Navigating the Pre-Med and BS/MD Application Process

Webinar Transcription

2025-11-25-Navigating the Pre-Med and BSMD Application Process

Lonnie: [00:00:00] Hello everyone. Welcome to CollegeAdvisor’s webinar, “Applying to Pre-med and BS/MD Programs.” My name is Lonnie Burrell, and I will serve as your moderator. For this webinar to orient everyone with the webinar timing, we are first going to begin with a presentation and then we’ll have the opportunity to answer your questions in a live q and a.

Lonnie: We’re gonna have a lot of great content that we’re gonna be sharing with you all during this webinar, and so you are able to download the handouts by clicking on that handouts tab and going ahead and downloading it. It’ll be readily available for you. And also this presentation will be recorded, and so you’ll have the opportunity to access it by tomorrow on our CollegeAdvisor website.

Lonnie: So with that said, we are now gonna go ahead and introduce our [00:01:00] presenter for our webinar. Mattia, would you like to share a little bit about your background?

Mattia: Yeah. Hi everyone. Um, my name is Mattia. I’m originally from North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina. Um, went to Enlo High School in Raleigh for those who were aware of that school.

Mattia: Um, and then I went to Harvard College where I studied applied math and was pre-med. Um, and then between Harvard and starting med school, um, I did a master’s in epidemiology at the University of Cambridge in England. And then I started med school m me, PhD training at the University of Pennsylvania, specifically Perelman School of Medicine.

Mattia: And so I’m a fifth year in the program, back in med school, post finishing PhD. And I have about a year and a half left before residency. So nice to meet you all virtually. Um, and looking forward to going through this important topic.

Lonnie: Nice. What an impressive educational journey you have been on and you’re.

Lonnie: Almost at that finish line. So [00:02:00] good luck as you continue to finish out your, your program. Um, so with that said, before we jump into our presentation portion, we love to start first by getting a sense of what grade you are in. So if you can help us out by filling out the poll. And in the meantime, I would just like to ask Mattia a short little icebreaker question, being that we are doing this webinar during the holiday season, what was, you know, something that you enjoy doing in high school during the holiday season?

Mattia: Oh, that’s a great question. Um, I guess high school would I something that, so, um, it, I went to an, um, like a magnet high school. And so there was AP IB classes and so I was in the IB program and you kind of have to know your first, um, freshman year of high school if you’re gonna do ib. So it’s like a group of 12 of us that we knew from ninth grade.

Mattia: And so. Each year in high school we actually had a gingerbread house [00:03:00] competition, um, like post our sort of fall winter exams before the holiday break. And so that was something that we did ninth, 10th, and 11th and 12th grade. And so I think that was a fun, you know, tradition I did with some classmates, um, to kind of just like ball steam post exams.

Mattia: So that was a fun little tradition that I did.

Lonnie: Oh, nice. Thank you so much. Thank you for sharing. So I’m gonna share with you the results of the poll We have. 33% of our live audience are in the 10th grade. 31% are in the 11th grade, 23% ninth grade. And then we have 11% that are in the 12th grade and just 2% that are other.

Lonnie: Um, so we have full representation of all grade levels here with us live. And so with that, I am now gonna turn it back over to you Mattia, to talk about what does it mean to be pre-med. [00:04:00]

Mattia: Great. Thank you so much. So that’s a great question that, you know, the topic of our conversation is navigating pre-Med BSMD application process.

Mattia: And so first question is, what does it mean to be pre-med? Um, it refers to a student who wants to eventually go to medical school. Um, luckily being pre-med is a, you know. It mean it could mean different things to different people. There isn’t one particular major or discipline that you have to study in high school or in college to, you know, apply and successfully be accepted to medical school.

Mattia: Um, you can do a, a variety of different majors and have a variety of different interests. Like, for example, I studied applied math. That’s not necessarily the common pre-med major. Um, like in, in, at Harvard. Um, I have some friends who studied English literature or studied French or studied drama and music.

Mattia: And were also pre-med. So as long as you fulfill the requirements that you need to apply to medical school, [00:05:00] which I think we’ll talk about a little bit later, is a bunch of science and math courses that you have to take. Um, you can be pre-med and have a a, a focus of. You know, a, a different major, which is nice.

Mattia: Um, but the point is, being pre-med means that you’re developing skills in some of these other disciplines like biology, chemistry, physics, and critical thinking that help you set yourself up for success, not only in medical school, but also as a resident, as a fellow, and as an attending, um, a future physician for your patients.

Mattia: Um, and so not only with courses being treatment, also. People assume that you are going to be doing things that will help strengthen your application as a result, um, as it means to, you know, getting different exposure to the hospital and other healthcare settings. So that could include volunteering at a local shelter, um, helping to provide care to low resourced areas, um, doing research, um, in basic science or clinical research related to [00:06:00] cl uh, a specific question that a physician may have or getting clinical experience like shadowing in a hospital or volunteering at a blood bank.

Mattia: These are all things that can, you know. Give you exposure to what it means to be a future healthcare provider, but it can also strengthen your application, um, as a future medical school applicant. Um, so just to kind of sum everything up, you can have many different interests and hobbies and still be pre-med.

Mattia: The main thing is that you still fulfill the prerequisite science to math courses that your school may sort of outline for you in order to successfully apply and be accepted into medical school. But, um, just because you’re pre-med doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun hobbies or interest or things that can also help you stand out apart from just taking the basics of organic chemistry, biochemistry, you know, math, you know, biology, things like that.

Mattia: So.

Mattia: This kind of answers what I talked about before, but I think it, you know, it [00:07:00] should be repeated of, you know, do you have to major in, you know, science, technology, engineering, mathematics to be pre-med? And the answer is absolutely not. Um, medical schools not only accept, but love when students from all different majors and disciplines, not just STEM fields apply, um, to their programs.

Mattia: Again, like I said, there are some requirements that you have to fulfill, but you can do that regardless of the major. Um, the most important thing is that you’re doing things that you’re excited about, inspired, you know about, but then also that you’re excelling in, right? Like, if you’re doing your major, you wanna make sure that you’re, you’re getting mostly A’s and B’s in sort your core classes.

