Premed in 1 Page: Free Quick-Start Guides

Check out our Thriving as a Premed module for more details on each of these points!

Introspection & Building Habits

• Figure out if becoming a physician is the best path for you. Trust me, you don’t want to realize 4 years later that you’d rather do something else.
• Take the required science courses. Ideally these should be completed prior to your MCAT. Not all med schools accept AP credit (I learned this the hard way), so make sure you take higher level courses if you have AP credit in a certain subject.
• Get organized. Figure out a system that works well for you. This isn’t just for school, it’s for the rest of your life.
• Focus on study habits, and do as well in your classes as you can. Aim for a ≥3.8 GPA to be competitive. Understand the learning principles of active recall and spaced repetition. Everything you do to study should center around that. Don’t make the same mistakes I did.
• Figure out what kind of physical activity/exercise/sport you enjoy, then do it consistently. This helps maintain not only your physical health, but mental.
• Determine your plan for self-care. Maintaining your mental health and preventing burnout as a premed is essential. This can include things like physical activity, time in nature, reflection/meditation, and time spent with loved ones, and personal time to decompress and recharge, and time spent on hobbies. You are not a robot. Even though you can lock in for periods of time, this isn't sustainable for the rest of your life.
• Plan out your finances. The MCAT + application process costs around $5000. A lot of the activities you'll do as a pre-med are unpaid. Look at loan availability, scholarships, and parental support. It might be best to start saving a little bit of money every year so by the time that you apply, you won't be blindsided. It's also essential to become financially literate. Create a budget and learn about interest and credit cards. Open up a credit card to start building your credit history. One day you'll be a physician and you will be a multimillionaire. The best time to gain financial literacy is right now.

Planning Ahead & Getting Involved

• Create relationships with your professors. Ask questions in class and go to office hours. Not only will this help you do better in class and potentially get research opportunities, but will be very important when you need LORs during the application process.
• Think about what you’re passionate about and how you’re going to make an impact on your community. The best applicants are ones that get shit done, and use their energy to help others. This is one of the things that will define your personal brand and help set you apart. While there’s a lot of stuff you need to do to be a successful premed, don’t just “check the boxes.”
• Gain clinical exposure - the earlier the better. Aim for opportunities where you can work directly with patients. You need hours + experiences you can talk about + exposure over a long period of time. Some students get a clinical job (scribing, EMT, CNA, PCT, or MA) to gain these hours, but that’s not a hard requirement.
• Gain shadowing experience. Aim for ≥100 hours, ideally across a variety of settings (clinic, outpatient, operating room) and specialties. The goal is to show that you have seen what it’s like to be a doctor. Once you can find one doctor, ask them for connections to other doctors in different specialties.
• Gain non-clinical volunteering. You want to impact your community in some way. Consider what you’re passionate about and if you can use this to give back at all.
• Get involved in research. Especially if you want to go to a top (namebrand) school, research has basically become a requirement. Look for something you can do over a period of time, and one where the PI likes to mentor people. Not all research is fun. That’s normal, and sometimes you just gotta put the hours in.

Next Steps

• Pause for a second. Reevaluate everything you’re getting involved in, and make sure your GPA is not taking a hit. Make sure you have built the study habits and systems to be successful.
• Decide if you’d like to take a gap year or not. Many applicants now take gap years (~75%), so you if you want to do one tell your parents to relax and that it’s normal.
• Research and understand the application timeline, and start planning ahead.
• Plan out when you’re going to take the MCAT. If no gap year, aim for some time in junior year. You need to have an MCAT score for your application to be considered complete.

Check out our MCAT module for more detail on each of these points!

