Not enough college students vote. Just 48% of students voted in the 2016 presidential election. And just 43% of STEM majors voted. For midterm elections, like the one quickly approaching, the numbers are even worse. Only 18% of college students voted in the 2014 midterm election. Conversely, 70% of retirees vote. Do you think those retirees are accurately representing your interests?
Meet Clutch Prep’s 2018 High School Scholarship recipient, Olivia Gong! 18-year-old Olivia is from New Jersey’s Ridge High School and is headed to New York City’s Barnard College. She applied for the scholarship after hearing about it from her high school’s scholarship opportunities and we want to share her story with you!
This summer, Clutch Prep offered our first ever STEM Scholarship to one undergraduate student who shows passion and extraordinary commitment to the STEM field. We are proud to officially announce that Michelle, from Villanova University, is our first recipient of the $1,500 award.
After reading Michelle’s story about what motivates her to pursue a career in Emergency Medicine, the selection committee at Clutch Prep unanimously agreed to select her as the first recipient of our many scholarships. Let’s get to know her a little better!
This entry is based on students who have already completed their MCAT and leaves out any information regarding Pre-health committee specifics. For information on those topics (MCAT and/or Pre-health Committee), see our other entries.
So, you want to be a doctor? As a pre-med, envisioning that letter of acceptance to medical school is the stuff of daily fantasy. Some pre-meds are neurotic enough to know every single requirement for applying to medical school by the first week of their undergrad career (yes, I was this neurotic pre-med). You may know what med schools require of their applicants but are you aware of the entire application process? Applying to medical school is long and arduous, with seemingly endless deadlines and requirements. In order for you to be as knowledgeable and prepared as possible, I have prepared an outline of the entire process of applications. This outline should not be your only resource when you are going through your applications. It is, however, a great introduction into what you should be expecting in your near future.
In the course of advising students I’ve noticed many similar questions that are shared among pre-meds. I will continue to update this list so send any questions you may have.
Should I apply late or apply next year?
The most accurate answer for this question is, it depends. There are many factors that would guide me toward advising students to do one or the other but generally the safer route is to apply early next year. There are reasons for this.
Med school is no picnic, everyone knows that. What is especially hard about medical school is that it is filled with ~120 very intelligent, very driven people. Everybody in the room is used to being at the top of their class in undergraduate, used to being the smartest in the room, and many of them are in for a rude awakening. 30 of them will find themselves in a very unfamiliar situation, being at the bottom of the class.
So a lot of my students want to know what its like to be in Medical School, and I’ll admit I was curious when I was a pre-med too.
It’s intense. It is a LOT of work. My school has tests nearly every other week for the first two years so you’re constantly in study mode. You adjust though; you learn how to scrape together time here and there for personal relaxation, to run errands, or to get other stuff done. Time management really is key, along with staying motivated.
The age old question.
Which should a premed student focus on to be as competitive as possible? Is it better to have a stellar GPA, a killer MCAT, or extracurriculars so strong they make Mother Teresa look lazy?
So seeing as it is prime time interview season I think it’s time to talk about how to do well in interviews. This is a much-feared barrier in the med school application process for many people and it shouldn’t be.
So you were accepted to med school, are you going to lose the love of your life? Probably not; relationships don’t automatically get a death sentence the minute you start medical school. The relationship will definitely be put through the wringer, however.