dear freshmen,
ADVICE TO INCOMING FRESHMEN: THOUGHTS IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER EDITION
Go to parties.
Don’t be a fucking moron and go to parties the night before an exam.
College is harder than highschool. Picture highschool, then multiply it by ten.
Keep track of your shit. It makes the entire applying/interviewing process so much easier if you bullet what you did when you did it. Journaling makes it much easier to track your thought process over the 4+ years of undergrad, and would really help with the anecdotal side of your written application and interviews.
Make an effort to know your professors early and try to get lab experience.
Try to get out and meet people. Academic ability will only get you so far. You have to learn how to work and play with other people to succeed in the future.
Keep up to date with the material. Keep up to date with the material. And keep up to date with the material. ARE YOU LISTENING? KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THE MATERIAL.
You are going to be putting your nose to the grindstone for a long time. Expect to put in about ~80 hours per week (+/- 20 hours) depending on what classes and ECs that you decide to take. Some people will do much less than you do and still do much better academically. Don’t give a fuck about people doing less than you and getting the same results, but do try to figure out what works for YOU.
Get started early on extracurriculars (but don’t overdo it) and don't spend more than two years on one activity (unless you absolutely love it or if it’s research). This way you can try out different things and add more to your application.
Burnout sucks. If you hit it your GPA will suffer. I know because I was there. It is easy to get caught up in the whole pre-med thing and loose sight of why you are doing this in the first place. Remember to budget some fun time even if it is only three hours per week on Saturday night to get totally fucked. Ok that was strong language but you get the idea.
If you don't do it already, start reading. Preferably often, and something challenging. But don't just skim, actually understand what is being said, think it though and chew on it. You will be much better prepared for verbal on the MCAT.
Have a study schedule.
Study smart. Hours are not a good indicator of level of knowledge. Find what method works good for you - flash cards, writing, white boards, recording lectures etc.
Build connections.
Work hard – repetition is how you perfect yourself.
Don't look at pre-med courses as "weed-out" courses. Think of them as tests of your ability to adapt to a college work-load and other academic challenges down the road. Then when you do well in the class, you can be like FUCK Y’ALL HAHAHA.
Find someone to snuggle with. YMMV.
Make sure you take some time out from a healthy balance of studying and having fun to explore the extra curricular options you have available to you i.e. sports, pole dancing, etc.
Shadow some doctors. Make sure medicine is right for you. Or you’ll fucking hate med school and your career. I know some doctors who hate their lives.
Don't overload yourself course-wise during your freshman year. Or any year for that matter.
I wish I had known how to cope with small failures.
Adapt, adapt, adapt.
Try to study smart, not hard. Find the professors who grade the easiest and take them, but don't let that be an excuse to blow off the material.
Keep in mind where you get your advice from. A lot of people are going to tell you conflicting things, even doctors tell patients different things. Try to separate out people who are giving you an informed opinion from an uninformed one. Take even what I say with a grain of salt.
On that note, a good pre-med adviser is worth her weight in gold, but a bad one can sink you. In life in general, I try now after being burned a bunch of times to ask a lot of different people what I should do. This is to try to see what the general consensus is, but remember that the final decision on anything is yours alone.
Be fucking fearless. You’re a grown adult now. You want something? It is up to you and figure out a way to get it. Don’t be intimidated.
Most importantly - make friends, drink, and have fun. Despite all the utterly stupid bullshit, I miss college a lot and wish I could go back again.
As always, feel free to friend or follow me to see what sort of health/medicine/tech stuff i read (and I read a lot).
Love,
Andy
Go to parties.
Don’t be a fucking moron and go to parties the night before an exam.
College is harder than highschool. Picture highschool, then multiply it by ten.
Keep track of your shit. It makes the entire applying/interviewing process so much easier if you bullet what you did when you did it. Journaling makes it much easier to track your thought process over the 4+ years of undergrad, and would really help with the anecdotal side of your written application and interviews.
Make an effort to know your professors early and try to get lab experience.
Try to get out and meet people. Academic ability will only get you so far. You have to learn how to work and play with other people to succeed in the future.
Keep up to date with the material. Keep up to date with the material. And keep up to date with the material. ARE YOU LISTENING? KEEP UP TO DATE WITH THE MATERIAL.
You are going to be putting your nose to the grindstone for a long time. Expect to put in about ~80 hours per week (+/- 20 hours) depending on what classes and ECs that you decide to take. Some people will do much less than you do and still do much better academically. Don’t give a fuck about people doing less than you and getting the same results, but do try to figure out what works for YOU.
Get started early on extracurriculars (but don’t overdo it) and don't spend more than two years on one activity (unless you absolutely love it or if it’s research). This way you can try out different things and add more to your application.
Burnout sucks. If you hit it your GPA will suffer. I know because I was there. It is easy to get caught up in the whole pre-med thing and loose sight of why you are doing this in the first place. Remember to budget some fun time even if it is only three hours per week on Saturday night to get totally fucked. Ok that was strong language but you get the idea.
If you don't do it already, start reading. Preferably often, and something challenging. But don't just skim, actually understand what is being said, think it though and chew on it. You will be much better prepared for verbal on the MCAT.
Have a study schedule.
Study smart. Hours are not a good indicator of level of knowledge. Find what method works good for you - flash cards, writing, white boards, recording lectures etc.
Build connections.
Work hard – repetition is how you perfect yourself.
Don't look at pre-med courses as "weed-out" courses. Think of them as tests of your ability to adapt to a college work-load and other academic challenges down the road. Then when you do well in the class, you can be like FUCK Y’ALL HAHAHA.
Find someone to snuggle with. YMMV.
Make sure you take some time out from a healthy balance of studying and having fun to explore the extra curricular options you have available to you i.e. sports, pole dancing, etc.
Shadow some doctors. Make sure medicine is right for you. Or you’ll fucking hate med school and your career. I know some doctors who hate their lives.
Don't overload yourself course-wise during your freshman year. Or any year for that matter.
I wish I had known how to cope with small failures.
Adapt, adapt, adapt.
Try to study smart, not hard. Find the professors who grade the easiest and take them, but don't let that be an excuse to blow off the material.
Keep in mind where you get your advice from. A lot of people are going to tell you conflicting things, even doctors tell patients different things. Try to separate out people who are giving you an informed opinion from an uninformed one. Take even what I say with a grain of salt.
On that note, a good pre-med adviser is worth her weight in gold, but a bad one can sink you. In life in general, I try now after being burned a bunch of times to ask a lot of different people what I should do. This is to try to see what the general consensus is, but remember that the final decision on anything is yours alone.
Be fucking fearless. You’re a grown adult now. You want something? It is up to you and figure out a way to get it. Don’t be intimidated.
Most importantly - make friends, drink, and have fun. Despite all the utterly stupid bullshit, I miss college a lot and wish I could go back again.
As always, feel free to friend or follow me to see what sort of health/medicine/tech stuff i read (and I read a lot).
Love,
Andy