10 tips for succeeding as a premed at Cornell

norcalguy
Mon, 18 Jul 2011 22:29:38 +0000

Premed technically isn’t a major but judging by the 470 applicants to medical school Cornell generates each year, it’s certainly a popular career track.

Here are my 10 tips for getting the most out of your experience (in no particular order):


Use Judy Jensvold, the health careers adviser, as a resource, early and often. She is fantastically knowledgeable and gives solid advice.
Take care of your freshman year GPA. Cornell’s upper div courses are curved quite generously but unfortunately many people’s GPA are already beyond repair by that point. Stay north of 3.3 as a freshman and you’ll only see that GPA rise as you progress.
Take advantage of Cornell’s externships to find shadowing opportunities. This saves you from having to cold call physicians you don’t know. That’s how I found both of the physicians I shadowed.
Physics 1010-1020 is a perfectly adequate premed physics class. I took this course without a lick of HS physics and did great on that section of the MCAT. Feel free to take the 2000 level physics course if you wish but just know that this one is just fine as well.
Don’t be ashamed to take time off after graduating. If your application is weak, take a year or two off and improve it. Don’t apply to med schools “just to see” because if you don’t get in the first time around, it is much more difficult to reapply. Apply only when you feel you can put your best foot forward. Heck, I took a year off with a 3.9+ GPA and a MCAT score in the top percentile. I improved my application and got some much needed respite.
Use your summers wisely. Internships are your friend. And many internship places love to take Ivy League students. Don’t spend your summers sitting around. Not a single one.
Make an effort to get good letters of recommendations. Simply getting an A in the class isn’t enough. Yes, the classes are big, but you need to find a way to standout. This is the same in medical school when you have to ask for LOR’s from physicians you’ve worked with for 2-4 weeks tops.
Get involved in research early. As a freshman if possible. If not, at least get a job as a beaker cleaner your freshman year.
Apply, apply, apply for awards. Medical schools love awards and unfortunately people don’t think of applying to them. These include Rhodes, Fulbright, Marshall, etc.
Do a broad range of extracurriculars. Cornell is a big school with a lot of opportunities from research to intramural sports to volunteer work to clubs. Take advantage of that. And don’t be afraid to venture out into the Ithaca community. I tutored local kids in the SAT’s and did statistical work for a cancer survivor support group in Syracuse. Not everything has to be campus-related.


There you go. With a solid application you should have no problems going where you want including the very best med schools. On my interview day at Columbia, 4 out of the 10 students interviewing were from Cornell. 5 out of the 20 at my interview day at Penn Med were from Cornell. At my current med school, there’s 4 Cornell kids, more representation than any other undergrad with the exception of local undergrads.

Good luck!