I’ve avoided this topic for quite some time, but it keeps coming back.  Not infrequently, premeds reach out to me upset and seemingly disappointed in their premedical advisor relationships.  This is easily one of the biggest complaints I get.  These students feel as though they have (or had) no guidance from their advisors during the premed years.  The lack of guidance in turn leads to extra time in college, increased debt, unnecessary gap years, etc. etc. etc.  It’s a BIG deal.

Earlier this week, I got an email from a premed advisor at an east coast university.  We ended up chatting on the phone and hit it off well.  Our conversation wandered into this idea of students feeling abandoned by premed advisors.  This individual (who was relatively new in this specific advising position but had been doing advising work for several years) mentioned that many of his students seemed to be lost prior his arrival, and had difficulty navigating the premed system.

So, what do you do when your advisor isn’t giving you the guidance you are looking for?  Here are 5 things to consider if you are in this situation.

1. Are you the problem? This is always my first point of evaluation when something isn’t going right in my life.  I always ask myself if it’s because of me.  Usually it is!  This is true because at the end of the day, it’s my life.   In your advising situation, if you don’t make it, nobody will care how good or bad your advisor was.  Even if you had the worst advisor in the world, people still won’t care.  It’s on you!  Once you acknowledge this, then you can move on to the next step.
2. Attempt to re-establish (or in some cases establish) a solid relationship with your advisor. For the most part, advisors want to see you succeed.  That’s their job and what they get paid for.  Not only do they enjoy watching students become doctors, it’s in their best interest to make sure it happens.  Sure, I’ve heard the stories about advisors telling marginal students not to apply to med school, perhaps because it will mess up their advising success rate, but honestly, I don’t think this happens that much.  Approach your advisor from the perspective that he or she is 100% committed to your success.  When you meet with your advisor, come prepared and with a good attitude.  It’s also in your best interest to make sure your advisor likes you so they’ll do everything possible to help you succeed.
3. Get a mentor who has successfully matriculated into the medical field. Regardless of if you’re advisor is good or bad, you should have a mentor who is in the medical field (medical students included).  Bottom line is that you want guidance from someone who has actually accomplished what you are trying to do.  It’s one thing to tell someone how to get be successful, it’s a completely different thing to tell them how you were successful.
4. Explore outside advising guidance. I never did this myself, and historically didn’t recommend this to students, but in recent years, it seems that students are doing well with private advising.  These advisors are being paid directly by you, therefore they have to perform.  It’s capitalism at it’s best.  If they aren’t good, word will spread, and they’ll be out of business.  This is an option, however some of these advisors can be expensive and not every student can afford one.  If you do go this route, make sure to vet them out well.  If you have a stellar university advisor, I suggest you don’t even consider this option, but if you don’t, do what you must to succeed.
5. Leverage online resources. In the age of the internet, you can pretty much find all the information needed to get into medical school online.  Actually, you can pretty much find it all on PreMedSTAR.com.  I say this to emphasize the fact that information is at your fingertips and you have no excuse not to get it.  It’s true that some of the information is horrible and plain wrong, but you’re an adult!  If you’re going to be a doctor, you need to be smart enough to know how to distinguish good information from bad.  The same way I have to know what sources to use when treating my patients is the same way you need to know what sources to use when working towards medical school.

The bottom line pertaining to premed advising is that they are there to help you.  I STRONGLY encourage you to use your premed advisor, as most of them have your best interest in mind.  HOWEVER, keep in mind that it’s your job to get into med school.  I can’t do it for you, nor can your advisor.  That being the case, YOU need to step up and get the job done.  There are too many excellent resources available online for you to limit yourself.  Don’t let anyone box you in and prevent you from accessing them.  You need to control your own path to success.  Anyone who tells you otherwise does not have your best interest in mind.

Here’s my question to you, have you ever had a difficult experience with an advisor, if so, were you able to rectify it and how?  Also, what strategies have you used to get the most out of your advising relationship?

*Image credit: Jobvite

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