Mattia: Um, but again, you can study anything and be pre-med. Um. And non STEM majors, like I said before, the example I use with music or drama or English or economics and government, they can stand out if they show strong science performance. It doesn’t really matter what you major in as long as you do well in your classes and you [00:08:00] wanna choose a major that interests you and supports like, you know, strong GPA, well-rounded skills, interesting stories and backgrounds that you can have to share in your eventual personal statement to medical school.

Mattia: And then also your extracurricular sort of component, part of the application cycle. Um, so I think I would say with all of this, like it’s important to just do a little bit of soul searching and figuring out like what your interests are, what you know, gets you excited. What are some ways that you envision your future career in medicine?

Mattia: Also intertwining with other things, like I have a friend, for example, in high school who she loved playing the violin. She’d been playing violin since she was five. And so she would go to, um, like, um. Uh, um, sort of a living facility for, um, like retired, um, patients and then people over like 1670, um, to play music for them.

Mattia: And that was an opportunity for her to not only use, you know, music, something that she was [00:09:00] passionate about, but also to be able to get some of these patient facing skills of interacting with people, getting to know people on a regular basis. So she did that from ninth grade to 12th grade. And so by the time she applied to not only college, but then eventually when she applied to medical school four years later, she had some interesting things that she can talk about of why she wanted to be in medicine, not just from the point of view of doing well in classes and you know, having exposure in the hospital setting, but she had some of these other exposures that started out when she was younger.

Mattia: So all this to say, just think about what could be interested in ways to sort of marry your interest in medicine with also your other interests outside of medicine that could kind of blend in well together. What is a BSMD program and how does it differ from other pathways to medical school? Um, so one thing to note, I personally didn’t do, uh, apply for BSMD program, but I have friends who did and experience in helping students get accepted to BSMD program.

Mattia: So I can talk a little bit about this. [00:10:00] So it’s a combined program that allows students to earn both a bachelor’s of science, so an undergrad degree and a medical school degree, a doctor of medicine degree. So you oftentimes apply in your senior year of high school and you get accepted to college, but also conditional acceptance to medical school.

Mattia: Um, and it offers a direct. Path to medical school after high school, which is awesome. You know, some of these barriers such as applying to MCAT and, you know, the cost and expense of applying to all these different, uh, medical schools across the country often becomes eliminated because you have that admission when you apply for a college.

Mattia: Um, and again, it typically shortens the total amount of time to become a doctor and reduces some of this application stress. Um, so a lot of times people often take a gap year or two between undergraduate school and medical school, just to maybe, you know, either take some time off just to sort of explore a little bit their interest before deciding they wanna go to medical school or because they wanted to be able to save money [00:11:00] or because they wanted to strengthen their application so that they can get to the med.

Mattia: Get into the best medical school that they can. And so oftentimes that lengthens the amount of time between, you know, graduating high school and then like graduating medical school. So BSMD programs offer, um, the advantage of time, you know, less time, you know, having to apply and take the MCAT and you know, get your application ready and all these things like that.

Mattia: So that’s another way to view, um, the benefits of doing BSMD program. And then it differs from traditional path where students apply to medical school after completing a separate undergraduate degree. Um, and so again, it’s just a way to, you know, be at the same school for anywhere from six to eight years for undergrad and medical school and you get to really know the other students, um, who also got accepted to BSMD programs super well.

Mattia: Um, and yeah, it’s just a great way to kind of, you know, take away some of the stress that, um, students who don’t apply to BSMD programs and apply to undergrad and medical school separately, often have. [00:12:00] So again, it’s, if it’s, this is for students who a hundred percent, they know that, they know that, they know that they’re gonna medical school after college, and so they kind of just wanna get that process out of the way.

Mattia: And so if, if it, if that description kind of sounds like you, then that’s definitely I would say, um, an avenue that you can apply for. Um, but also again, just applying to regular BS programs and then down the line, applying MD programs that also is, you know, is still an awesome and legitimate way to go to medical school.

Mattia: Um,

Mattia: how competitive are BSMD programs and what are the key factors admissions committees look for in applicants? So again, with the pros of the shortened amount of time that you would spend in training and in school, there are some cons that these programs are extremely competitive. We already know that college admissions are.

Mattia: So competitive and becoming competitive. You know, [00:13:00] each year, over the past 20 years, these programs are no different. Oftentimes some schools have an acceptant rate acceptance rate of below 5%, which is incredibly low. Um, applicants need nearly have perfect GPAs, very high ACT/SAT scores, strong science backgrounds, strong personal statements, letter of recommendations, commitment to medicine.

Mattia: And so it’s like, you know, you’re basically competing against the cream of the crop, um, but have no fear with college advisor. You know, we have a bunch of different advisors who are here to help and support people who definitely decide that this is. The path that they want to go down. But, um, I just wanted to kind of, you know, be frank with you that this is, these are competitive programs and, you know, not easy to get into.

Mattia: Um, and again, because these students who are applying to these programs have demonstrated over a long period of time their commitment to medicine through shadowing research service, [00:14:00] um, through ingenuity, thinking outside the box, finding ways, again to merge their interests outside of school with their interest in medicine to kind of show like, hey, like I am excited and passionate about my future career as a healthcare provider, specifically a physician.

Mattia: Um, and oftentimes that kind of bleeds out through their strong personal statements. And also in their interviews too, when they show that maturity, empathy, and motivation for a medical career. Oftentimes these students have done a lot of their homework and have shown. An admissions committee, um, an interviewer is like, Hey, like, I know medicine is a long ruling career, um, but this is something that I’ve known for a really long time and this is something that I wanna pursue.

Mattia: Like, that becomes super evident to anyone who reads their application. And so, yeah, it’s just, um, competitive, but it’s, you know, not out of the question for someone who is really motivated to do this and do it well. Um, and again, it’s just different components that are needed to be [00:15:00] strong in your application to get accepted into some of these programs.

