
Pursuing an MD/PhD at Harvard Medical School, entering class of 2022
Major: Neuroscience with a certificate in Global Health & Health Policy
Significant college activities: Senior Thesis Research in the Peña lab, Resident College Advisor (RCA) in First College, The Wesley Foundation Member, SVC American Red Cross (President & donor recruitment chair), GHP Health Scholar, Students vs Pandemics Princeton Co-Founder and Co-President, Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center Volunteer, Research Assistant in Social Stigma and Perception Lab
Words of wisdom about being prehealth at Princeton: Over the years, I came to realize that the premed journey is more like a choose-your-own-adventure than a set path. I think sometimes, as premeds, we fall into the trap of thinking that we need to do X, Y, and Z specific extracurriculars to get into medical school. While there are various “soft” and “hard” requirements in the admissions process (clinical experience, research, service, etc…) and that they can occasionally feel stifling, there is still plenty of room for you to customize your own experience so that it is in line with your interests.
Research need not take place at the laboratory bench—it can also occur out in the local community or amid stacks of bioethics books. Clinical experience can look like wheeling patients through the hospital or playing cards with patients at a hospice center. While class requirements may feel cumbersome (especially for those of us who aren’t particularly fond of drawing hexagons), your coursework outside of the sciences can offer up a unique perspective to your science classes, and vice versa.
The best thing you can do throughout this process is to stay true to who you are and what your interests are rather than check a bunch of boxes. One thing that is so challenging about the premed years is that it is all too easy to judge your candidacy based on what your peers may be doing. But it is so important to remember that not only is comparison the thief of joy, but it can make you lose yourself in the process.
In many ways, I was a pretty unconventional pre-med student. I applied as an MD-PhD applicant in neuroscience despite having significant research experience in the social sciences. My most meaningful clinical experience took place in a harm reduction center instead of a hospital and despite my love for science, I hold deep passions for social justice and health equity work. However, many of the things I thought were weaknesses as a premed student were actually some of my strengths. My past work in social science research instilled in me a societal perspective that I bring to the laboratory bench. My time volunteering at a harm reduction center nurtured my growing interest in psychiatry and my passion for social justice led me to view research as a tool that both progresses biomedical knowledge and social equality. Had I dampened these parts of me in pursuit of becoming the picture-perfect medical school applicant, I likely would’ve lost my passion for medicine years ago.
The “perfect” medical school applicant does not exist. We all come to medicine with our own unique perspectives, backgrounds, interests, and values. So why not lean into those idiosyncrasies and oddities that make you, you? The premed journey is so much more fun that way anyways.