The moment you become a premed you’re encouraged to see the on-campus premed advisor whenever you have any questions or concerns about your path to medical school. You’re assured that your on-campus advisor will be your go-to advocate while you’re an undergrad.
Sadly, reality doesn’t always live up to the hype. Most premeds don’t relate the greatest experiences with their on-campus premed advisor. Here’s how most stories about on-campus advisors go:
Freshman year, you go to see your advisor. The advisor refers you to a premed prerequisite handouts and tells you that you’re on the right track if you follow the handout. Second year rolls around and the premed advisor tells you that you probably won’t get into medical school because your grades are too low. Then the advisor hands you a list of alternative careers in healthcare. Then you freak out.
It’s a terrifying and demotivating experience for a premed, but there’s a reason why premed advisors are so blunt and stingy with their advice.
It’s Hard Out There For an On-Campus Premed Advisor
On-campus premed advisors have a really hard job. Unless their program is well-funded (Notre Dame has 10 advisors! Most campuses have one), the needs of the premed student community far surpasses the time each advisor has in a day. The time crunch problem is especially true at large public schools, and even smaller private schools overburden their advisors with a gigantic case load.
As a consequence of the time shortage, on-campus advisors apply time-savers to their work:
- No drop-ins. You have to schedule meeting in advance
- Limited appointments. Underclassmen may not be able to visit as often as they want
- They refer you to handouts or webpages instead of personally addressing your questions
How to Find the Answers You’re Looking For
Most premeds don’t visit their on-campus premed advisor to get a link to premed requirements or course schedules, but you already know that you can find most of that on your own. The reason you make the visit is to get individual recommendations and a plan based on your circumstances and to look for reassurance that you’re on the right track. Unfortunately, most adsivors don’t have the time to do all of that.
That’s why I call myself a consultant or coach instead of an advisor.
- I only accept five clients each year, so my time is dedicated to you. I can get back to you within minutes.
- My experience is 100% evidence based
- I’ve worked with thousands of clients from diverse background: Hundreds of colleges in dozens of circumstances. I’ve seen it all: Young students with high and low GPAs, older nontraditional students (like a 30 year old mom with child and a 21 year old man with pregnant wife. They both got accepted).
- My students have gone on to all types of medical schools to become MDs and DOs.
My main purpose as a consultant and a coach is to be forward-looking, nourishing, and reassuring. Even when you’re not sure whether you’ll be accepted to medical school, I hold the vision of your acceptance for you and help you to get there. One great way to reach me is by joining The MCAT Club. The Club meets each Monday at 4pm pst and we talk about MCAT prep and other admissions issues. Attending Club meetings is a great way to get personalized help.
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