Life of a Vandy Pre-Med
As a new blogger on Inside ‘Dores, I’m super excited to start writing about my experiences here at Vanderbilt! I thought I would begin my blogging career by talking about something that shapes my life at Vandy more than anything else: being a pre-med student.
There is no question that the pre-med coursework here is difficult. A slew of required math and science classes and other recommended classes along with tough professors and rigorous grading scales combine to make the life of a Vandy pre-med challenging to say the least. When I arrived here at the beginning of freshman year, I had more pre-med acquaintances than I could keep track of. The common saying was, “Half the freshmen here are Econ majors, and the other half are pre-meds (not true, but you get the idea).” But as time has passed, we have become fewer and farther between as students decide to pursue alternate paths.
If you want to be a pre-med student, though, don’t despair! Through dedication, careful planning, and good time management, it is entirely possible to successfully manage the pre-med course load, be involved on campus, and have a social life all at the same time. Being passionate about the medical professions helps too.
Vanderbilt is an amazing place to be a pre-med student. Along with our dedicated Health Professions Advisory Office, which provides general information and one-on-one assistance to pre-med students, research opportunities here abound. Finding a volunteer lab position, even for freshmen, is as easy as dropping in to your professors’ office hours and showing interest. By the way, most professors here are awesome people, so you should get to know them during office hours even if you’re not interested in research!
So if you are considering being a pre-med student, definitely give it a try! It is a rewarding academic path to follow, and the first step to earning that precious M.D.