Mattia: What makes pre-med and BSMD programs unique compared to traditional college pathways? So, like I said, it’s kind of, I’ve kind of repeating myself throughout this webinar, but it’s that focus preparation for medical career from the start of college and for BSMD programs, you know, from high school, right?

Mattia: ’cause you’re applying to medical school when you apply to college as well. And so it’s structured coursework in sciences and healthcare related experiences that will help you prime not only to be successful in medical school, but also be successful down the line. Um, and there’s a greater emphasis on some of these core principles that will make you successful in the future.

Mattia: So time management, academic rigor, clinical exposure, um, and the BSMD programs just offer a more direct and accelerated route to get to medical school. So depending on your situation, [00:16:00] depending on your interests, one. You know, pathway might be better than the other. For you,

Mattia: what is the expected academic profile of a pre-med student in high school? Um, so again, it depends on, you know, what your pathway is. But just assuming it’s someone who’s going, who’s interested in applying to BSMD programs, you need strong performance in science and math courses, particularly biology, chemistry, physics.

Mattia: You also need strong reading and writing that not mentioned on the slide, but that’s super important, right? Not only gathering information, synthesizing but synthesizing information, but also being able to report and communicate important scientific findings is something that’s be gonna be extremely important, not only in medical school, but also residency and beyond.

Mattia: And so that’s something that, um, admissions committees definitely wanna see. They also wanna see that you’re pushing yourself, right? Um, this is a career that constantly is pushing people’s limits. [00:17:00] Um. Um, academically and intellectually. And so it’s important that you are pushing yourself by taking honors, AP, and IB classes to show that you can handle the rigors of not only college, but medical school.

Mattia: Oftentimes people will say like, why are we going through all these hoops just to get into medical school? But the thing is, I say is it’s very important that only do you get into medical school, but you are successful in medical school or medical school is a lot of work. It’s a lot of time and requires good time management.

Mattia: Um, and some of these principles can be learned, um, early in your academic career in high school and carry you through medical school so that you can be successful then. And obviously fine tune some of those strategies, but it’s super important that, um, as a student that you wanna be set up for success and so.

Mattia: Being an academic rigorous school and taking those classes is a way to not only show yourself, but also admissions committees that, hey, if I accept this student, they’re going to excel and move on [00:18:00] to the next stage of their training. Um, so high GPA and competitive standardized test scores, um, if applicable is a way to show that you know, you can handle the academic rigors of your current school and that you’ll do well in the future, not only with academics, but you also wanna show involvement in extracurriculars, research, healthcare related extracurriculars, shadowing, volunteering, anything again that’s kind of healthcare adjacent that shows like, Hey, I’ve been doing my thinking.

Mattia: I wanna be a doctor. These are the experiences to show that this is why I wanna be a doctor. What else can I do to demonstrate my interest in medicine on my college application? So I think one big thing to note is that you wanna be having a narrative, like you wanna figure out what is your narrative, what is your story that you can convince admissions committees that, hey, this is why I wanna be a doctor.

Mattia: And those can take the shape and form of different, um, experiences depending on who you are and your interests. And so again, [00:19:00] you can shadow doctors, volunteer at hostels. That’s just like a very bare bones example. But again, you can find ways to volunteer at a hospital that uses your creative skills.

Mattia: Like if you’re interested in art or music, like I said, you can find ways to combine that while vol volunteering at a hospital and finding ways to kind of help in the healing process of a patient’s journey. Um. You can engage in medical or science related research projects or summer programs. You can take leadership roles in health or science clubs and community service initiatives.

Mattia: Again, you just wanna be able to convince people, this is why I wanna be doctor. These different experiences are stepping soon for, for showing that I have seen and explored what the career of medicine entails. And most importantly, it’s like you wanna just show your genuine passion. Like people wanna read off, um, when they read your personal statement.

Mattia: Like, wow, this person’s very passionate about wanting to be a doctor and wanting to help people through the avenue of being a [00:20:00] doctor. Right? Like oftentimes, you know, the classic of why do you wanna be a doctor? It’s like, oh, I wanna help people. It’s like, that’s not necessarily a wrong answer, but there’s different career paths that can help people, you know?

Mattia: And so you wanna be able to convey. Not only do you wanna help people, but you wanna help people through the healthcare profession of medicine. And so you want that to be very clear to people, especially if you’re doing a BSMD application. You want that to be very clear to people, what else can I do to demonstrate my interest in medicine on my application process?

Mattia: So I think this question is more related to people who are not applying to BSMD programs, but have that desire to be a doctor and, you know, wanna maybe apply to more of a healthcare related, uh, major. Um, and so again, similar things to what I said last time, volunteering healthcare settings such as hospitals, clinics, or community health programs pursuing research opportunities in biology, chemistry, or the medical fields.

Mattia: Um, joining or leading science and service related [00:21:00] clubs, um, are super, super important. Like leadership is an initiative or things that admissions committees will love to see. ’cause again, as a doctor, you’re gonna be leading some of these teams in the hospital down the line. And so you wanna be able to show that not only you can and start ideas, but you can also lead teams and you can execute those ideas from start to finish.

Mattia: Um, and then also, you know, highlight meaningful experiences and essays that show, you know, some of the human side of medicine. So, empathy, curiosity, commitment to helping other people. All very important. What role do personal statements and supplemental essays play? So again, this is just an opportunity to just showcase your personality, I think.

Mattia: Um. Any way to kind of help differentiate yourself from other applicants is, you know, would only help you. And so I think again, it’s just a platform to share your motivations, your values, your personal journey. Um, ’cause everyone’s journey to medicine is very different. And so that’s just a great way to just be creative and, you know, [00:22:00] help people see like who this person is beyond their essay.

Mattia: Um, especially when, you know, again, the application’s. So competitive, people have really high GPAs test scores, really good letters of recommendation. So you wanna use this personal statement as a way to not repeat what’s on your, you know, CV or resume, but kind of highlight a different aspect of yourself.

