One of the themes that kept coming up in the discussion that followed is that the admissions process forces applicants to conform to these stereotypes by its over-reliance on grades, MCATs despite the insistence on being the nebulously-defined-but-terrifying "well-rounded."
Now that the 08 application season is finishing up and 09s are getting geared up to submit those primaries, I'm curious to know what you guys consider the worst aspects of the whole process - from deciding to be a doctor, preparing to apply (getting involved in ECs, trying to establish relationships to get good LORs, etc) to actually applying and (hopefully) interviewing and getting accepted. I'd like to get views from everyone, college freshmen to current med students to whoever else wants to chime in. I'll start:
3) The urge to not help other classmates.
Despite the fact that many premeds naturally consider themselves pretty altruistic and enjoy the satisfaction that comes from helping others, I sometimes found myself wondering if I really should be explaining in such detail that organic chemistry concept that I understood but my classmate didn't. I tried my best to ignore this, but it was always in the back of my mind.
2) The urge to stretch yourself too thin.
When you enter college, you're told that to get into med school, you need to have great grades, MCAT scores, research, and substantial volunteering and medical experience. For most of college I was interested in getting a PhD in neuroscience, so I was really into research. I noticed that a lot of premed students in my lab weren't fully engaged with the stuff that we were doing. When I decided that I wanted to go to med school, I started to fall into that same category. It just seemed less important and I tried less hard. I think this was because I was so busy focusing on other aspects of the application that I couldn't devote myself so fully anymore.
1) The cost.
It's been a trend in recent years to apply to greater than 10 schools, on average. I know someone who applied to 41 schools. This in turn probably pushes back the acceptances for everyone because adcoms have to sort through so many more applications. MCAT classes are almost required unless you have insane self-discipline. The cost of the MCAT itself is high. Flying to interviews. Doing a postbac if you need to. It's really pretty endless, and costs of getting in can easily exceed $3000.
I'm not saying that these problems have an easy fix or even a fix at all. They're just really, really unfortunate. So now, your thoughts.
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/04/top-5-reasons-t.html
This wired article is probably the best example that I've come upon, and the discussion below it is really interesting.
For those who don't feel like clicking:
5. They haggle with their teachers for extra points.
As a teaching assistant, I would have been rich if my pre-med students gave me a dime every time they nagged me for partial credit on questions that they had gotten completely wrong.
4. They use questionable tactics to get good grades.
Some of them may turn to study drugs like adderall, dexedrine, provigil, and ritalin. Others will beg upperclassmen for copies of old exams, which give them an unfair advantage over their classmates.
3. They horde leadership positions and then run organizations into the ground.
To pad their résumés, they run for the presidency of science clubs and volunteer organizations, and then fail to fulfill their responsibilities because they are too busy studying.
2. They game the system to get good grades.
By strategically dropping any class that is not going well and carefully picking courses taught by the easiest professors they ensure themselves a good grade point average.
1. They are not motivated by curiosity.
If they ask a question in class, it's often to find out what will be on an upcoming exam. Some of them volunteer to work in a lab on real research projects, but they don't give it their all because they have no passion for scientific inquiry -- it's just another line on their résumés.
One of the themes that kept coming up in the discussion that followed is that the admissions process forces applicants to conform to these stereotypes by its over-reliance on grades, MCATs despite the insistence on being the nebulously-defined-but-terrifying "well-rounded."
Now that the 08 application season is finishing up and 09s are getting geared up to submit those primaries, I'm curious to know what you guys consider the worst aspects of the whole process - from deciding to be a doctor, preparing to apply (getting involved in ECs, trying to establish relationships to get good LORs, etc) to actually applying and (hopefully) interviewing and getting accepted. I'd like to get views from everyone, college freshmen to current med students to whoever else wants to chime in. I'll start:
3) The urge to not help other classmates.
Despite the fact that many premeds naturally consider themselves pretty altruistic and enjoy the satisfaction that comes from helping others, I sometimes found myself wondering if I really should be explaining in such detail that organic chemistry concept that I understood but my classmate didn't. I tried my best to ignore this, but it was always in the back of my mind.
2) The urge to stretch yourself too thin.
When you enter college, you're told that to get into med school, you need to have great grades, MCAT scores, research, and substantial volunteering and medical experience. For most of college I was interested in getting a PhD in neuroscience, so I was really into research. I noticed that a lot of premed students in my lab weren't fully engaged with the stuff that we were doing. When I decided that I wanted to go to med school, I started to fall into that same category. It just seemed less important and I tried less hard. I think this was because I was so busy focusing on other aspects of the application that I couldn't devote myself so fully anymore.
1) The cost.
It's been a trend in recent years to apply to greater than 10 schools, on average. I know someone who applied to 41 schools. This in turn probably pushes back the acceptances for everyone because adcoms have to sort through so many more applications. MCAT classes are almost required unless you have insane self-discipline. The cost of the MCAT itself is high. Flying to interviews. Doing a postbac if you need to. It's really pretty endless, and costs of getting in can easily exceed $3000.
I'm not saying that these problems have an easy fix or even a fix at all. They're just really, really unfortunate. So now, your thoughts.