You know them. You see them, bent over books, highlighters in hand, every time you walk through the reading room at Tisch. The circles underneath their eyes get progressively darker as the semester goes on, and the mere mention of "orgo" strikes intense fear in them. They are Tufts' pre-med students, and they are tired.
Yet, they are also volunteering their time at hospitals and leading the Tufts community in extra-curricular activities. Pre-med students are everywhere, not just in their chemistry labs or holed up in their rooms studying. Being a pre-med at Tufts is difficult, but it's also rewarding.
Sophomores Pete Shungu and Melissa Lichte are just beginning their journey into the medical profession. Although both expressed enthusiasm for the pre-med program at Tufts, they have their concerns about this increasingly popular and increasingly difficult field of study.
"I know that Tufts has a good pre-med program, but it's also one of the hardest programs in the country," Shungu said.
No specific major exists for pre-med students at Tufts, like most selective schools. Students fulfill an extensive list of requirements in preparation for medical school, but choose any concentration they please. Many stay traditional, with biology and chemistry majors, but more and more are opting to broaden their horizons - and their resumes.
"I don't think that I'm going to major in one of the sciences, because I've heard that med schools are looking for more well rounded individuals," Shungu said.
Lichte has decided against convention as well. "I'm majoring in philosophy because I really enjoy it and, once I go to med school, I won't have time to concentrate on it," she said.
According to the Health Professions Handbook, a guide for all Tufts students interested in the medical field, applicants who majored in non-sciences and still fared well in pre-med requirements are more interesting to admissions officers than biology majors. Carol Baffi-Dugan, Tufts' Health Professions Advisor, agrees that medical schools are looking for more diversity in their applicants.
"They want thinkers - people who are excited by what they are studying," she said. "You don't major in pre-med. You major in something you love and something that excites you."
The pre-med requirements include two semesters each of chemistry, biology, calculus, physics, and English. In addition, students must endure the dreaded two-semester organic chemistry requirement, known simply as "orgo."
"The pre-med classes are designed to be hard. They're designed to be intimidating. They're structured to make you question whether you really want to go to med school, because now it's such a popular option," Lichte said.
"The intro bio and chem classes are supposed to be 'weed-out' classes. You have to be prepared to not do as well as you hoped," Shungu agreed.
Of all people, Baffi-Dugan understands the pressures of the pre-med program. She offered advice for students who feel overwhelmed.
"There are some things that you can do to make your life more reasonable," she said. "First, you need to have the academic skills necessary. Some people have it before they come here and some have to develop it. Some students don't study effectively or manage their time well."
"The other thing is you have to keep a balance in your life," Baffi-Dugan continued. "You have to manage your time so that you aren't studying all the time."
Pre-med students are well aware that medical schools expect little short of perfection from their applicants. The serious candidate must balance a solid GPA - the average GPA for a medical school applicant is 3.5-, with clinical experience. Tufts' Medical School, which US News and World Report ranked 36th in the nation, accepted only 7.6 percent of their applicants in 1999.
"A little better than one in three applicants get in nationally, but at Tufts, about three in four of our students get in," Baffi-Dugan said. She emphasized that students shouldn't be discouraged by the standards that medical schools set for their applicants. "There is room for mistake. You shouldn't close the door on medicine if you get a C."
With such high demands, it seems natural that pre-med students would need a little support from each other. The Tufts Pre-medical Society offers just that - a community of highly motivated individuals connected by a common goal. In addition to a sense of community, the society offers assistance in the application process as well as community and volunteer opportunities.
Senior Anna Zelfond, co-president of the society, sang its praises. "I've always seen [the society] as an opportunity for people who are doing something pretty difficult to come together and provide resources for each other," she said.
Although pre-med students are notoriously competitive, Zelfond hasn't encountered any adversity at Tufts. "There's this stigma on campus that pre-med is really cutthroat and competitive," Zelfond said. "I've never seen it that way."
Nor has Baffi-Dugan. "I think there's something of a disservice done to Pre-med students by the general population that regards them as grade-grabbing, cutthroat students. I don't think that's true," she said. "It's a conclusion that people jump to when they hear what you are doing. I hate that stereotype. I think it's unfortunate that these kids get that reputation."
Another misconception centers on students' fears that they won't be able to take advantage of the opportunities that Tufts offers. Many worry that studying abroad will cause major inconveniences in completing the pre-med program.
"I think I want to study abroad next year, so that'll make it harder to fulfill the requirements. Pre-med students who want to study abroad end up in school during the summer," Shungu said.
For Lichte, who plans on studying in England next year, this semester is particularly difficult. "The fact that I want to study abroad next year meant that I had to take a really hard science course load this semester," she said. "Doing chem problem sets every Thursday night really puts a damper on my social life."
Yet studying abroad as a pre-med student isn't impossible, according to Zelfond. She went abroad last spring as a second-semester junior. "Going abroad was something really important to me, so I went," she said. "It takes planning, but it's not impossible."
The time of day that the required classes are offered is another consideration for medical school hopefuls.
"If you're not a morning person, basically you're screwed, because all the required classes are early in the morning," Shungu warned. "I think that they try to find every way possible to torture pre-med students. As if the material weren't hard enough, they have to have the classes at a time of day that you can't even begin to understand what they're saying. I had a chem test last week that started at 7:30 a.m.!"
In facing the rigorous demands of a difficult undergraduate program, followed by several more years of medical school, students must have the drive to keep going. With the promise of long days and nights ahead, students weigh whether it's worth the effort.
"Well, the money," Shungu said, shrugging. "And my dad's a doctor, too. I like it better than doing something like being a lawyer, because you get to help people more."
Lichte admitted that she has doubts about her future plans. "I've idealized the profession since I was a little girl, and I've always been excited about the abstract idea of helping people," she said. "But as I learn more and more about the time and effort it takes to be a doctor, I'm starting to question it more."
Zelfond wouldn't discourage any student from pursuing medical school. "I've had so many good experiences being pre-med on campus," the seasoned senior said. "It's been fun because I've made sure not to make this my whole life."