Mattia: Um, and it allows you to reflect on meaningful experiences and what you’ve learned from them. Right. So that introspective side, showing people that you’ve thought about this decision, that this, um, wanting to be in healthcare, wanting to be a doctor, like that’s a decision that you’ve really thought through, that’s very important.

Mattia: Um, and then demonstrate communication skills, self-awareness, and genuine passion, right? You know, medical schools don’t want robots. They want people. And so any way to like kind of show that, hey, that you really care and you think, um, highly of other people and that you wanna serve other people in this capacity is gonna be super, super, super, super important.

Mattia: Um, [00:23:00] okay, so now that we’ve talked a little bit about the overview, let’s talk through some pitfalls that, um, applicants often make and how you can avoid them. Um, so again, you don’t, you don’t wanna overemphasize grades and test scores too much, especially in personal statements, right? You don’t wanna repeat.

Mattia: Whatever is said in your resume or your letter of recommendation in your personal statement, you wanna kind of show a different aspect and avenue of yourself. Um, and so yeah, it’s, you wanna show you, you want to have people know who you are, um, outside of your accolades and your, um, academics and even sort of your extracurriculars.

Mattia: You want people to know who you are, um, as a person. Um, another thing that you know, can kind of harm you is the weak or generic essay. Um, you wanna, again, tell a story like what is your narrative? Like why medicine? Like you really want to hook and draw people in. It doesn’t need to be a crazy, wild [00:24:00] story, right?

Mattia: Like it’s your story, but you just wanna make sure it’s authentic to who you are. I think this is a great opportunity for family members, um, close mentors, teachers to read your essay and give, maybe they can give you feedback of. Make, this doesn’t sound like you, or maybe you can say the story in a different way.

Mattia: I think that this, you know, personal statement, it’s your story, right? But at the same time, you can have people who know you well, provide you feedback about your story. Um, another pitfall is limited exposure to healthcare. You really, really, really, really wanna make sure that you’ve taken the time and opportunity to shadow, volunteer and or do clinical research just to show that you are, like your, your reasons for going to medicine have embedded.

Mattia: And so you don’t want this to be a ding on you. If, let’s say you only have, you know, 25 hours of shadowing and that’s your only, you know, exposure to healthcare, um, like there needs to be different things that could supplement that. And then [00:25:00] finally, again, poor time management. You wanna start applications early and work on them often, right?

Mattia: You don’t wanna wait a week before the application is due. Personal statements, take time. You’ll have multiple versions of your personal statement. I think I had 12 versions of the same story that were edited from July to when I submitted for Early Action for Harvard in November. So you wanna give yourself opportunity and time to, you know, make edits.

Mattia: So, and you wanna make sure your materials are organized and put together. You wanna tell your letter of recommender like, Hey, like I need this by so and so time. You wanna make sure essays are good, your CV is good, your extracurriculars are all good. So it’s just very important that you start this application early and you work on it often.

Mattia: Okay, so I guess, um, you’ve gone through a lot of material and I’ve said a lot and I’m sure we’ll go through some of these. We will expand on some of the points I’ve said, uh, further in Q and a time, but I just wanted to offer kind of final words of advice. It can be [00:26:00] super overwhelming this process of applying to college or applying to BSMD programs.

Mattia: But I just wanna iterate, reiterate a couple of points. Like you wanna start early and you wanna plan, you know, your coursework, your extracurriculars, and your experiences strategically. I often, how I play my life is whatever deadline or date that I have, I work backwards from that. And I think that’s oftentimes a good approach for me, uh, to figure out like, when do certain things need to be done by so that I’m not overwhelmed and things, you know, have some buffer time to make some changes.

Mattia: Um, you wanna focus on your genuine interest in medicine. Like if you want to be a doctor, you can be a doctor. Um, and so I truly believe that if you have a strong why that will prepare you despite the obstacles, the hard work that’s gonna be required to go to medical school. Trained to be a doctor and be a doctor.

Mattia: Um, and you don’t wanna just focus on building a resume, you wanna focus on that interest. Um, seeking mentorship, guidance and feedback is gonna be super, super, super important throughout this whole process, [00:27:00] right? Your story, your narrative that’s personal to you. But like I said, people who know you well can help shape that narrative and maybe highlight certain aspects that you can tell the admissions committee or write in your personal statement.

Mattia: So it’s very important to continue to get that guidance and feedback from other people. And then finally, until you wanna balance your academics with opportunities for personal growth, wellbeing, and meaningful experiences, right? This training path, um, is a marathon, not a sprint. And so you don’t wanna burn out too early.

Mattia: And so I think it’s very important for you to find hobbies or interests that kind of compliment your interest in medicine and that you can do for the long haul. Um, so yeah, those are kind of my final words of advice. Um. You know, it’s a long journey and it’s hard some days, but I, I definitely think that it’s worth it.

Mattia: Even me, you know, I have a year and a half left in medical school, but just thinking about my experiences, I think I’m very grateful for not only, you know, sticking to my story and figuring out like why I wanna be a doctor, but also the mentors that helped [00:28:00] me get there. Right. It, you know, they, they, what’s the proverb?

Mattia: Like, it takes a village to, you know, to raise a child, but like it takes a village to, you know, get through college, go to medical school and like, you know, not only go through medical school, but stay sane and thrive in medical school. So I would say, you know, whoever your people are that you lean on now, like, I think, you know, those are gonna be the people that oftentimes are gonna be who you lean on in the future as well.

Mattia: So those are kind of my final words of advice, but thank you so much all for listening.

Lonnie: Yes. Thank you so much for sharing this insightful information with our audience and I am sure they have plenty of questions. So audience, we are now gonna move into our live question and answer. So how it’s gonna work, I will read your question out loud.

Lonnie: I will paste it in the public chat so that you’re able to see it. And so if you notice that your q and [00:29:00] a tab may not be working, just go ahead and exit out and try and, uh, going back through the custom link that was provided in your email. Alrighty. So the questions are starting to come on in, so we’re gonna, um, go through them and we have Lydia who is also supporting.

