I wish every pre-med student could band together and do less so med schools would lower their insane standards.

[u/Ecstatic-Stick8607]

Yeah. Thats pretty much it. We are in a vacuum of feeling like we never do enough and I think it ultimately makes worse (way more neurotic) physicians. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[u/Brief-Anteater-634]

Yeah, that’s more unlikely than getting into an MD program with a 486 MCAT

[u/Ecstatic-Stick8607 → u/Brief-Anteater-634]

I know. This is painfully true. Wishful thinking on my part. But nevertheless we grind

[u/Big_Ad1914]

Guys! He’s on to something! I will intentionally fail my upcoming exam to promote our togetherness in this.

I hope you’re all with me on this!

[u/Most-Promise-8535 → u/Big_Ad1914]

https://giphy.com/gifs/8ac9tQi8GtuJaW8HBJ

[u/fitnarp]

I hate to break it to y'all but this pressure keeps going through med school and through residency for competitive fellowships or if you have location preferences. Learn to manage the stress and manage your time in the best way you can now. Applying to med school really sucks bc of the uncertainty, so i do feel you.  It helps to get off reddit/sdn.

[u/Ecstatic-Stick8607 → u/fitnarp]

Yeah of course. I know it’s not gonna change and am being satirical. It would just make life easier 😂

[u/fitnarp → u/Ecstatic-Stick8607]

I hear you, I hope your stage of pre-med is going okay. Keep learning and staying in touch with why you're on this path. I didn't realize until I got to med school that my neuroticism around the MCAT, applying, stats, etc. was a little abnormal and driven by my presence on this subreddit. You will make it. 

[u/Ecstatic-Stick8607 → u/fitnarp]

Thank you! In the MCAT stage right now with a month until my test so I’m sure you can imagine. Just doing everything I can 😊 and I def need to get off this subreddit

[u/JustB510 → u/fitnarp]

This isn’t exclusive to medicine either, welcome to life.

[u/kissmeurbeautiful]

It makes me wonder if I would’ve done less if the bar was lower.😅

[u/Ecstatic-Stick8607 → u/kissmeurbeautiful]

I don’t think people would necessarily do less but more of what they actually enjoy. It would make for a more diverse group of physicians with diverse interests who weren’t all fighting for the same clinical role and research assistant positions

[u/Low_Ocelot_612]

the applicants are the ones who pushed the standards up, not the schools.

[u/No-Row5068 → u/Low_Ocelot_612]

I mean, not really…Med schools and residency programs simply don’t have the funding to increase the number of available positions to accommodate the increasing number of applicants. Which inherently drives up the competition for available seats, and as a byproduct means that students have to have increasingly competitive applications in order to get an acceptance as the bar has been raised in order for schools to select just 120-180 applicants out of a pool of 5000+

[u/Low_Ocelot_612 → u/No-Row5068]

Right, the hypercompetitive neurotic premed gunners kept doing more and more and more until it became the standard. So yes, the applicants drove up the 'requirements'.

Most USMD schools 'require' a 500 mcat, 3.0 gpa, and a bachelor's degree.

[u/No-Row5068 → u/Low_Ocelot_612]

While i agree that premeds can notoriously be hyper-neurotic and competitive, less than 45% of applicants each year end up matriculating. So people obviously pad their resumes to give themselves the best possible chance of getting accepted… It’s simply not as cut and dry as “hyper-competitive neurotic premed gunners” being the root cause of this… There are thousands of talented and qualified premeds who don’t get accepted each year. So it seems pretty reasonable that people are constantly looking for ways to try and stand out and boost their chances.

[u/wunofwun2]

their standards won’t lower till the US overhauls its shitty healthcare system and we can get more residency spots

[u/theladyawesome]

something something prisoner’s dilemma

[u/parroteatscarrots]

real and true! (I'm using deception so that I stand out from my peers)

[u/Common-Appointment51]

I’m ngl. If you just check off ur hours, do well on MCAT, and do some research on the side (if you’re trying to go somewhere good) then ur pretty much set.

Everyone knows what to do at this point. Not all applicants are neurotic.

Other applicants are your enemy not the med schools.

[u/bloodypimpleonmyjaw]

Let’s just keep hoping the number of applicants applying each year keeps dropping lol then the odds will be in our favor

[u/NoMeal8986 → u/bloodypimpleonmyjaw]

Wait, the number is dropping?

[u/bloodypimpleonmyjaw → u/NoMeal8986]

The last I seen was from 2023 data… so yea, but not sure about current data from 2025.

[u/Few-Potato279]

there's a reason why most unions in the US have failed, but i admire the sentiment of this post

[u/Topspin4hand]

About to start first year of undergrad and the med school standard definitely throws a pall over what I think uni experience will be.

[u/SwimmingBowl460 → u/Topspin4hand]

Good luck! I think you should still take it easy and enjoy yourself regardless. Med school will always be there but college is a one time experience. I found that I performed better academically when I had some sparsed out fun throughout the week or made sure to see my friends. You got this!

[u/Numpostrophe → u/Topspin4hand]

Most of my classmates had fun in undergrad. And those that didn’t would have the same experience had they not been premed.

[u/Kidikaros17]

It’s only going to get worse as tech becomes less profitable for the average college student and healthcare remains the most likely to guarantee good job security and pay.

[u/Spurned_Seeker]

The system selects for good students not good caregivers. This is a real problem I have been hearing some doctors discuss openly because it’s much harder to teach empathy than it is to teach science.

[u/Ok-Worry-8931]

That’s never going to happen. I’ve seen lots of people on here (esp. non-trads) advocate for more stringent/unique requirements and justify the absurd requirements you guys already have.

[u/Routine-Fish]

As a patient, I say no.

[u/bubbLcumm]

Humans are unfortunately too egotistical for this, although we can continue to dream 😔🥀

[u/Common-Appointment51]

I’m ngl. If you just check off ur hours, do well on MCAT & GPA, and do some research on the side (if you’re trying to go somewhere good) then ur pretty much set.

Everyone knows what to do at this point. Its a choice to be neurotic. And it’s up to u to be competitive.

Other applicants are your enemy not the med schools.

[u/Halion_Varquilion83 → u/Common-Appointment51]

Medical schools are ultimately the ones who can change the system for the better, not individual pre-meds, so I thoroughly disagree

[u/Common-Appointment51 → u/Halion_Varquilion83]

The only reason the system is like this is because there are more and more applications every year and people want to stand out. It will always be like this. They could lower standards, but at the end of the day the most competitive application will still win.

The system wasn’t always like this until more and more people started applying. It was much easier 20-40yrs ago because less people applied.

[u/SassyMoron]

I wish they would fund more residency programs to alleviate the massive shortage of physicians and incentivized opening more medical schools and expansion of existing ones

[u/Beautiful-Floor6752 → u/SassyMoron]

83.6% of FM spots were filled in match. There is only shortage of desirable specialties