Join (or start) a Pre-Med Organization on Campus!

Joining a pre-med organization on your campus is a great idea…and something you need to do asap if you haven’t already! Such orgs will help you get information, advice, and experiences that will make you a stronger candidate and something you can be involved in all 4 years and even hold a leadership position in…all wins for your medical school application. Pre-med organizations may be established and long-standing nationally/at your school or can be one created specifically for your campus. They can be predominantly Black or predominantly non-Black groups. Doesn’t matter. Join them all; you want all the good information out there to be the best medical school applicant possible.

If there’s a MAPS chapter at your school and you aren’t a part of it, you’re doing this whole Black pre-med thing wrong. MAPS (Minority Association of Pre-Med Students) has the goal of “increasing the pipeline of minorities into health professions.” They have over 250 active chapters throughout the nation. Seriously, go find out today if there is one at your school and join it. MAPS is a great opportunity to get tips as a pre-med and to link up with other minority (read: Black) pre-med students. They also have great annual conferences where you can present research (future post on the importance of that) and meet other pre-med and medical students from across the country. MAPS is also a great resource for finding a medical mentor who looks like you! I personally love talking to the MAPS group on the campus where I work and I know other black doc friends who do too, because we realize the importance of such an organization and MAPS (or its sister organization, SNMA) likely played a huge role in us being physicians today. 

If there’s not a MAPS chapter at your school and you know 2 or 3 other Black pre-med/pre-health students, I need you all to touch and agree and go find an advisor and start one! I’ve read applications of students who started MAPS or other pre-med/pre-health chapters at their school and was really impressed by their initiative to do so; it shows leadership, teamwork, and that they have an interest in building up others around them to reach a common goal.

Check out the website for more information on MAPS: https://snma.org/page/maps

Some schools have minority specific pre-med organizations by other names, like Stanford’s Black Pre-Medical Organization (SBPO). People are really out here creating organizations to increase the number of Black physicians, do yourself the favor and join them!

Many schools have an AED (Alpha Epsilon Delta) chapter. It’s a pre-med organization that was founded in 1926, is very well-established, and is available on most campuses. Now, most people in this organization probably won’t look like you…and that’s okay; don’t sleep on them. You’re not there to make new best friends, you’re there to get info that you need, includingMCAT prep, service opportunities, medical exposure opportunities, etc. So march yourself right into these meetings, take notes, and make yourself the best pre-med possible.

Your school may also have an institutional pre-health or pre-medical organization. If so, join that. This should be a great way to get some insight into local clinical or research opportunities and to possibly identify a mentor on your campus. If you’re unsure whether your school has its own “pre-med club,” check with your pre-med advisor. Also, and this should go without saying, make sure you are signed up for your school’s pre-health listserv, if there is one. 

Bottom line, you need all the information. You need the free MCAT prep, you need to know what medical opportunities are available, you need to hear physician speakers, you need to know what research experiences are available on your campus…you need as much info as you can get to be a strong applicant. Also, let’s be real, you need show activity in extracurricular activities as a student, so joining a pre-med organization makes perfect sense. And if you really love it and want to be even more involved, run for office within the chapter. Two points for leadership on your med school application.

So your homework for this week related to pre-med organizations: find one, join one, or start one. 

Have you joined or started a Black/minority pre-med organization on your campus? Please share with others how/if this has been beneficial for you. Are you interested in starting an organization at your school? Feel free to send me a message to discuss!