How to Make Your First Year as a Premed a Success

Here you are: you have your color coded notebooks, your “Keep Calm and Study” wall art, your Twin XL bed is perfectly made, your class schedule is on your whiteboard. Your freshman year of college has started and you feel like you have no clue what you are doing. On top of that, you are a premed student and have the giant mountain that is medical school in the distance.

I’ve been there. I know how you feel and I know what you need to make your freshman year a success.

Your Major/Minor

If you are like me, you knew you wanted to be a doctor from a young age so you went into college being “premed.” First things first, you have to declare a major and maybe a minor. At my college, to be “premed,” you have an emphasis in healthcare science which includes most, if not all, of the classes medical schools require.

I chose to major in biology because I enjoy biology and because it included many classes that I needed to take for medical school. However, you do not have to have a science major! Major in what you are interested in! If you do want a science major, do what I did and choose a non-science minor!

Because of my interest in politics, I chose to minor in political science. Choosing a non-science minor that you are interested in not only benefits you because you get to learn about what interests you, but it also sets you apart for medical school applications. When I filled out my applications, I talked about my involvement in politics and being a political science minor!

Your Advisor

As a freshman, you are likely to have been assigned a general advisor to help you pick your classes and to give you general academic advice. While I’m sure these advisors are well-trained, you need to talk to your school’s premed or pre-health advisor.

I went to my premed advisor within the first month of school and she helped me plan out my entire college career. We went over what classes I needed to take and when, when to study for the MCAT, and various volunteer and extracurricular opportunities there were around campus and the city.

Make friends with your premed advisor as soon as you can! I formed a great relationship with mine, took two of her classes, and she wrote me, what I am sure is a very strong, letter of recommendation.

If your school does not have a premed advisor, don’t panic! Talk to your general advisor and don’t be afraid to reach out to people online {like me!} because there is always someone willing to help you out.

Your Study Habits

It’s no secret that the premed curriculum is difficult. Organic chemistry and biochemistry are no joke! Try to evaluate your study habits early in your first year. Classes are still a little easy so find study methods that work for you and don’t be afraid to try new methods! Head over to my post to read about how I revamped my study habits!

My school offered a 1 credit class called Comprehensive Study Skills that I took my first semester. Look and see if your school offers a class like that! Studying in college is different than studying in high school, so your study methods that may have worked in high school, may not work in college.

Using the right study materials is important too! Head on over to my Amazon Storefront and check out my study essentials. Ordering through my link gives me some extra cash {med school is expensive!} at no extra cost to you!

Your Diary

Your time in college will fly by {take it from me} but it will still be jam packed with lots of experiences. Start a premed diary your freshman year so you don’t forget the experiences you have. This will be a very useful resource as you write your personal statement, extracurricular descriptions, and secondary essays.

In my diary, I wrote about the patients I encountered while volunteering and working, I also took notes in it while shadowing physicians. Later on, I added the list of schools I applied to, my letter of recommendation writers, the prompts for each school’s secondary applications, and which schools I have heard back from.

To make it even easier, I created this premed diary to help you keep track of everything in college!

Your People

Do not forget to have fun in college and surround yourself with people you like. Having friends, both premed and non-premed, will be invaluable to you. I know it is easy to lock yourself away in your dorm room and study acid-base reactions for the tenth time that week, but the friends you make in college will be your lifelong friends.

The week before I graduated, my dad asked me one regret I had about college. I told him that my main regret was not making more friends who were in my major. These people know what you are going through, they can help you study or just be there for you to vent to. Find your people.

I know starting college is scary and you want to succeed so bad. Just remember to work hard, set aside time for friends, and focus on your end goal. If you know what you need to do, you will able to make your freshman year a success!

As always, feel free to comment or DM me at @medicineandmoscato with any and all of your premed questions! Click the share button below to share with your friends!