Lonnie: And so we may not get to read your question out loud, but Lydia will be supporting what, at least, um, chatting in your response to the question. Um, okay. So Mathia, are you ready? Yes. Ready? Cool. So first question is, um, you mentioned about, uh, being in the IB program. How do you think this program has helped, and is there anything that you think we should do in high school to make our applications better or prepare ourselves?

Mattia: No, that’s a great question. I’ll answer the first one about the IB program. I would say that it was definitely very rigorous. Um, a lot of long nights, a lot of writing, a lot of reading. But I think it’s, it definitely taught me how to critically [00:30:00] think and how to critically synthesize documents, um, from current events to like 1760s.

Mattia: And so I’d say, you know, the IB program, I don’t necessarily remember all the details of everything that I learned, but I think I took away skills that are. Important to what I’m doing now, especially when I was in the PhD phase of, you know, reading scientific papers, synthesizing information, kind of figuring out the, so what, what’s next.

Mattia: Those are all skills that I, you know, had to learn when I started the IB program, or pre IB in ninth grade when I was 13. So I would say anything else, like ib AP classes as well, they just teach you how to think, how to ask questions, and over time those sort of critical thinking skills will continue to evolve over time.

Mattia: Um, and I think your second question was about, uh, how to position yourself. What was the second question? Yeah. How to prepare yourself. Yeah. I would say it goes back to the academic rigor, like finding opportunities to challenge yourself within reason. Um, I think it’s just super important. Um, I [00:31:00] think especially in, you know, high school where it’s like.

Mattia: Kind of a little bit, you know, lower risk compared to in college or medical school. I think it’s just important to be able to kind of figure out like, you know, what are your limits academically and figuring out ways that you can kind of hone in and strengthening your weaknesses and not just focusing on your strengths.

Lonnie: Thank you. Okay, so moving into the next question. So the question reads, say you wanna start your application for pre-med in high school, um, um, I would maybe assume maybe earlier in high school, but where would you say would be a great place to start volunteering for starters?

Mattia: Um, that’s a great question.

Mattia: I think, you know, I think it’s very city dependent. Like it just, you know, I grew up in Raleigh and so, you know, duke Med UNC Med were super close and so I was able to, you know, do paperwork and then. Get [00:32:00] the, whatever background check clearance that needed to be done to be able to shadow. Um, again, I was involved with my local homeless shelter, bring me volunteering there, the managers there knew who I was.

Mattia: So I think it’s just different opportunities or options in your local city, um, for you to be able to give back, um, as much as you can In high school, I know again, post COVID, there’s been a little bit more restrictions as a result, um, in order like for high schoolers to kind of be shadowed, maybe get involved in some clinical settings.

Mattia: But I think whatever’s, you know, available for you in your local city, I think you should try and push yourself and do you know what the limit is for that? So.

Lonnie: Okay. Um, so yes, we can imagine, um, that you are very busy and, um, someone asked what systems or habits do you rely on to stay consistent and avoid burnout?

Lonnie: That’s an excellent question. Uh, that’s a great question. I’m still trying to figure out,

Mattia: I’m still [00:33:00] trying to figure out the answer to that question, but, um, I would say some basic things. I think, again, being very organized, I think that was something that was either caught or taught, but I, I just, I would say being very organized.

Mattia: Having an agenda, whatever your planner is, and calendar. I had a planner every year in high school and so that kind of kept track of whatever deadlines I had, you know, kind of figured out like what I need to do for each hour when I got home after school or activities. And so I think that’s something that can help you, you know, be organized with your time, um, and manage your time well.

Mattia: So I’d say organization, I would say finding oppor, like figuring out what activities bring you joy and kind of finding ways to kind of double dip. So activities that you can talk about in your application, but also activities that kind of, you know, bring you happiness and joy. Like it would suck to do a whole bunch of activities just because it will help pad your resume and you don’t actually enjoy doing that.

Mattia: That’s a quick way to get to burnout. And so I would say, again, doing a little [00:34:00] search searching before you start and, you know, enroll in 20 different activities. I know that. Oftentimes high achieving people like our immediate, you know, instinct is to do, do, do. But I think just really sitting down and thinking like, you know, what are my interests?

Mattia: What are my hobbies? I think starting from there, that will then enal enable you to figure out what’s the best way to use my time in doing different hobbies and activities. So I would say those are kind of the big things to kind of start from there. And then also just little things of like taking regular breaks and like finding opportunities to, you know, hang out with the people that you care about.

Mattia: And so I think those are things that, you know, little, little things that over time kind of help prevent sort of the larger burnout.

Lonnie: Great, great, great advice. Okay, so next question says, um, is the curriculum the same for a BSMD program versus a traditional med school? Do you have any insight?

Mattia: Uh, you said the requirements or the curriculum?

Mattia: The curriculum, yes. Okay. That’s, that’s a great question. So [00:35:00] I would say, so depends on the BSMD program. Honestly, I know some BSMD programs that are six years, some that are seven or some that are eight. And so those programs, med school is, you know, four years. But then what varies is the length of time that you’re in your undergraduate studies.

Mattia: So for those six year programs, you may be in undergrad for two years and then you’re in med school for four years. So. The big thing is kind of figuring out like where you think you would sort of prefer on that sliding scale, but medical school is medical school. Regardless of where you go, it’s the same core principles that you learn everywhere to train you to be prepared for residency.

Mattia: It’s just a matter of like how much time you spend in your undergraduate studies and what you study, and then some of these BSMD programs, because you’ve already gotten into medical school, you don’t necessarily have to do some of the extra requirements that someone who’s just doing a regular BS or BA program has to do.

Mattia: So I would keep that in mind when you’re applying for these programs, figuring out like what their actual core course requirements are. So, and then also to note, um, [00:36:00] sometimes people think, oh, I got into BSMD program. I go, I don’t have to worry about my grades in undergrad. Some programs actually have a GPA requirement to maintain an undergraduate, um, your undergraduate studies time to, you know, still have that med school spot open for you.

