[Hindsight is 20-20] My Message to Newly Proclaimed "Pre-Med" Majors

“College is a time to explore new things.” We've all heard this a million times, but surprisingly it isn’t just a phrase adults tell us young people during our senior year in high school; it’s actually backed by science.

When we enter college, we are very literally in the exploration stage, where science tells us we are going to “consider random, exploratory options regarding our majors or concentrations”.1 Students in this exploratory stage do not yet have accurate knowledge of themselves or the professional world.1 So what does this mean to you? It means I’ve got good news that you are probably going to want to screenshot and send to your parents later… It is not your fault if you are unsure what major you should pursue, or what you are doing with the rest of your life!!! Research proves first year college students are not yet developmentally ready to make these important life decisions, without first having a structured period of self-reflection, learning, and growth.1 Okay, so now you can let out a huge sigh of relief, knowing that your compounding anxiety, dangerously high stress level, and inability to come to a decision about your future is actually normal, and it does NOT mean your life is in shambles, you’re destined for failure, or should just go ahead and drop out of college now while you’re still ahead.

But it does make sense that you feel overwhelmed, right? Whether you realize it or not, first-year students are just trying to stay afloat, and are attempting to understand their own identity. We have lived a majority of our lives under someone else’s roof and guidance; consequently, we don’t know who we are once those factors are taken out of the equation. And since science tells us you cannot successfully make these life altering decisions before truly knowing and understanding who the ‘adult’ version of yourself is, or is going to be, it makes sense to feel a little lost during your first year of college. So, since the odds are already stacked against college freshmen, the last thing a newly proclaimed pre-med student needs is something else added to the equation that reduces their potential for success.  However, “the choice of major can have a significant positive or negative effect on the student experience, affecting retention, engagement, student learning, academic standing, settling of academic and career goals, and more.” 1 Unfortunately for me, it was the latter. As I was wandering aimlessly through my first two years, I was completely unaware that my choice to major in biology was essentially going to become detrimental to my success. I’ll blame it on my blind optimism, or ignorance, but I had no idea that all of those aforementioned areas would eventually be affected by the toxic environment that prevailed throughout my university’s Biology department. I couldn’t have realized it at the time, but both my success and my confidence were at risk.

[Why Science Majors Change Their Minds]

As I reflect back on my time as an undergraduate student, I can now consider myself an expert on this topic because hindsight is 20-20. Emotional breakdowns would come like clockwork, followed by emergency phone calls made to my sweet mother. She would have to listen to me ramble on and on as I explained my latest extensive 5-year-plan. The only problem was that these “plans” had a half-life of approximately 2.5 months. Meaning, (for those of you who have yet to take chemistry or pharmacology), it would only take 2 months or so before my current plan would expire, and I would decide to start heading in a completely new direction. I was bouncing back and forth between specific concentrations within the medical field, my future careers goals, and even considered transferring to different universities in order to make it all happen. I, couldn’t find a plan that would “stick” because I was either being influenced by those around me (i.e., classmates, friends, and family members), or I was making these decisions without that necessary structured guidance I mentioned earlier. But, as it turns out, I am not alone; "research has proven a majority of college students will most likely make uneducated, unrelated, and ineffective decisions that are not based on their true personal goals, interests, and values." 1

 

Attrition Defined

Research shows “pre-med students, especially freshmen, are both pulled away by earning high grades in other courses, or fields, and pushed out by lower grades earned in their major classes.3 This is exactly what happened to me, even though it didn’t occur during my first semester, or my first year like it does for most students; rather, it was a very slow, gradual process. I simply needed to be invested and believed in, while unfortunately, the exact opposite occurred. Both directly and indirectly, the biology department created an overwhelming sense of defeat inside of a once wide-eyed, eager to learn, ambitious student. There was and is a trivializing theme throughout the entire biology department, which results in students feeling inferior and incompetent. For someone who was already quite confident in who they were, or what they had to offer, this might have been seemingly insignificant, or even unnoticeable. But, to someone who had already been fighting this exhausting internal battle of self-worth for as long as she could remember, it became insurmountable, and I was left with no choice but to change my major. But, I'm not the only pre-med, biology student to ever experience this specific scenario. Research reveals that “roughly 60% of students planning pre-medical, science, or engineering majors end up switching to other subjects or failing to get a degree all together, which is twice the attrition rate for all other majors combined.” 2

