If you plan to attend or are considering medical school, a college premedical adviser can help guide you through aspects of the admissions process such as MCAT preparation, course selection and clinical or research opportunities.
Prehealth advisers “provide access to a detailed collection of academic, professional and personal development resources that enhance students’ understanding of the health care field, application requirements and build skills essential for success in professional school and beyond,” Dr. Mary Beth Connell, director for prehealth advising at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., wrote in an email. “As students move through their four years, advisers can help when challenges arise, provide a sounding board when things feel overwhelming and help to identify and rectify any weaknesses before they apply.”
When you meet with an adviser, ask thoughtful questions, says Doug Young, professor of chemistry and lead premed adviser at William & Mary in Virginia.
That doesn’t necessarily mean asking, “What do I have to do?” he says. It’s more: “‘I’m really passionate about doing research, how can I get involved in that?’ That’s the kind of question I would rather have than, ‘What are X, Y and Z that I have to do to get into med school?'”
Here are topics to discuss with your premed adviser based on where you are in your premed journey.
[Read: 4 Types of Research Publications Premeds Can Work On]
Preparing to Apply to Med School
Before applying to med school, reflect and talk with your adviser about how to avoid just checking off application boxes, Young says.
“Premed students are sometimes type-A personalities and they really would like to check a box,” he says. “Med school application processes sometimes can really see through that. If you start engaging in things that you’re passionate about, that comes through instead of just doing something because you need to do it.”
Students can work with their adviser to determine what med schools may be the right fit for them, related classes to take to prepare, how to approach the interview process and ways to get clinical hours, experts say.
“?I do wish students realized earlier that the pathway to entering medical school has a very individualized timeline,” says Michelle Bulger, director of the Science & Mathematics Advising Resource Team at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. “The time that it takes them to get themselves into a position to be competitive for admission really comes down to what their needs are and their own circumstances and their strengths.”
[Read: How to Choose and Prioritize Extracurricular Activities as a Premed Student]
Accepted and Matriculating to Medical School
Many students stop working with a premed adviser once they get accepted into med school, but the adviser can still be a resource when deciding between multiple schools or comparing financial aid offers, experts say.
?Some students may wonder how to make med school financially possible, “especially in the current climate that we are in where there’s potentially limitations on federal student loans,” Young says. “That’s going to have an effect on your ability to take out those subsidized loans and now you’re going to have to go to more private. So it’s going make the process more expensive.”
Once an acceptance decision has been made, students can ask their adviser about any connections at the chosen school, such as alumni or administrators, says Dr. Millicent King Channell, vice dean of academic affairs and student services at Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine in New Jersey.
?”Most schools have a big-little program where they connect you with upperclassmen,” she says. “But all the better if in addition, you have other people from your institution who went to your school who are now at the new medical school that you’re going to (and your) premed adviser can do a warm handoff. That’s just more resources for you, and to connect you and have that continuity while you’re there and to know that people from your school are successful in that environment.”
[READ: Postbaccalaureate Premedical Programs: Everything You Need to Know]
Applying to Medical School After Graduation
Students don’t have to go to medical school directly after completing their bachelor’s degree. In fact, many wait. Of the 95 medical schools that reported enrollment data to U.S. News, an average of nearly 63% of their fall 2023 entering students were considered nontraditional — those who didn’t start medical school immediately after undergrad.
“?Some people are driven by inertia, and so keeping going is something they need to do,” Young says. “So they need to apply that summer of junior year before senior year. And some people are like, ‘I’ve been in an undergraduate place and I’m stressed out and I’m going to a really stressful place and I think I need a year to decompress and get experiences to really figure out if this is something that I want to do.'”
It’s important for students to ask their adviser about gap-year activities that would strengthen their application or which application components they should work on during that time, experts say.
While taking a gap year can be beneficial to fill any application gaps, such as clinical exposure, some experts warn against taking too much time off between college and medical school.
When you’re out of college for years, “schools start to wonder if you still have the academic ability to jump back in and be high level,” Channell says. “It’s kind of like not going to the gym for a while — are you still in shape?”
Another question to ask is if you will have access to your prehealth adviser for application support post-graduation, Connell says.
“Many students conclude their advising meetings saying how much more relaxed they feel after discussing their concerns and plans. So get to know your adviser and take advantage of their expertise and support.”
More from U.S. News
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Questions to Ask Your College Premedical Adviser Before Graduation originally appeared on usnews.com
