Growing up in the Greater Boston area, I was amazed, yet confused by the medical advances made right outside my door. If there was revolutionary research and advanced medical care being delivered a 15-minute train ride away, why did people in my family and community still struggle to access basic health care needs? This paradox is what initially set me on the path to medicine – I saw it as a way to directly address a need that I saw in my community. During college, my interest in becoming a physician was further solidified as I took advanced science courses and realized how medicine allows us to use our deep knowledge of the human body to tackle disease. I developed a strong interest in learning about the molecular interactions that allow us to function and how we can use that understanding to better our community. This ultimately led to me earning a degree in community health and a minor in chemistry from Tufts in 2024. Since then, I’ve been working as a clinical research coordinator at MGH and will be attending medical school in the fall.

One of the hardest lessons I’ve learned on this path is that it is okay to fail. When I started college, I struggled to adapt to the rigor of upper-level courses, especially in a virtual format during the pandemic. As a result, I ended up performing poorly in a few classes – I even had to retake organic chemistry! This is not to say that it isn’t necessary to push yourself academically, but rather to stress the importance of figuring out how you learn most effectively early on and seeking out resources when you need them. Many of us are used to struggling alone, but being resilient doesn’t mean that you can’t rely on others for help. Go to office hours, join study groups, ask questions! We are better when we can lean on and be there for others.

To make up for some of my grades, I made a strong effort to perform as well as I could on the MCAT. This meant truly dedicating myself to not just studying, but holding myself accountable for my performance on the exam. Rather than just passively reading from books, I did practice questions and tests, making sure to thoroughly review anything that I got wrong. I would recommend taking it after taking your prerequisite courses (biology, chemistry, and physics) so you’re able to use the foundational knowledge you already have on these topics. The test is challenging and requires serious perseverance, but is an important part of the application.

What you do outside of the classroom matters just as much, if not more, to your application. As a freshman in high school, I joined the MGH Youth Scholars program as a way to explore different health careers. Through this program, I’ve had invaluable opportunities to work with and learn from leaders in medicine. To those who are interested in pursuing similar paths, I highly urge you to make the most out of these connections. We are incredibly lucky to be in such close proximity to some of the most renowned medical institutions in the world – use them to your advantage! Throughout college, I was able to participate in three different research opportunities because of the Youth Scholars program, all of which helped foster my passion for medicine and became integral parts of my application. I’ve also gained amazing mentors from the Youth Scholars and ACE programs, all of whom continue to motivate me to continue on this path.

When it comes to actually applying, it’s no secret that medical school is expensive. Everything from the MCAT to the actual application itself comes at a steep price. If you are eligible, apply for the AAMC fee assistance program as it helps to cover many of these costs. If not, plan in advance for these fees to the best of your ability. I tried to apply as strategically as I could, which meant using tools like the Medical School Admissions Requirements (MSAR) tool to figure out which schools’ admissions statistics aligned with my GPA and MCAT score. I also researched schools’ mission statements to make sure they aligned well with my own goals. Even though applying to medical school is extremely competitive, it’s important to only apply to schools you could truly see yourself attending.

Planning ahead and staying organized is vital throughout this process. I tried to submit my primary application as soon as I could, while still making sure I was confident about what I was sending in. After submitting the primary application, I began to get an influx of secondary applications where I was required to write anywhere from 1-10 supplemental essays for individual schools. These questions are often available online – prewrite if you can! After submitting secondaries, much of the process is a year-long waiting game. Interview invites can come in anytime typically between August through March. Despite the intense anxiety that came with this waiting, I tried to practice patience as best as I could and took time to do things that helped ground me (i.e., working out, spending time with loved ones).

Applying to medical school is a long, challenging, and expensive process. It certainly doesn’t cater to first-generation, low-income students who are constantly balancing numerous responsibilities. Our resilience, however, is what makes us well-suited for rigorous careers like this. Throughout this process, I’ve felt overwhelming amounts of imposter syndrome – it’s hard to feel like you belong in a field when you rarely see people with a similar background represented in it. Many of my pre-health peers in college had family members who were physicians or came from wealthy backgrounds that predisposed them to rich resources and opportunities. Even though it may feel unfair at times, we have a responsibility to ourselves to seek out these resources and advocate for ourselves to take up space in these fields. My acceptance to medical school is only the beginning of this path to becoming a physician, but I am excited for the challenges ahead!