---

• Figure out when you’re going to take the MCAT. Think about your current academic performance. If you have a better foundation/test taking skills, it’ll be easier than if you’re starting from the bottom. Try to aim for 3 months of prep time
• Remind yourself that you CAN CRUSH IT 😤
• Schedule a test date. Do this early, since spots can fill up. Most people aim for a Jan-March (so they can study during fall semester/winter break) or ≥April (study during spring semester). Ideally you can get a test center close by, but you may have to travel a bit.
• Budget for the MCAT. The total cost of registration + prep materials (AAMC + UWorld) is ~$1000. If your household is ≤400% of the poverty line (~$124,800 for a family of 4), you qualify for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program (FAP) and can get a reduced cost for your MCAT registration.
• Figure out what you’re going to sacrifice during your study period. I’m serious. You’re busy enough. If you add on MCAT studying to your life, something has got to give.
• Figure out your goal score. Students get in with a 500 every year. The average score for students who get accepted to medical school is 514. We recommend everyone aim for a 520 - this is hard, but if “fall short” and get a 517, you still smoked it.
• Read our MCAT strategy overview so you know what to expect.
• Build a study schedule (we have a free schedule generator), based on your test date and how much hours you can study/week. Your goal should be to 1) avoid burnout and 2) maximize time spent on prep. There is a very strong correlation between how many questions you do and review and your overall score. Your goal should be consistency over cramming.
• Start with content review to refresh your foundational content knowledge. We recommend using a combination of videos ± textbooks, using Anki to supplement. Content review should be <1/3 of your overall study time
• Start doing 1 CARS passage per day to develop your habits.
• Take AAMC FL1 (full length 1) practice test to establish a baseline score. It will probably be low. That’s normal!
• Jump into practice questions. You only need UWorld and AAMC. You will suck at first, that’s normal. Rule of thumb: 1 block (59 q’s) = 1.5 hours to complete, 1.5 hours to review (3 hours total). Budget your time accordingly.
• Switch from Jack Westin CARS to doing 2 passages/day of UWorld, then AAMC.
• REVIEW YOUR PRACTICE QUESTIONS. This is the most important part.
• Start doing practice tests. Use AAMC FL1-6 + the AAMC Sample Test. This is 7 total full-length exams, which is enough for almost every student. Pretend like you’re taking the test for real, and simulate testing conditions.
• Protect your mental health. Try to get some physical activity, and ≥6 hours of sleep. Leave time to see loved ones at least once a week.
• Your full length score 1-2 weeks before the real thing is very predictive of your actual score. Trust the process. If you’re not scoring where you’d like, then do NOT take the exam with the mindset that you can just retake it. This is not recommended.
• Take off the day before your exam. Going in relaxed and refreshed is more important than any additional study bits you’ll gain.
• Go crush your exam!
• After crushing the exam, take a couple days off. Reflect on all that you learned and accomplished.

Check out our application module for more detail on each of these points!

---

• Most of your success on the application comes down to doing the work ahead of time. You can be the best writer in the world, but if you haven’t actually done the thing then you’ll have nothing to talk about.
• Budget for the application. The primary application is $175 + $47 per school, and each secondary is ~$100. The total cost of applying to 30 schools (average) is over $4000. If your household is ≤400% of the poverty line (~$124,800 for a family of 4), you qualify for the AAMC Fee Assistance Program (FAP) and be eligible for reduced cost on application fees.
• January: Start planning and drafting your personal statement. The best personal statement is one that's unique to you and shows a narrative that demonstrates your past towards why medicine invoking stories such as clinical experiences or personal narratives.
• February: Figure out who you want to write a LOR, and ask them if they’d be willing to write you one. You’re doing this ahead of time so your professors have time. Aim for 2 science-class professors, 1 non-science, 1 clinical MD, and 1 research (if applicable). Requirements by schools vary.
• March: Look over our example of a finished AAMC application so you know what your final product will look like.
• March: Review differences between AMCAS (MD), AACOMAS (DO) and TMDAS (Texas-MD) applications. Figure out which apply to you.
• April: Choose 15 activities and select the 3 that are most meaningful. Draft out paragraphs describing each
• May: Confirm that LORs are uploaded. Use Interfolio or AAMC to collect letters. You won’t be able to view them.
• May: Finalize PS and activity descriptions
• May: Based on your competitiveness, figure out what schools you want to apply to. Most people apply to ≥30 schools. Aim for 70% “target”, 15% “safety”, and 15% “reach” schools. Use AAMC MSAR to research school stats and see how you compare.
• June 1st: Submit your primary application when it opens (end of May or early June). The earlier you submit, the earlier it will get verified, and the earlier you can get secondaries and complete your application. If you don’t have your MCAT score back yet, apply to 1 program so your app gets verified, then apply to the rest once you get your score back and have an idea of competitiveness.
• June-July: Start pre-writing your secondary essays. Your application is not complete until your secondaries are submitted.
• June-July: If the schools you apply to require it, take the CASPer exam and/or AAMC PREview
• July-August: You’ll start receiving secondaries in July - start submitting as soon as possible. Give yourself the goal to have all secondaries in by the beginning of August. Many schools review applicants on a rolling basis (as soon as they receive apps), so the sooner your secondaries are submitted the better
• August: Pat yourself on the back, the worst part is behind you!
• August-March: Prepare for interviews. Review common questions and practice your answers. Research every school you’re interview with.
• August-March: Don’t stress to much while you wait to receive interviews (and do NOT go on reddit)
• August-March: As you interview, reflect after each one how you did and how you can improve. Send thank you letters after every interview.
• Feb-June: Hopefully by next spring you have had some interviews/acceptances. If you have not, then send a letter of intent to a school you’re waitlisted on.
• Feb-June: If you have the privilege of multiple acceptances, then decide which school you want to attend
• June-August: Enjoy your last summer before med school!
• July-August:Start prepping for MedSchool - check out our MedSchool Essentials (release date Q4 2025) for more resources.
• Aug-Onward: You're going to be a doctor one day. Go crush med school.