[Watch the video above!] The boiling frog syndrome illustrates just how lethal the affects of attrition has on most short lived ‘pre-med’ students. As the video explained, we shouldn’t quit (or jump out of the water) as soon as things get hard (or the water becomes warmer). I explained just how difficult your first years in college are going to be, and I even backed it with research to prove it is normal to feel overwhelmed, or lost at first. But, just because something is hard or unfamiliar, it doesn't mean this gives you an excuse to quit. You are going to have to adjust to different professors and situations, study longer, dig deeper, make sacrifices, and learn to time manage. But, just like the frog, you must learn to differentiate between when it is time to adjust, and when you need to move on because an environment is beyond your control. This scenario demonstrates just how crucial it is for us to know when to jump, and to do so while we still have the strength - before it is too late.

Wherever you go, or whatever you do, go and do with all your heart. -Confucius

My experiences are what have shaped me, but this mindset is what has set the tone for the rest of my life. When you're traveling down a road and are suddenly faced with an unforeseen road block, that doesn't mean you've reached a dead end, or that you will have to turn around and settle on an alternative destination. I am walking proof that you may have to fight the same battle more than once in order to win it. I finally became aware of the fact I was not going to be successful in achieving my goals if I didn’t make a change, create a tangible plan, and implement it wholeheartedly. I knew it was time to jump from my boiling pot of hot water (aka, the bio department), but I was still determined to become a PA. It took a leap of faith. It took making a decision to continue fighting. It took channeling my frustration into to an unwillingness to fall victim to this system. It took refusing to accept that I can’t have a future in the medical field simply because someone else failed to see my potential or invest in my future. It took becoming fearless in my endeavour to reach the my goal destination even though it meant I would have to travel down a nontraditional route. It took pursuing my career with firm direction and with all of my heart. It took separating myself from distractions, but most importantly, my comfort zone. It took working twice as hard, with four times as much dedication.

I desperately want you to understand that just because it is common for an incoming freshman to feel overwhelmingly lost, or a newly declared ‘pre-med’ major to be pushed out of their pursuit, it doesn’t mean attrition is unavoidable or impossible to overcome. However, we can’t discount the fact that there are a lot of students who inevitably stop pursuing an advanced degree in allied health because they simply are not willing to put in the time or effort. Steve Jobs said it best when he said, “You have to have a lot of passion for what you’re doing, and the reason is because it is so hard. And if you don’t, any rational person would give up. And since you have to do it over a sustained period of time, if you don’t love it, you’re going to give up. The ones who are successful are the ones who have a passion for what they did, so they could persevere when it got really tough. And the ones who didn’t love it, quit.” 3

So for those of you who are looking for a solution to your problems relating to that matter or want a quick fix, refer to my previous blog, Your Vision vs. Your Passion. But for the readers out there who are already certain your passion aligns with your current career goals, listen up. Simply having passion does not automatically ensure you will be successful, and it won’t make you immune to those pre-med attrition rates I just mentioned. There is a significant amount of ambiguity that comes hand in hand with declaring the 'pre-med' route, especially if you are at a university that doesn’t offer majors that are specific to the concentration, or route, you want to pursue after you obtain your bachelor’s degree (which is what I found to be one of the biggest obstacles I had to overcome). Thus, newly declared pre-med students often haphazardly pursuing an abstract, or theoretical goal. But the obvious problem with this is, if you don’t  know where you’re going, any road will get you there.

Growth it the great separator between those who succeed and those who do not. -John Maxwell

Capitalize on your individual strengths, on what makes you, YOU. We all have unique stories and experiences that are actively shaping us into the professionals we will one day become. But, in the meantime, if you are going to be able to grow as an individual and set yourself apart as a young professional, you are going to need to figure out how to build off of your strengths and improve your weaknesses. In order to ensure the high level of professional growth required to be successful in your pursuit, let’s talk about how to eliminate the uncertainty that most of you newly proclaimed ‘pre-med’ majors are or will face. I have provided you with a few tips that should get the ball rolling.

