A Day in the Life of a Pre-Med Major

by Janine H.

I bet you are wondering what it is like to be a pre-med major in any college or university, Well I'm going to tell you what a day in the life of a pre-med major is. Just a disclaimer, not every single pre-med major’s day will flow like this. This is being told from my perspective and I'm going to give you the good, the bad, and everything in between.

Being a pre-med major is a major accomplishment. A typical pre-med major may start their day around 8:30-10am, depending on the time their classes begin. Whether you are a first year or not, you are taking very rigorous science classes as well as fulfilling science requirements to graduate. They may get breakfast if they have time before class, attend class and then study the material they learned from that class within the time they have before their next class. They might break for lunch before or after their second or third class. It is constant studying, for lack of a better use of words you essentially don’t have a social life. Not that you can’t have one, but you will definitely find yourself sacrificing your social life to be studying for an exam or catching up on some work. That is kind of how it goes.

Their day might not end until about 7-11pm due to the fact that a lot of the science classes come with labs that are as long as 5 hours and may go into the night (depending what time you schedule to take the class). It is very important as a pre-med major to make friends in your major because it makes it easier to feel like you aren’t the only one. You might be stuck understanding a specific concept and might have a friend understand it and explain it. In my opinion, that is the best way to learn as a pre-med. When[SH1] you are able to explain what you have learned to your peers, you are then able to identify whether or not you understand the material. Also, it is very important to go to TAs (teachers assistants). They are the students who have previously taken the class and can give you a better breakdown of the material and how to approach it.

In every university, there is a similar but not the same kind of academic path you should take as a pre-med major. They expect you to knock out all of the pre-requisites or “weed-out” courses.“Weed-out” courses are classes meant to test your ability to be in a rigorous science class. . Once you have managed to get through the class day, you may have other obligations like working a part-time job, research (because they push it down your throat that it is really important, and it is but not mandatory), being involved on campus, volunteering, etc. You need to be incorporating these activities into your daily life while still trying to keep up with all the school work. [SH1] At least I know my day doesn’t actually seem to ever end. It just goes into the next day and I’m basically continuing on from the previous day.

I will say that being a pre-med major comes with motivation and a drive to do your best. It is not an easy major to be in because it comes with its ups and downs, but you as a student have to realize whether or not that the work being put in is worth it. I am assuming that most pre-med majors want to pursue a career in the medical field. Everything you do as an undergrad is to prepare you to take the MCAT and then eventually you’re off to medical school.

As you can see, a day in the life of a pre-med is not easy, but it is fulfilling if it is something you truly want to do and put in the work to succeed in. It is an accomplishment all on its own when you are accepted as a pre-med major as an undergrad. I hope this finds pre-med majors well and good luck in your endeavors.