5 Tips for Maintaining Mental Health When Applying to Medical School
Applying to medical school can be tedious and stressful. We have 5 tips to help you keep your sanity while maintaining mental health during the process.
Anyone applying to medical school knows that it can be a lengthy, complex, and arguably painstaking task. For premed students, most focus on the time and money that has been spent getting ready for med school.
While going through the application process, you may experience a roller coaster of emotions with highs and lows. You have so much riding on this, it’s understandable to feel a bit overwhelmed and tense.
Use the following five tips for sustaining your mental health when applying to medical school:
1. Hang Out with People that Make You Comfortable and Positive
It’s best to be around people that make you feel comfortable and positive when you apply to medical school. A significant other, family, fellow students, and even close friends are good choices to associate yourself with during your application process.
They can offer support and encouragement during this grueling ordeal. Your application path may be filled with letdowns that can cause you some anxiety. So, it’s a good idea to surround yourself with those that help you remain positive while waiting to find out about your acceptance.
2. Never Compare Yourself to Others
It’s never a good idea to compare yourself to others like fellow premed students. This can lead to a domino effect that can make you feel anxious, jealous, or brash. Yes, getting into medical school can be super competitive. However, never focus on how much better or worse you’re doing compared to your fellow premed peers.
Do not bring up med school application-related topics in your conversations with fellow applicants. For example, it’s not a good idea to ask other applicants about their interviews or if they have heard back from a particular school. If you’re seeking information or need advice, it’s best to ask people already medical students.
Lastly, it is best to avoid websites like Student Doctor Network. SDN and any other related social media forums or websites. It’s been proven that SDN does not have factual statistics or statements. So, it’s best to avoid them altogether.
3. Implement Mindfulness Through Meditation
Try implementing mindfulness with the practice of meditation. It can be the framework for your success when you apply to medical school, become a medical student, and eventually become a doctor.
You will discover that awareness and mindfulness can be an asset and defense reaction to avoid stress and anxiety. Make meditation a habit, perhaps once or twice a day, even if it is just for a few minutes. This will help you sustain your mental health during the lengthy medical school application process.
View this post on Instagram
4. Make or Create a Plan
One of the major stressors during your application process can be the feeling of agitation. You can feel vanquished from the grueling amount of work it takes to apply.
Your stress may be somewhat soothed if you plan out every single detail of your medical application process. Commit yourself by constructing and repeatedly revising your plan for your application path.
Make timelines, checklists, or spreadsheets to keep you organized and stay on track for important deadlines. Finally, try following best practices during your application process to medical school. Proper planning can avoid meager performance.
5. Do Not Procrastinate
Procrastination can destroy your productivity. This can also increase your stress and anxiety if you delay when asking for recommendations or working on a personal statement. You run the risk of pushing your AMCAS submission date backward.
Also, you may ruin your chances of acceptance due to medical schools’ rolling admissions.
Do not put off writing your secondaries. Procrastination while preparing for your interviews can make you feel distressed and not ready for your interview day.
Also, do not procrastinate writing letters of commitment during your waiting period either. You stand the chance of missing your deadlines.
Remember the early bird gets the worm. Thus, it’s crucial not to procrastinate and be proactive as possible during your application process to ensure success in getting accepted.
The Light at the End of the Tunnel
When you apply to medical school, it can be a long and tedious process that can be mentally draining on you. Try pursuing the above tips for sustaining your mental health when applying to medical school.
They are designed to help you build up the defense reactions needed to have a successful outcome. Follow these tips, and you can be one step closer to getting into the medical school of choice.
There will be a light at the end of the tunnel. Just keep going and plan, plan, plan!
Prepare for Medical School with MCAT Prep
If you’re planning to attend medical school in the US, you must take the MCAT. This is a very important premed exam that helps determine which med school you’ll get accepted to, if any at all. The higher your MCAT score, the better your chances of getting into the school of your choice.
Prepare for the MCAT with MedSmarter’s review courses and 1:1 tutoring. Click the button below for details.