Mattia: It’s kind of like a conditional acceptance. So you also wanna keep that in mind as well when you’re applying to these programs.

Lonnie: Okay. Uh, thank you. Next question as inspiration, what are some involvements that you added for your Harvard applications? Maybe shadowing co-op and did you apply for scholarships?

Mattia: Um, that’s a great question. So I applied to Harvard Early Action. Um, and so wow, I think it’s crazy that I, I applied 10 years ago. I applied 2015. It’s been, wow. It’s been a long time since then. But I would say, you know, kind of similar with other applications for college. You know, the personal statement, um, your letters of recommendation, your extracurricular [00:37:00] activities.

Mattia: I did include a supplement in my Harvard application. So I’d been playing clarinet, uh, since I was 10. And so I was with, um, I kind of told my, um, private instructor like, Hey, I’m applying to Harvard Early Action. I really wanna get in, I wanna showcase some of my interests outside of, you know, school and class and my EB IB classes.

Mattia: Would it be possible to, you know. Work on a piece, like figure out what to play until, that’s what I did. And I had a piano ac company in the background. And so I did like, basically I submitted a music supplement. And so again, for people, you know, who have other interests, like in music or in art or in drama, like that’s a great way to kind of show your character and your personality, um, in, in these supplements.

Mattia: So I would definitely think long and hard before submitting one though. ’cause you don’t want it just to be, again, a repeat of your application as it is. You want it to be unique. Unique and stand out to who you are. And so I think that was a great opportunity for me to kind of show, showcase my skills as, you know, um, a budding [00:38:00] clarinet player.

Mattia: So.

Lonnie: Nice. Okay, so our next question is, uh oh. All right. What is a great way to be able to gain mentorship and feedback from medical professionals?

Mattia: That’s a great question. Um, I would say this question is kind of maybe a little bit more applicable for those in college, but I think it’s good to start thinking about it in high school.

Mattia: I would say the biggest thing I, um, you know, most high schoolers stage is kind of figuring out like the why medicine piece. And I think that’s a great, uh, question that you can ask people that you shadow. Like, hey, like why did you decide to go into medicine? And kind of hear their perspectives and maybe also ask them like, how has their perspective on medicine changed from when they were applying to medical school, to then when they were in training, to now being a full doctor.

Mattia: Um, again, I think at this stage, just getting as much information as possible and doing a lot of [00:39:00] information gathering, um, before you kind of, you know, narrowing your scope. Um, and so I think that’s just a great question to ask, and I think that’s a great way that you can start the mentorship conversation with medical professionals.

Mattia: Um, just kind of asking why medicine, and then again, doing that soul searching for yourself of why do I wanna go to medical school?

Lonnie: All righty. Um, next question. How can we look for slash secure research opportunities?

Mattia: That’s a great question. I think, again, kind of a broad answer, but I think it just depends on where you live.

Mattia: Like I have some friends in high school who did research at nc, um, NC State or did research at UNC, and so they reached out to people and got that connection and they would do research over the summer when they had a little bit more time to devote to research. So I think again, just kind of figuring out, you know, what the local opportunities, community colleges, state colleges that are in your region, and kind of start reaching out from there.

Lonnie: [00:40:00] Okay. Next question. What are some guiding questions that can help us understand and explain why medicine? Oh, that’s a great question. Um,

Mattia: yeah, I think, again, I would say figuring out like what sort of, what brings you joy, what excites you, what gets you motivated to get outta bed every day, even when you’re tired, even when you’re stressed.

Mattia: I think that’s a great starting point. And I think also asking yourself to like, you know, yeah. What’s, what is most important for you in life? Like, what do you wanna get out of your life? Um, I think oftentimes, again, I’ve alluded to the fact that medicine is hard. It’s a hard career. You’ll sacrifice a lot of time.

Mattia: You’ll sacrifice a lot of your twenties and thirties in training. And so really figuring out what your why is and you know. Doing that information gathering of seeing firsthand the sacrifice it takes to be a doctor. Oftentimes, you’re not gonna fully know that sacrifice until you’re in [00:41:00] it. But I think, again, trying to do much of that research upfront, um, so that you don’t have buyers remorse down the line.

Mattia: And so talking to, talking to doctors that you shadow and asking them, you know, what their path to medicine looks like, and, you know, medicine looks different to different people. Um, it’s not just, there’s so many different specialties that you can choose from so many different interests. You can be, um, a doctor and a scientist, a doctor, and an advocate, a doctor and educator.

Mattia: And so just kind of figuring out like, hey, you know, what interests me? What are ways that are gonna keep me going, you know, and to prevent burnout. I think that’s a great, you know, starting point. Um, but that’s a great question, whoever asked that because I think it’s showing that you’re, you’re thinking through sort of the profession of medicine, um, as a calling and a commitment and not just a job.

Lonnie: Yes, absolutely. Um, thinking of it beyond a job. Absolutely. It’s super [00:42:00] important. And this, this question is pretty similar. Um, actually I’m gonna move, actually, I’m not gonna ask that question. Um, what are some factors to look for when choosing your pre-med or BSMD school?

Mattia: Oh, that’s a

Lonnie: great question.

Mattia: Um, I would say,

Lonnie: yeah, you can take it however you want to.

Lonnie: Oh,

Mattia: yeah. I was gonna say, I would definitely, um, I would look to see kind of the medical schools that those students, or I’ll, I’ll answer for BS programs and then I’ll answer for BSMD programs. So for just normal undergraduate college, like. Sort of looking at how supported are students in terms of applying to medical school?

Mattia: The process that’s long, it’s grueling. It starts with doing your pre-med classes, doing well in them, taking your mcat, getting your letters recommendation. You know, you know, the A MC website has a lot of information about this, so you wanna make sure that you go to an undergrad where you are supported in that, um, endeavor.[00:43:00]

Mattia: Um, so you can look and see the types of medical schools that students from the undergrad get into and go how many schools they applied to, what the average MCAT score is and all those things. So, um, and then hopefully at some point after application, when you’re accepted talking to students at that institution who are pre-med, Hey, what’s it like being pre-med at your school?

