I am a rising sophomore at one of the most competitive schools in the nation, and I hope to go to medical school in the future. I sort of lost focus in the second semester of my freshman year. I fell for a girl who wasn't that into me, could not concentrate as well as I did in the first semester, and had a terrible roommate situation, and so on. Next semester, I will resist all sorts of temptation and just focus on my work. I will put social life aside. I plan on doing many things: studying my butt off, getting involved in an undergrad research project, being a TA for general chem, becoming a member of this student organization called Community Health Advocacy Program, and working out, which is like my only way of dealing with stress. These are things I want to and must do. However, I am not so sure if i am capable of balancing out my time for all of those activities. The life of a pre-med is indeed tough. Please give me some tips on how to distribute/manage my time.
Answer:
Indeed it is not easy but it's not an impossible to do. I've been there. Take time off when you can and trust me you'll have the time and enjoy yourself. Study, research repeat may get you into to med school but results in a crappy doctor. Try to have other experiences and do what you enjoy and have a passion for...make yourself unique and different. Don't think XYZ will look good I should do it, believe me there is not a set of magic recipe to get into med school.
I've interviewed dozens of applicants to med school and I've recommend many types of people from the Art History major who spent two years with the Peace Core to the Engineer who's been in the industry for a few years to the kid straight out of undergrad.
All the ones I've recommend have had genuine enthusiasm in the stuff that they did. Like if you tell me you did research or volunteer or whatever, ok that's fine...I follow it up by why did you do it. That answer for me usually determines the positive or negative recommendation, if I get the sense from a BS answer that it was just an application builder, boom instant negative. But if someone comes back with genuine excitement or passion about the experiences that they had and how it taught them or it affected them in someway in any way, instant positive. People who experience life are the ones I recommend and not simply someone who does things to be the "ideal pre-med"
As for your specific schedule, research, TA, joining the Advocacy program are all fine things to do but ask yourself why do I want to do this. If you view them as learning experiences to build you as a person then do it, if you're doing it to impress some future admission committee, don't do it, do something else.
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