Day in the Life: Joint Program Pre-Med Student

My name is Isabella, and as I’m writing this, I’m a sophomore in the List College Joint Program with Columbia University. The Joint Program is a dual degree program between the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Columbia’s School of General Studies, where students earn two BAs over the course of four years – one from JTS and one from Columbia.

I’m majoring in Jewish History at JTS and Evolutionary Biology of the Human Species on the pre-med track at Columbia. In order to complete our two degrees in two years, it’s common for students in this program to take six classes a semester for at least several semesters. As a pre-med in my specific major, this will be my situation for most of the rest of my college career, and although it can be difficult, I feel that I chose the right program for me.

Here’s a typical Wednesday in my life:

8:30 a.m. – My first alarm goes off. Thankfully, today is a Wednesday, which means that – unlike Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays – I can sleep in a little, as I don’t have an 8:40 a.m. Hebrew class. I usually snooze my alarm at least once and spend some time on my phone, but I try to get out of bed by 8:50. Afterward, I wash my face, brush my teeth, eat breakfast – you know, typical morning stuff.

10:00 a.m. – HW and studying. I usually have a quiz in my Organic Chemistry recitation on Wednesday afternoons, so I like to spend Wednesday morning studying and reviewing the material from the past week. I also usually intersperse this with work from my other classes, whether that’s readings for “The Neandertals” (which I’m taking for my Columbia major) or for “Messianism Among Ashkenazim and Sephardim.”

1:05 p.m. - 2:20 p.m. – Messianism Among Ashkenazim and Sephardim. This is the Jewish history class I’m taking this semester at JTS, and – in addition to the professor being amazing – it’s super interesting. We learn about the messianic ideas and movements that influenced the medieval Jewish world, and how surrounding events and notions influenced these ideas.

2:20 p.m. - 3:20 p.m. – When I don’t eat lunch before my messianism class, it’s usually because I have lunch plans with a friend afterward. We usually go to Diana, where we wait in line for ten to twenty minutes – the 2:25 after-class rush is real – before enjoying our burrito bowls and decompressing before the rest of our day ahead of us.

3:20 p.m. - 4:10 p.m. – Knox Hall, where my Organic Chemistry recitation takes place, has couches in its front lobby, so on days like this, I sit there and do some last-minute studying for my quiz.

4:10 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. – Organic Chemistry Recitation. We spend the first ten minutes of recitation taking our quiz. Afterward, we spend the rest of our time reviewing the material we learned over the past week and completing related practice questions.

5:00 p.m. - 6:10 p.m. – More homework. Whether I go back to my dorm room for this or go to NoCo Library depends on whether I intend to attend my Organic Chemistry Lecture in person or on Zoom. During this time, I might listen to some audio tapes for my internship with NYU Langone’s PrMEIR research team, where we research shared decision-making in primary care. Alternatively, I might do some readings for my Neandertals class or work on my lab notebook if I have Orgo Lab that week.

6:10 p.m. - 7:25 p.m. – Organic Chemistry II Lecture.

7:40 p.m. - 8:15 p.m. – Dinner. Sometimes I have dinner with friends at a dining hall and sometimes I eat in my room while FaceTiming my family.

8:15 p.m. - 11:30/45ish p.m. – Surprise, surprise! Homework again. Since I have an assignment due for The Neandertals every Thursday, that’s probably what I’m working on, but I also might work on an article for AMSA or do any other array of work or studying. This is also interspersed with taking a shower, doing chores, and spending time on my phone when I need a break.

11:45 p.m. - 12:30 a.m. – I try to get to sleep by 12:30 on nights before I have to wake up early for my 8:40 Hebrew class. This definitely does not always happen, but I do my best.

I hope you all enjoyed reading about a day in my life as a pre-med List College student! Of course, every day is different depending on whether I have any events going on, what classes or extracurricular activities I have, or how much homework I have, but what you see here is a pretty standard Wednesday for me. Thanks for reading!