Hello incoming Blue Jays. My name is Joseph Rainbolt, and I recently finished my freshman year as a pre-med student here at Hopkins. I endured my fair share of failures in my first year. Hopkins was new and Hopkins was hard, but looking back, I emerged from my freshman year with a lot of success, and there’s no doubt that with some perseverance you will, too. This article is my very best attempt to transfer everything I learned to you so that you can learn from my mistakes and get off to a great start on your pre-med journey.
Run your own race.
If I could give one piece of advice to an incoming freshman, it would be this: You need to run your own race. It is so easy to fall into the trap of comparison. Everyone at Hopkins got here because they are go-getters. From the moment you are on campus, many of your peers are going to be rushing to get ahead. There’s nothing wrong with that at all; however, remember that everyone around you has different goals.
Your peers will have different majors, different career aspirations and different timelines than you. And that’s okay. The best thing you can do is focus on your goals.
During your freshman year, I would recommend becoming as familiar as you can with the pre-med process and incorporating the pre-med requirements into your goals. You should understand that you will need volunteer hours, clinical hours, shadowing hours and, likely, research hours. You should understand the GPA and MCAT requirements for medical school and be aware of how crucial they are for applicants. I would highly recommend reading the pre-med guide created by Pre-Professional Advising. In just a few pages it does a great job of laying out how the pre-med process works.
Keep in mind that you have four years — if not more — to accomplish all of the pre-med requirements. In that vein, I would personally recommend taking a semester to get your feet under you and learn the rhythm of college classes before taking on a bunch of extracurriculars.
Say “Yes.”
Your freshman year is the time to try new things. This goes for all aspects of life. Say yes to that invitation, try that weird club, take that unique class. Your first year is the perfect time to broaden your horizons.
It is easy to let being pre-med become all-consuming. There’s always more that you could be doing, but finding balance is the key — not just for yourself but also for medical school. Medical schools want students with individuality and passion, so find your calling and have fun with it. Early on this fall, there will be a student involvement fair. I would highly recommend taking the time to cruise the aisles and join clubs that interest you. Not all of them will stick, but try several and commit to the ones you enjoy.
You are unique, so go play that sport, join that dance team, sing a capella, rock climb — whatever it is that you love. Go try something crazy you never thought you would like. Even if you hate it, you will probably have a funny story to tell. You’re in college! Do your work, but have fun along the way!
You will fail a test. It will be okay.
I got a 53% on the first midterm I ever took at Hopkins. The test was in Introductory Chemistry 1, and had an 87% average. I couldn’t have felt any dumber than I did after that test. However, I recovered and ended up getting a great grade in the class.
You are going to fail a test, and I promise that it will be all right. Your dreams of being a doctor do not end when you get a bad score on a physics exam. Take those failures as they come and use them to evaluate how you prepared. Adjust your study methods and find what works for you. Also, understand that sometimes it’s just not your day.
This advice goes beyond just academics. Being in a new place is hard. You’re going to have to make new friends, adjust to a new schedule and adapt to being away from your family. Go easy on yourself and understand that there will be growing pains, but in the end, it will work out.
I’ll finish with one last word of encouragement. Everyone here is rooting for you. It won’t always feel that way, but your peers, your professors, your advisor and others all want you to succeed. Do not be afraid to ask for help! And when you face challenges or doubts, keep pushing forward because you are capable of more than you know. You got this!
Joseph Rainbolt is a sophomore from Jacksonville, Fla. majoring in Public Health and Chemistry. He is a Sports Editor for The News-Letter.
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