Studying Abroad as a Pre-Med Student

Too often, pursuing a career in medicine is presented as the antithesis of having a normal college experience. It seems that one must study, study, and study some more if one has the hope of passing Organic Chemistry, obtaining their peak score on the MCAT, and earning that elusive acceptance into medical school. From obsessively planning out their course load to perfecting their AMCAS application, it seems that the pre-med will never be able to leave the library.

Yet, what if I told you there was hope—to actually step outside the library and see the world without abandoning the pre-med track? While I know this may sound unbelievable, the secret to this success lies in studying abroad! Before you start packing, we’ll explore a few tips and tricks to make the most of your study abroad experience as a pre-med student.

1. Make a Plan!

Before you begin searching for different study abroad opportunities, it is essential to create a course plan. Most American medical schools do not accept prerequisites completed through programs abroad. Although this means that you’re stuck completing biochemistry and physics in the U.S., you can still utilize your study abroad experience to complete other required courses for graduation. For Columbia students, this could mean satisfying your Global Core requirement at the University of Ghana or fulfilling your Art and Music Humanities credits in Paris. By completing a majority of your STEM prerequisite courses as an underclassman (yes, even the dreadful Organic Chemistry), many pre-meds choose to spend a semester in junior year abroad, allowing them to finish any last requirements during their senior year.

2. Speak with an advisor!

After you’ve taken a preliminary look at your schedule, it is essential to speak with a pre-health advisor regarding your plans. Speaking with an advisor can help you make the difficult decisions such as whether to engage in a semester- or summer-based program, how many credits to take, and what courses to pursue. Advisors can also help with program selection in order to ensure that the grades you earn abroad count towards the GPA you’ll use in medical school applications. Working with an advisor can also help you tailor your study abroad plan specifically to your own goals, including your personal major requirements, your prospective application timeline, and the requirements of your dream medical school.

3. Bolster your resume!

Even after you’ve examined the logistics of going abroad, picking a program can be overwhelming. From countless different locations to varying program types and lengths, it can seem impossible to choose one. To narrow down the options, focus on opportunities that will allow you to explore other aspects of healthcare, whether that involves shadowing local physicians, learning about different forms of research, or discovering the unique struggles facing healthcare systems abroad. By interacting with local medical professionals, you’ll be able to expand your current perspectives on the medical field, which can ultimately help refine your future career goals.

Now that we’ve explored how to study abroad as a pre-med student, you may be wondering about the motivations behind this decision. At the end of the day, can studying abroad really improve your chances of medical school admission? While the answer to this question depends on the case of each particular student, there are a plethora of opportunities to improve the likelihood of your medical school admission through studying abroad.

To realize these benefits, we need to look no further than the 15 Core Competencies for Entering Medical Students as designed by AAMC, or the American Association of Medical Colleges. Divided into four groups, this list of characteristics outlines the ideal requirements for those pursuing advanced medical studies. Interpersonal Competencies, particularly Social Skills, Cultural Competence, and Oral Competence, encompass the very traits that can be developed abroad given that a student will enrich their knowledge of language and culture while meeting and studying with peers from vastly diverse backgrounds.

To continue, as a student is transplanted to a foreign city, it is essential that they learn to excel in a changing environment, a skill valued by the Intrapersonal Competencies under the category of Resilience and Adaptability. In addition, having the chance to interact with a myriad of people can help a student excel in the Human Behavior aspect of the Science Competencies, as the student learns first-hand about global issues that are particularly impactful on one’s health.

In terms of demonstrating these competencies through their medical school applications, pre-med students can also rely on unique anecdotes from their time abroad in their personal statement, which will set them apart from thousands of other applicants. Furthermore, pursuing the opportunity to study abroad will also demonstrate to medical schools the student’s ability to not only balance, but also excel in managing the rigors of the pre-medical curriculum.

So, whether or not you’re ready to pack your suitcase today, consider the diverse experiences, application additions, and self-understanding that can stem from studying abroad as a pre-med student. If you're ready to take that first step out of the library, check out more information on program details through Columbia University’s Center for Undergraduate Global Engagement: Steps to Study Abroad | Undergraduate Global Engagement!