There is no better time to be a premedical student! In this information age, there are a lot of amazing tools out there to assist in the premed journey. As premed students roughly a decade ago (wow, time flies!?), we had very few resources available to us. I was very grateful to have wonderful, knowledgeable friends and a great premedical advising program that made sure I stayed on track. For the past decade, I have been honored to mentor hundreds of premedical students and hear awesome stories from students all across the world. One of the biggest joys I get in life is to watch the MD/DO dream come to reality. However, the biggest heartbreak always comes when I hear stories of rejection or giving up on medical pursuits due to finances, lack of resources, misinformation and other hardships. It is true that some students weren’t in it for the right reasons but for the many students who without a doubt would have been excellent doctors, I have literally spent nights crying with them. My profession has missed out on a number of amazing people.  With this in mind, we struggled for years to find an innovative solution to give these worthy students a better shot at bringing their dreams to fruition.

So, in comes PreMed StAR! This has been an amazing journey for us over the past few years putting together something completely designed with premeds in mind. A platform that allows premedical students to shine and network while at the same time providing medical schools with the opportunity to find premeds who they would have never had the opportunity to connect with. PreMed StAR continues to grow rapidly with amazing premeds, excellent post bacs, and some of the worlds best medical schools. We listen very carefully to the students and understand that many of you are still figuring out how to best use PreMed StAR (there are a LOT of great things here) and how to maximize your chances of getting into medical school.  Our team is fortunate to have years of experience in technology focused on premedical students.  This experience has given us the opportunity to acquire unique perspectives and feedback which in turn have allowed us to develop a platform you have told us you want and need. We appreciate your feedback and are here for you.  This article is to ensure you are getting the most out of PreMed StAR.  So, here is how PreMed StAR can work for you:

Network, Network, Network:  Remember, we are all in this together. It is important to share your stories with others across the country going through the same journey. We can make each other better and stronger doctors to be. It brings me joy to see members of the PreMed StAR community at national conferences.   So many new friendships have formed online and I love to see them in person at these conferences and summer programs. PreMed StAR is a great tool to stay connected with new friends you meet at fairs and in summer programs. Also, using tools like NoteShare gives you the opportunity to share and modify each other’s notes.

Keep You from Going Broke  PreMed StAR is FREE. After paying for premedical fairs/conferences, MCAT class, MCAT registration, application fees, transcript fees, secondary fees, interviews, and acceptance deposit you can easily be in the debt $5-10K…BEFORE starting medical school. Hey, we were premeds too and know what you’re going through.  Because of that, we are doing our best to provide resources that can help you save money.  Financial strain was a huge factor behind why so many of my mentees did not apply to as many schools as they should have or did not have an opportunity to attend national conferences or premed fairs to give them a fighting chance. Applying to medical school is expensive! As we continue to grow, PreMed StAR serves as a free online recruitment fair to meet schools from across the country.  Major organizations have partnered with us because they understand our social mission and goal. With their support, we are able to provide you with awesome discounted and free resources such as MCAT courses. And stay tuned, many more wonderful deals are coming your way!

Track Your Progress  Many premeds have made the very same mistake I did many years ago; losing track of activities, awards, and times from 2 or 3 years ago. It is important to provide data as accurate as possible on your medical school application. Make sure to track these things in the PreMed StAR Portfolio. The CV generator is also a useful tool. This allows you the opportunity to always have access to this data! No need to carry a jump drive with your data on it anymore. When application season comes around you will be grateful for this.

Learn about and Communicate with Schools  We are very excited that more and more schools understand the vision and are using PreMed StAR. As we grow, more and more med schools and post-bac programs will be excited about sharing info about their programs with you and answering your questions. Schools are provided with rotating list of students that fit what they are looking for so it is important that you keep your profile accurate and up to date. The schools are watching. They have the opportunity to see you grow over the years on the site. Becoming the student of the week will give you a great opportunity to share your story and passion for medicine with the schools and the rest of the PreMed StAR community. This is also a nice addition to your resume. Schools are also impressed with those bold students who share pics of their mission trips, volunteer experiences and poster presentations. I understand this may be uncomfortable at first, but for many premeds without a perfect MCAT and GPA these experiences are the things schools are looking for. Besides, this is a lot more interesting than posts of what we ate for lunch we sometimes put up on other websites. These are the things that will make you unique and a good fit for some schools. This way, you are no longer simply a number. Here is your chance to show your personality and why medicine is for you.

Have Fun PreMed StAR is more than simply assisting you in applying to med school. It is a place to journey with one another. The path to becoming a physician does not have to be entirely stressful. Sharing fun pictures with one another, surfing through your friend’s profiles and joining in on the premed games and discussions allows you to take a study break and not feel so guilty doing so. We’ve got great feedback on popular resources like MChAT. There is a lot to come so stay tuned as our community continues to grow. We are honored to be a part in this premed journey with you and hope you can use PreMed StAR to shine.

Written by Dr. Daniel

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