Focus on the big picture, but only briefly. - Looking too far down the road can be overwhelming, but you’re going to need to do so long enough to determine which general direction you need to head.

• DON’T GO AT IT BLIND - Look up the specific schools and programs you will be applying to, even if that is 3 or 4 years down the road. Programs vary in terms of prerequisite course requirements and the amount of previous experience that is recommended prior to applying. All applications and programs are not black and white across the board. Regardless of whether your end goal is to become a physician, physician assistant, pharmacist, physical therapist, you are going to need to figure out exactly what specific undergraduate courses you need to be taking.
• Make a list, type it up, and hang it on your bulletin board in your dorm, or on your mini fridge. The idea is to keep the information in the back of your mind, but subconsciously in front of your face. Knowledge is key to your sanity.

Okay now, FORGET ABOUT THE BIG PICTURE. - Shine your headlights on your goal and “only focus on 200 feet in front of you.” 4

• When you’re driving at night, you don’t have to see your final destination to get there; you only have to be able to see the next 200 feet in front of you.4 I just told you to evaluate your end destination, so we now know it’s out there and we know it’s both tangible and obtainable. But if you wake up everyday and focus solely on those long term goals, you’re going to drive yourself crazy. Day by day, you’re going to feel like your goal is getting further and further out of reach. So, bring it back in. Make realistic, concrete, short-term goals for yourself. Make a list, and put them in chronological order of when you will need to reach them.
• Write your goals in your planner, on sticky notes, or my personal favorite, on your mirror. - Write them wherever you want, but make sure you see them regularly to hold yourself accountable.
• Mark off one goal at a time before looking ahead to the next.
• Things to include:
• GRE - sign up at least 3 months in advance
• Get a job where you can get paid AND receive hours that count toward your clinical experience.

Sure, college is your time to explore a new, unfamiliar town that is filled with new people and new experiences; but more importantly, it is a time to explore yourself. Despite your parents’ expectations or the pressure you have put on yourself, you aren’t going to have it all together overnight. So take a deep breath and a step back, and learn to appreciate the process. I’d be willing to guess a brief moment of self-assessment would uncover the truth about how this “magical exploration” isn’t exactly turning out to be as carefree or adventurous as you had hoped, or as your Instagram feed makes it out to be. You’re going to trip and stumble along the way and that’s okay, because how boring would life be if it wasn’t a little messy? College is going to be hard. It is going to challenge you not just academically, but emotionally, socially, physically, and spiritually. But, when life knocks you flat on your face, don’t ever stop getting up. You may have to fight like crazy to do so, and it may even seem impossible at times. I can’t promise it will be easy, but I can promise it will be worth it, because college isn’t about finding yourself; it’s about creating yourself. Thus, the most magical moment of college, or even adulthood, isn’t going to be your sorority bid day, or attending the craziest party or a fraternity formal. Rather, it’s what the mainstream media fails to spotlight: the moment you can look back see just how far you’ve come and suddenly see all of your hard work has finally paid off.  It is at the moment that you arrive at the place you once thought you would never make it to, that you discover just how much fight you still have left in you.

1 Freedman, L. (2013). The Developmental Disconnect in Choosing a Major: Why Institutions Should Prohibit Choice until Second Year. The Mentor. Retrieved from

https://dus.psu.edu/mentor/2013/06/disconnect-choosing-major/

2 Drew, C. (2011, November 4). Why Science Majors Change Their Minds (It’s Just So Darn Hard). New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/06/education/edlife/why-science-majors-change-their-mind-its-just-so-darn-hard.html

3 Gates, B. (Interviewer) & Jobs,S. (Interviewee). (2007). Historic Interview [Interview transcript]. Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85PMSYAguZ8

4 Cain, B., (2013). The Mental Conditioning Manual: Your Blueprint for Excellence. Location: Publisher.