How to Build a Strong Support System During Premed

And how it will help you get into med school

Premed can be a challenging and demanding experience, and having a strong support system can make all the difference in your success and well-being. Whether it's friends, family, or colleagues, building a network of people who can offer emotional, practical, and academic support can help you navigate the ups and downs of med school and achieve your goals.

Here are a few tips for building a strong support system during med school:

Prioritize events in which you’re able to interact with lots of people. This is the best way to meet new friends and interact with current friends. Socializing is one of the best ways to stay happy and healthy, while maintaining a healthy friend circle. I personally found it useful to become captain of a few rec sports in college, which is very easy and just required me to submit my name and contact information. Then I would assemble the team and be responsible for relaying information to all my teammates in the group chat.

This way, I automatically became the center of a large friend circle, and we would all have a common activity once a week to look forward to. This made up some of my happiest memories and closest friends during college, and we would all study together or grab food later on.

Another hack that I found was to make a group chat for every class that I was in with 2 or 3 of my friends in that class. That way we could plan to study together when exam time rolled around. I found it useful to have this group chat made in the beginning of classes, since it wouldn’t be awkward to later on reach out and create the group chat.

Everybody enjoyed this, since we were all helping each other by studying together. A key thing to note about this idea is that you should ideally have group studying when everybody has already reviewed the material once by themselves. Otherwise, it becomes difficult for everybody to study together because people are all at different places in their review.

Another tip is to figure out important questions you’d like to ask your advisors. You would probably have access to several different advisors, even if they aren’t your own. A common complaint I hear is that people don’t get enough advice from their advisors, but often it requires asking good questions to the right people.

You can schedule appointments with the advisor who helps students connect with researchers and you can tell them what specific fields you’re interested in. You can reach out to an advisor who can help you plan out what major you want and what classes you would have to take to get there.

Even if you’re in the school of engineering or arts and sciences you can reach out to a business school advisor and talk to them about double major or entrepreneurship. Reaching out to advisors is actually encouraged at colleges, and can really help you figure out how to make the most of the college’s resources.

You can reach out to upperclassmen who are premed and figure out what activities they’re involved with (research, volunteering, fun extracurriculars) and how much fun they find it. It’s useful to do this because you’ll greatly reduce the amount of time that you have to do to search for those activities yourself.

Ideally you want to find activities in which you’re greatly involved, so that you can gain the necessary skills during your premed years. Ask them questions about what premed classes they enjoyed and didn’t enjoy, what research lab they’re involved with and how they like it, and more. Maybe you can treat them for dinner while asking these questions to thank them for their time.

Stay in touch with family and friends: It can be easy to get caught up in the demands of med school and lose touch with your loved ones, but staying connected with your family and friends can provide a much-needed break from the stress of med school.

Make sure to set aside time for phone calls, video chats, or visits with your loved ones. Whether it’s once per week or once per day, try to talk to somebody from home. It doesn’t have to be your family – it could also be a close friend from home.

It’s nice to keep in touch with people who are back home on occasion so that you maintain your relationships. If you only keep in touch when you’re back home, it becomes a lot harder to stay a part of people’s lives.

Another tip I found useful is to organize group events or pick up sports games on college breaks when everybody is home. My friends organize a thanksgiving and Christmas football game, in which we all look forward to coming home and having a fun time over break. This helps us all unwind and look forward to an event together.

Remember, building a strong support system is an ongoing process and will likely evolve as your needs change during med school. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it, and be open to seeking out new sources of support as you progress through your studies. With a little effort, you can build a network of people who can help you succeed and thrive during your time in the premed years.

These are just some tips that I found helpful in maintaining a strong group of friends and family and not burning out in the difficult times during premed. I hope you find this useful, and please let me know if you have any more tips!