Wrapping up your undergraduate years can be both an exciting and anxiety-provoking endeavor, especially if you are headed to medical school. As you enter your final semester, it is important to reflect upon your college career and to assess whether you have the means to succeed in medical school.
Though finishing up classes and enjoying your final semester may be your foremost priorities, you can mitigate your worries about graduating and moving on to medical school by completing these three tasks during your final months as an undergraduate.
Ensure you are on target to complete all of your academic requirements. Between juggling premedical courses, major-specific classes, and any general education courses you must take, it can be all too easy to overlook an academic requirement or two. At the start of your final semester, review the classes required to fulfill your major, apply to medical school and graduate from college.
[Read: Ask Your Premedical Adviser These 3 Questions Before Graduation.]
Ensure that you have fulfilled or are currently fulfilling the academic expectations in each of these categories by creating a checklist of required courses and carefully reviewing your transcript to verify that they all appear on your record. Also verify that you have enough credits to graduate by adding up your total number of credit hours.
If you are unsure as to whether you have fulfilled your requirements or believe there is an error on your academic record, speak with your dean or an academic adviser to verify your status and to correct any issues prior to registering for graduation.
Identify and strengthen those academic habits you will bring with you to medical school. Though studying in medical school differs substantially from studying in your undergraduate years, establishing strong fundamental academic habits now can ease your transition into the rigor of a medical school curriculum.
Use your final semester to hone the study practices that you will bring to medical school. For example, identify the time of day when you get your best work done, and know how long you can be productive before you need a break.
[Read: 3 Tasks to Complete as a First-Semester Premed Student.]
Try to cut down on passive study habits, like reading without taking notes, in favor of active habits, like answering questions. Finally, practice identifying key concepts and applying them to novel situations in preparation for exams, instead of relying on rote memory to get you through. Begin adapting your study habits to the medical school environment now, and plan to continue making adjustments when you start medical school.
Do something that you may not have time to do once you are in medical school. The last few months before you start medical school may be your last chance to pursue a major passion project without being weighed down by the demands of your medical education and career. You have likely spent many hours building your resume in anticipation of applying to medical school, and you may be tempted to add yet another activity to your list.
[Read: 2 Med School Essays That Admissions Officers Loved.]
But instead of occupying this time with the relentless pursuit of the perfect application, consider delving into an interest outside of what appears on your resume — and perhaps outside of the medical field entirely. In addition to being personally fulfilling, you may find that your few months spent, for example, as a worker on an organic farm or visiting all 50 states, add a unique angle to your medical school application, which can intrigue admissions committees.
Do not be afraid to build yourself in a way that operates outside of the typical premedical box.
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3 Tasks to Complete as a Last-Semester Premed Student originally appeared on usnews.com
