The Path to Medical School

Looking back, I’m glad I decided to come straight from undergrad. I spent the summer before coming to WashU School of Medicine just relaxing and spending time with friends and family, which helped me recharge before starting medical school. Even though I did need to develop some new study habits once school started, it was easy for me to jump back into classes because I didn’t have too long of a break. Coming in, I was nervous that I would be one of the few people who didn’t take any gap years, but I’ve found that there are a good number of people in my class who also decided to come straight through. Not to mention, once you are here, no one really pays attention to whether you have taken a gap year or not. In addition, WashU School of Medicine has several dual-degree programs and opportunities to do a funded research year, so if you are like me and maybe think you might want a bit more time to explore, there are definitely plenty of options!

Being a medical student after another career outside of health care is awesome! I was worried about feeling out of place in class and clinic, but the reality couldn’t have been further from the truth. Having navigated life as an independent adult has provided me with a unique perspective on the types of considerations our patients may have to weigh out and I can share those with my classmates. The experience of being in medical school feels special, even in the more mundane aspects, precisely because it is what I was willing to sacrifice the security of a prior career for.

I wanted to acknowledge and normalize the feelings of imposter syndrome that some students might feel coming from a “non-Ivy League” or institution that is not as highly ranked as many of my peers. I remember coming to WashU’s Second look weekend and feeling incredibly intimidated by the resumes, experiences, and schools that many others came from. I couldn’t help but think that I didn’t belong at a school like this, and wondered how I would be successful amongst my peers. I want to emphasize that those feelings are totally valid, but also that you 100% belong at a school like WashU. There is a reason you belong here. The biggest reason I chose WashU was the supportive and collaborative environment the students and faculty create; I believe this is a major part of how I have begun to overcome these feelings.

I took two gap years at the NIH before coming to Wash U. I was initially worried coming into school that I would not remember how to study and would not have the stamina for medical school studying. My worries disappeared quickly for a few reasons. Firstly, Module 1 is designed to be a ramp up into the curriculum, so it gives you time to figure out how to study. Also, studying for medical school is different than studying for undergrad classes. Everything you learn is on the same test and that ranges from knowing about everything from G-coupled protein receptors to health systems. You need to learn new ways to keep everything in your brain, and everyone is in the same boat in that regard. Lastly, taking time off between college and medical school helped me establish a better work-life balance that I have brought with me to medical school. I tend to retain more information because I know when to stop studying. I feel like I am on the same playing field as friends that came straight from college or took more gap years than I did.

My large, West Coast university was an exceptional undergraduate institution — we were great at sports, academics, research, and far superior to that other institution across town. That said, there were a few notable exceptions to our overall greatness. It was such a large school with an overburdened administration that it took three weeks for me to get in-class and testing accommodations after getting a severe concussion. We also didn’t have any premedical advising, which made med school apps even more stressful than they already were. Coming from that environment, the support I’ve found at WashU is incredible. If I ever need anything, there are at least eight people I could reach out to who would immediately have my back and support me through anything going on in my life. Your coach will check in with you on a regular basis to see how you’re doing, there are robust academic support networks in place, and Dean Moscoso deserves an award for the time and energy she puts into helping every student who comes to her. In addition to the support, it’s been really nice to be able to get to know my entire class. We’re surprisingly tight-knit for a group of 124 people. WashU does a fantastic job picking the nicest, most genuine people to be your classmates, and I’m so glad I ended up here.

As a WashU alumni who went straight to WashU Med after graduation, I was worried about missing out on the experience of a new city, university environment, and class made up of entirely new people. However, in my time so far at WashU Med I have not felt that I missed out on anything. Despite being only ten minutes away from the Danforth Campus on the other side of Forest Park, the medical school feels very much distinct from the Danforth campus. I have been able to discover new places to study, socialize, and get coffee with my classmates. Furthermore, while there are many students who came from Wash U undergrad to WUSM, many different WashU undergrad classes are represented and so I had not met a majority of the other WashU undergrad alumni in my class before. I have found many new friends in my class.

Additionally, while I am still in St. Louis, I have now moved to the Central West End (CWE); whereas, I lived in the Skinker DeBalivier neighborhood as an undergrad. This has allowed me to explore the many restaurants and bars in the CWE as I rarely went to this part of St. Louis as an undergrad. It has been a good blend of old and new for me; I get to explore new parts of St. Louis and experience living/working in a new area of the city while still having some familiarity with the surrounding area and thus not having to start completely anew learning my way around.

Finally, as a medical student, I have also felt like I have a closer relationship with university leadership than I did as an undergraduate. While I was always able to schedule meetings with Arts and Sciences Deans as a WashU undergrad, I still did not feel personally known by the administration. I feel much more directly supported by the leadership at the medical school and have found that most of the deans know each of our names by heart. They are always open for questions or to set up meetings via email and respond quickly to medical students. This personalized attention is no doubt in part due to the smaller class size at the medical school, but nonetheless is something I see as a big positive to the medical school environment that I did not experience as an undergraduate.

