The few of us that are determined and crazy enough to stay in the pre-med track know how cruel yet rewarding the journey is. Here is a short list that I have compiled that perhaps shows some of the oddities we find ourselves doing every now and then.
1. Desperately in search of a nap...anywhere....anytime.
When sometimes all you can think about is taking a nap before class, during class, after class, or even in between classes then you are most likely a very, very exhausted pre-med. To all those that dorm, you guys are the lucky bunch as you can literally take naps anytime without the fear of becoming a meme. As a commuter student this is not something I can do without the risk of looking like a homeless fool, having something stolen, or waking up with weird drawings on my face. Sometimes you will even find yourself running to take a quick nap on Fridays instead of going out...that’s when you know you’ve been burned out.
2. The Library...2nd Home? More like 1st.
When your idea of a cool and relaxing hangout is exploring the different sections of the library then you are most likely a pre-med student. We eventually end up spending so much time in the library (at some points even more time than at our dorms or homes) that we feel as though there is no other place on the planet. Don’t get me wrong, it feels great to leave and breathe the freshly polluted NYC air, but sometimes we forget another world even exists, since we are always busy studying for something.
3. Caffeine, aka BFF.
If coffee isn’t your best friend, well, I am not sure you should even be reading this. Coffee is life. I honestly have so much love for Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks for getting me through all my midterms and finals. I simply can’t imagine life without this beautiful drug. College students, especially pre-meds, rely so heavily on coffee that one missed dose and they’re zombies; over do on it and they can cause an earthquake with their leg shaking.
4. Best/Worst Note-takers...no in-between whatsoever.
If you find a pre-med student that isn’t drowning in notes or one that doesn’t have an elaborate system of highlighted color coded science cheat sheets, then something is not quite right. I have noticed that pre-med normally fit into the extremes when it comes to these tendencies. They either are the messiest note-takers with the most unreadable handwriting, or they have fifty different colored pens, with eight different highlighters and markers, and color coded post-its and flashcards.
5. Self-diagnosing machines.
Most infamously, the single most distinguishing trait that all pre-meds have is their incredibly morbid fascination with diseases and anatomy. A few accidental stumbles on WebMD and they have already self-diagnosed themselves with at least 5 life-threatening conditions. If you happen to take a science lab class that includes dissections, pre-meds will be undoubtedly be the only few with smiles on their face, or you have a dormant serial killer on your hands. Their fascination with gross anatomy and physiological behavior of diseases and infections is evident in the shows or YouTube videos they watch.
On a concluding note: These are some of the few traits I have noticed in pre-med students, but I am sure there are many overlaps with other career paths as well, which I would love to hear about. I will of course eventually be making a part 2 of this list as there are so many other things that make pre-meds like me undoubtedly strange, but incredibly unique.