Mattia: What are ways that you feel supported or not supported? Is there like a career advising center that you can go to at Harvard? There was that center, um, for me, so anytime I had any questions about career advising and being pre-med, I would schedule an appointment with one of the three pre-med advisors. I think two of the three are still there.

Mattia: Um, and so being, for example, like being a part of the Penn MBA PhD program, oftentimes I’ll like give webinars at Harvard about being an MD PhD student. And the same advisors are there. And so like you wanna make sure that it’s like there’s a long history of successfully sending students to medical school and like helping them get in and not only get in, but feel confident that they’re gonna do well at medical school.

Mattia: For BSMD programs, I will say it’s slightly different [00:44:00] because you have that conditional acceptance. I’ll say the biggest question that you should be asking is how supported are students from that transition from undergrad to medical school? Especially if you know they’re medical. Uh, if you’re undergrad for only two or three years compared to the traditional four years, you wanna make sure that yeah, even though they got accepted to medical school, that they’re doing well in medical school and that, you know, they’re, um, you know, doing the specialties that they wanna do and matching places that they wanna match into.

Mattia: So similar kind of questions, but slightly different depending on what types of programs that you apply to.

Lonnie: Um, next question is how can we find shadowing opportunities during high school?

Mattia: That’s a great question. I would say kind of what I did, which again, pre way pre COVID, which I don’t know necessarily if it’s as helpful, but kind of cold emailing, um, attending, uh, physicians at different hospitals that are close to where you live and kind of seeing like, hey, I’m, you know, interested in medicine, a career [00:45:00] as a physician in the future, would love to shadow you for like a half day in clinic or in the operating room.

Mattia: Would that be possible? Just, you know, getting, telling them like, Hey, this is where I am, I’m interested, but I wanna do a little bit more learning. And sometimes they won’t respond to you, I wouldn’t take it personally, but sometimes they are because they’re just very interested and passionate about giving back to the next generation of physicians.

Mattia: And so what I did was I cool emailed some attendings, um, at Duke, ’cause it’s a 30 minute drive for me. And one of those attendings actually ended up being on my PhD committee like. This past June that I defended. So you never know the type of mentors that you’ll make, um, as a high schooler when you just kind of cold email people.

Mattia: So I would say cold emailing. Um, and then just like figuring out opportunities to, you know, be around medical professionals. So shadowing volun, like, uh, sorry, not shadowing, volunteering opportunities in your local community. Like I said, if you, for example, are interested in volunteering at a local blood bank, I’m assuming one or two physicians will be there.

Mattia: And so that’s [00:46:00] just a great opportunity to kind of make your introduction to them and then start that relationship moving forward.

Lonnie: All righty. Well, um, we’re gonna take just a little short break, uh, Mattia, I know you’ve been sharing a lot of information, so give you a, a short water break. I am going to share with our audience more about the work that we do here within CollegeAdvisor.

Lonnie: Um, so for those who you know are in the room who aren’t already working with us, we know how overwhelming the admission process can be. CollegeAdvisor’s team of over 300 former admission officers and admission experts is ready to help you and your family navigate the college admissions process in one-on-one advising sessions, individualized advising sessions, um, and also

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Lonnie: At the end, you’ll also learn more about the premium packages we offer that will pair you with an expert who can support you in building your college list, editing your essays. Really talk, you know, um, really diving into what your “why” is as it relates to applying to a pre-med or BSMD program and so, so, so much more.

Lonnie: We are, we have the whole process here ready to support you and speaking about our packages, we do have a Black [00:49:00] Friday special that we are offering this week. So you have the opportunity to have more than 30% off CollegeAdvisor’s most popular advising packages. So that is our platinum and our diamond packages, which comes with additional levels of support as well as 25% off other services, which also includes our essay review packages.

Lonnie: So this is a great special and it’s only gonna be offered for a limited time. So please scan that QR code and you’ll have the opportunity to have that free consultation so that you can learn more details and take advantage of the Black Friday rates. With that said, we are now going to continue with our remaining questions and answers, [00:50:00] and we are definitely doing our best to get to as many questions, but we may not get to all questions.

Lonnie: Okay, so moving on, Mathia, are you ready? All right, so moving into the next question. This question reads, what was your why for medicine?

Mattia: No, that’s a great question. So I think my why for me was I was definitely interested, well backing track a little bit. Like I knew early on that I was interested in science and research and I kind of knew that a little bit before I was interested in medicine.

Mattia: And so for me it was like I wanted to explore and understand why, and that like the epidemiology specifically about some of these different chronic conditions, I saw a lot of my community members, um, in North Carolina, you know, suffer from. And so sort of understanding that why kind of propelled me to shadow different primary care [00:51:00] physicians and also get involved in research in high school.

Mattia: And so later in college, that kind of wide developed into like, oh, not only am I interested in research. And like understanding the mechanisms behind certain metabolic disorders. But I also kind of wanna treat patients in the hospital who have those specific medical conditions. And so I kind of then realized like, hey, I wanna go to med school, but I also wanna get a PhD.

Mattia: So again, each everyone’s story of why medicine is slightly different for me. I knew that I wanted to not only go to med school, but I also wanted to get to go to graduate school and get a PhD. And so my kind of why medicine is also kind of merged with why do I wanna be a scientist?

Lonnie: Thank you. Um, someone wanted to know, when did you start preparing for the mcat?

Mattia: Sorry, can you repeat that? When did I start preparing for preparing for the mcat? Oh, the mcat. Okay. The great question. So I took my MCAT junior [00:52:00] spring of college. Um, and so I started studying for the mcat, like the summer before, like on and off slightly. But then I had like a two month, like really focused, dedicated period of studying from November of junior year to January of junior year.

Lonnie: Okay. And next question, is it better to attend a six, seven, or eight year program? Is there any significant difference between the three of them?

Mattia: That’s a great question. I think, again, it depends on your goals. It depends on your timeline, it depends on, um, how fast you wanna go to medical school. Um, there’s definitely pros and cons to doing kind of a shortened college experience.