As someone who originally lived a 14-hour drive away from Was U, I found the move to St. Louis tricky and time-consuming, but ultimately doable with the right amount of planning (and financial savings). I loaded up my car with as much of my most important possessions as I could pack, downloaded some audiobooks for the journey, and drove straight to my new apartment. Once there, I made sure to inspect the apartment and alert my landlord for obvious problems like leaks, insects, and mold. Through IKEA and Facebook Marketplace, I bought whatever furniture, appliances, tools, and decorations I needed and couldn’t bring along — even renting a pickup truck from U-Haul to carry a sofa. I also spent a day at Target and other grocery stores buying toiletries, food, cleaning supplies, and crucial but easy to forget items like a medical kit and spare lightbulbs. Moving and furnishing my apartment was overall pretty hectic but doable with enough time and patience — except for building IKEA chairs. 🙁

At WashU School of Medicine, you are not alone if you are an older, non-traditional student with several gap years. After undergrad, I completed my PhD in Cell Biology and worked as a postdoctoral fellow before deciding to pursue a career in medicine. It was honestly a nerve-racking experience thinking about going back to school after finishing up graduate-level (long) education whilst having a wife and one year old child; however, WashU’s staff and faculty and their excellent curriculum and programs have helped and supported me tremendously since the interview day. Many faculty members understand what it is like to have a child during their training, and they provided many helpful tips on how to survive medical school and beyond while maintaining work-life balance. The mentorship provided by every single faculty so far has been exceptional. Faculty and mentors here at WashU truly want students to succeed, and I have been impressed with the quality and the quantity of mentorship I have access to as a medical student.

The Gateway Curriculum, especially Module 1, has helped me catch up on some of the topics that I might have forgotten or never learned before. It laid a firm groundwork and gave me confidence on how to move forward. In conclusion, try not to be too worried about every little detail, as everyone needs to readjust and recalibrate not only to the curricular materials but to a new life as a medical student. Because WashU selects a diverse group of students, I never felt out of place and have always felt welcomed. In my experience, minute details will work themselves out and WashU’s faculty and staff and curriculum will help you get to where you need to be as a medical student.

I attended St. Olaf College, a small liberal arts college (SLAC) of ~3000 undergraduate students in Northfield, a town of 10,000 in southern Minnesota. For a small school, St. Olaf had an excellent science program and substantive pre-health advising, as well as plentiful opportunities for research. What influenced my time there the most, however, was the care and attention of the faculty and staff. I always felt that I could seek out the support I needed throughout college, and that played a huge part in my journey toward medicine. So far, WUSM shares its best characteristics with St. Olaf in this regard. The faculty and program leads are genuinely invested in us, our success, and our well-being, and I feel the same sense of close community I experienced in college. To my fellow SLAC students, I say this: WUSM might seem like an intimidating place, especially when you’re surrounded by graduates of elite universities around the country. The truth is that it doesn’t matter — whether you went to a state school, a SLAC, or one of those Boston schools we hear so much about, you’re here, you belong here, and you’re ready.

I was originally an MD/PhD applicant, and though I unfortunately didn’t get accepted to any MD/PhD programs, I couldn’t have picked a better place to be admitted to an MD program. The EXPLORE program offers a chance to pursue a longer-term research project, and I’m planning on turning my EXPLORE project into a research gap year during my time here. To my fellow aspiring MD-only physician-scientists, I say this: The number of on-ramps to a career in academic medicine go far beyond MD/PhD programs. Research projects are plentiful in medical school, and researchers are often thrilled to train MD students in the ways of science. Even after medical school, there are training programs for doctors who want to get more involved in all kinds of research. As a first-year student, I’m still exploring all of my options, but I’m confident that WashU will give me the opportunity to prove myself and jump back into the research world.

If you are reading this as a disadvantaged student, I commend you for overcoming all the hurdles unique to you. Being a medical trainee from an impoverished background comes with particular anxieties about acclimating to the hidden curriculum of medical school, as you are likely also among the first to pursue medical training in your family.

Speaking pragmatically, when I was in your shoes, I wanted not only a school with excellent academic outcomes but also a place where I could thrive as an individual embarking on the next phase of my life. Therefore, how far I could stretch my budget was essential to me. So far, I have found St. Louis and the neighborhoods around the school to be incredibly affordable and the Central West End to be imminently walkable. Also, St. Louis is a city with a disproportionate number of free attractions and public events (many of the events in and around Forest Park).

Our Office of Student Financial Planning has also been an excellent resource. It’s a cliché around the country that students are told to stop buying coffee during financial aid seminars. I can confidently report that our financial aid office is one of the most responsive and thoughtful in the country. They are always happy to meet to discuss the gritty details of loans and budgeting. They will also serve as your advocate and regularly bring in guest speakers about financial literacy.

Additionally, moving to St. Louis has meant engaging as an earnest beginner in the traumas and history of the city. As a disadvantaged student, there are many opportunities to grow and have a positive impact here, so I hope you join us. If you do, reach out to our burgeoning First Generation/Low-Income student group!

Although the trend is that first-year medical students are matriculating at an older age, it is not uncommon to find students on the younger side in medical school. Having started college at an early age, I found myself in that position as the youngest student in our class. I was curious to imagine the social dynamics of interacting with older students and if I would have a sense of belonging. My experience at Wash U so far has been nothing short of incredible, and much of that is attributed to how welcoming my classmates have been. Some things can be limiting, such as not being able to go to bars/clubs as an under 21 year old student, but that will be a problem encountered in any medical school. My advice to younger incoming students is simply to view yourself as a peer and realize what a cool thing it is to be experiencing such an incredible professional journey so early! If you got this far, you definitely have the maturity and skillset to succeed in medical school, be a valuable addition to your class, and work towards becoming an incredible physician. Wash U has a large class and you will definitely find people to form lifelong relationships with!