Jacob Ralston

At the end of the day, everyone is a human and being able to make connections with people is way better than being a school/activity machine. I would tell students to ditch the check-box mentality. I saw students who checked all the boxes in terms of grades, MCAT score, clinical hours, volunteer hours, and leadership experience, but did not do it for the purpose of connection with people and bettering themselves as a true physician. They missed the point of what these experiences were meant to accomplish and when the time came around to write about it in the application or talk about it in the interview, this showed, and they did not get an acceptance.

My advice would be to find the things you are interested in and do them! In my undergraduate career, I found a few things that I really enjoyed and went very deep with them. This allowed me to connect with what the purpose of doing these activities are and develop as a future physician. When the time came around to talk and to write about my experience, I didn't have enough time or words to express what these experiences truly affected me as an individual.

I strongly recommend the Pre-Health Office, Eberly Writing Studio, and Pre-Medical Track to students. Without these services, I would have been lost through the entire application process.