Mattia: Compared to the normal amount, again, less time before medical school, but then it’s, you know, college is such a great opportunity to study other things that you wouldn’t necessarily have the time or resources to study. And so it really just depends on what your interests are. Um, if you’re [00:53:00] someone who you know, wants to explore, um, a major in theater or art or anthropology or sociology, you know, that takes some time.

Mattia: And I would kind of recommend like, Hey, you just do four years of college and then do four years of medical school school. But if you’re someone who’s like, I know I wanna be a doctor, I’m just gonna study biology as my major, then it might make more sense for you to do a two year college degree. So it really just depends on what your goals and priorities are.

Lonnie: Alright, next question. Does the university or college where you complete your BSMD undergrad or med school have an influence on what hospitals you get admitted to after medical school? Um, I think that’s a great

Mattia: question. I think to some extent, yes, but I think, again, the similar principles that we talked about with applying to college also, you know, relate to applying to residency down the line.

Mattia: And it’s like your why, your personal statements, your letters of recommendation. And so [00:54:00] oftentimes people tend to match in the same hospital affiliated with the medical school that they went to, or in a similar region. So, you know, for example, people who went, let’s say, go to University of Miami, if they have a BSMD program, they go to University of Miami for medical school, they sometimes will stay there for residency or they’ll stay in the area.

Mattia: So Florida, Georgia, Texas, things like that. So, um, it really just depends on circumstance and situation. Oftentimes people by that point, are pretty established in their personal life and so they wanna just kind of stay in that area. So it really just depends on goals and priorities. But I would say, yeah.

Mattia: For the most part. Sometimes it does happen, but also sometimes people will make a cross-country move. Like if they went to medical school in New York, they could, you know, go to residency in California. So it really just depends on specialty interests, a whole host of different things.

Lonnie: Okay, next question.

Lonnie: How should I get started on a medical school or BSMD program, [00:55:00] assuming I start in the ninth grade?

Mattia: Yeah, that’s a great question. I think, um, you know, ninth grade starting early and that’s a great, you wanna start early and kind of work on your narrative, your story. Often, I’d say the biggest thing is kind of taking this year to, you know, figure out what your hobbies and interests are, figure out what extracurriculars bring you joy, which ones maybe are more of a pain.

Mattia: And like once you find that at the end of this year, kind of sticking to it throughout the rest of the four year, um, four years of high school. So I would say take ninth graders a year to explore, you know, figure out who you are. You can change your mind on activities or sports or instruments or languages, and you still have time and, and you don’t have that pressure of a looming application the next year that maybe juniors feel or face.

Mattia: So I would say just, you know, explore and have fun. Um, you know, start to think about your why, why medicine, but like you have time for that narrative to change.[00:56:00]

Lonnie: Okay. Um, can I do the BSMD application? If I wanna go into the field of psychology?

Mattia: That’s a great question. So, psychology, um, is, uh, you can do psychology and be a psychologist either by doing a PhD or doing a side D. And so those are not necessarily degrees that are conferred from medical school. You can be a psychiatrist by going to medical school, but those are slight, those are two different, um, fields of like two different disciplines.

Mattia: So to answer your question, you won’t be able to, you would have to consider going to a PhD program or a PsyD program after undergrad to, to be able to be a psychologist.

Lonnie: Okay. And I’m gonna combine these two questions. Um, they read, you know, did you ever doubt your path, you know, when it came to studying medicine and maybe wished you would’ve taken a different path.[00:57:00]

Mattia: That’s a great question. Um, I would say for me, the reason why I would say no to that question is because I’ve, I took that time in high school and in early college to do some of that soul searching that I can be kind of encouraging people on this call to do. Um, I have some friends that have, and it’s very interesting to kind of see them kind of unravel some of, maybe some of their like regrets and doubts in medical school.

Mattia: And I think part of the reason why they are having those doubts is because I think they didn’t have a strong enough why for medical school so that when, you know, studying hard and sacrificing going to like family events or, you know. Friends getting married or baby showers, like they, I felt, it felt, it felt more agonizing for them because they were kind of like, oh my gosh, like for this job I’m giving so much.

Mattia: But again, I wanna refer to my earlier point that like, medicine’s not just a job. I, I truly believe that it’s a calling. Um, and it’s like a profession that like really requires people to like give unto themselves. And so I think, [00:58:00] um, really asking yourself, is this the way that I wanna help people? I think that will, you know, and that answer could change over time and that’s fine.

Mattia: But I think particularly with medicine, because it’s so grueling, you really wanna make sure that you’re doing it for the right reasons.

Lonnie: Okay. I think we have time for maybe one or two more questions. Um, did you participate in any research in your high school years? If so, what is a, a good way to make it meaningful?

Lonnie: And how, and also, how would I be able to get a mentor for this? That’s great

Mattia: question. Um, I didn’t really do, um, any research until I got to college, but I had some friends who did research in high school, and I would kind of say similar to what I said earlier on in the webinar, you know, trying to cold email people, you know, try to get involved and go to local, um, you know, events at your, let’s say, local museum or things that of interest to you that will provide you the opportunity to meet and in, um, ask professionals of different disciplines that [00:59:00] you’re interested in, research wise, questions about their research.

Mattia: Um, and so I would say that’s a great starting point. I think, you know, just cold emailing, you have nothing to lose. You know, you’re just putting yourself out there. I think that’s an, uh, important first step that you can do.

Lonnie: Okay. Well with that, that was our last question. Thank you Mattia, for sharing more about how to navigate the pre-MED and BSMD application process.

Lonnie: Also, thank you for sharing more about your why and going back in time to your experience of applying to your programs. And thank you again audience for your questions. And with that said, we are now going to end this, this webinar. Have a great night everyone. And again, this webinar will be on our college advisor website and you can access it by sometime during like tomorrow or later on [01:00:00] this week.

Lonnie: All right. Thank you all. Have a great one. Bye.

Bye.