As pre-med students, we go through a lot. When we're not studying for an upcoming exam or completing mountains of homework, we're working and trying to squeeze in volunteer hours every chance that we get. Our friends pity us, our parents love us, and we're just trying to stay sane. In honor of all our hard work and the crazy tendencies no one else seems to understand, I compiled a list of experiences that every pre-med student can relate to.
1. All of your friends ask you to diagnose them after describing their symptoms.
As much as you would love to tell your friends what's wrong with them and help them through this, you're not qualified to do that...yet.
2. Studying for finals is the most important and difficult time of your life.
While all of your friends are out enjoying the last few nights before school ends, you are up until 5 a.m. every night reviewing every note you've ever taken in each one of your classes and hoping that it will be enough to get you the grade you need.
3. When you don't get the grade you wanted, you question every decision you have ever made that got you to this point.
So despite all your studying, you didn't get the grade you had originally hoped for. It can be easy to spiral into despair and self doubt, but you have to keep your head up. It happens to everyone - just don't let the worry keep you from pursuing your dream.
4. Your peers don't understand why you would want to go to school for so long.
Sure the idea of another decade of schooling can seem intimidating to most people, but you don't mind. In fact, you love it because you know that your education is going to help a lot of people in the future.
5. Everyone (especially adults) want to dissuade you from attending medical school.
You are perfectly aware that you are taking on an insanely large amount of debt to achieve your dream - but that isn't going to stop you. You will study and work as much as you have to and you won't let anyone get in the way of that.
6. You overthink everything.
The majority of your education focuses on thinking analytically. As a result, you can't even eat a slice of cake without thinking about all of the potential consequences and effects that your favorite desert will have on your body.
8. You're insanely competitive.
Whether it's about grades, volunteer hours, or even a hot dog eating contest - you are willing to do whatever it takes to win. You know it's not healthy, but you just can't stop from comparing yourself to everyone around you.
9. You rely on your friends to help you stay sane when it all becomes too much. ![]()
While it may not be the healthiest option, there is nothing that great pizza and amazing friends can't fix - even your organic chemistry exam induced depression.
10. You love what you're learning and you're excited for the future.
Being a pre-med student is a lot of work (that's for sure). But as an aspiring doctor, you take pride in yourself and enjoy learning as a process. There's nothing more satisfying than crushing an exam and knowing that you're one step closer to becoming a real life super hero.
