Creator's Letter Princess Francois, CC'11

Introduction 1 Introduction Creator’s Letter Princess Francois, CC’11 Dear Charles Drew Members, Pulse was created specifically for you! The idea for creating this came after reading a similar book I received from my participation in the University of Pittsburgh’s Summer Academic Enrichment Program (SPAEP) in Summer 2009. I found the book incredibly resourceful and it served as a pre-med bible to me. My only criticism was that it was not entirely written by students. I later discovered a mini premed booklet written by students of the Harvard Pre-Med Society. An overachieving Columbian, I decided I would create one written by Columbia premeds, for Columbia premeds, combining the best aspects—depth and student perspective—of Pitt’s book and Harvard’s. In this endeavor, I have aspired to build upon Charles Drew’s diverse activities while complementing the usual guidance of Columbia’s Office of Pre-Professional Advising. The purpose of this book is to offer honest advice about how to survive (and conquer!) the intense pre-med curriculum at Columbia. The content of this book is broad but detailed in its presentation. In these pages, you will find topics such as how to pick a major, studying abroad, extracurriculars, summer research opportunities, the “gap year”, and much more. Here, students share personal stories, talking openly about mistakes they feel they made and what they might have done differently. Our motivations in sharing these stories are to pass on knowledge we hope might help you achieve the same success we want for ourselves – to become physicians with a purpose, to become physicians that pay it forward, with the first step of getting into medical school. We also want to leave a legacy for future generations of pre-meds to follow. We hope you consider our advice and realize that we were once in your shoes. Remember that there are many resources out there to help you in your premed journey. These include not only this book, but your peers, professors, doctors, medical students, and the Pre-Professional Advising Office. Treat this guidebook as a window into these other resources and think of Pulse as your student-written survival guide to navigating— and excelling at—your pre-med career and a stepping stone to your ultimate dream: the M.D. I would like to thank my co-collaborators Antoinette Allen, CC’12, and Jasmine Alves, CC’13 who took on this large project enthusiastically and made sure it did not fall through the cracks. Without their hard work and commitment, this guidebook would not have come to reality. Thank you to the editing committee who read through an enormous amount of articles despite their very, very busy schedules. Most importantly, I would like to thank the writers and contributors. Without their words, there would be no guidebook. We hope this guidebook will be updated periodically as we anticipate that both the needs of students and the premed curriculum will change. As a final note, I leave you with these wise words that were once given to me: “P^3 = MD.” Plan, preserve, and persist and you will become the doctor you aspire to be! All the best and much luck to everyone, Princess Francois, CC’11 Co-President of the Charles Drew Pre-Medical Society Creator of Pulse: The Unofficial Lifeline Guide for Columbia’s Pre-Meds 2 Introduction Note from Our Co-Collaborator Antoinette Allen, CC’12 Hello there! My name is Antoinette Allen and I am the Co-Collaborator for the Charles Drew Guidebook Project. Working tirelessly through the semester, my co-collaborator, Jasmine, and the creator, Princess, have managed to finagle a pre-med guidebook written for pre-med students by both current and former pre-med students at Columbia. This was a very challenging task—harder than you might think! We are all so incredibly involved that it is difficult for us to take even just an hour or so out of our busy schedules to accomplish a large task such as this. However, we are also motivated to create something to help generations of pre-meds to come. As you will see in the forthcoming pages, there are some very amazing articles from some very amazing students who took the time and effort to contribute by speaking openly and honestly in these pages about their pre-med experiences at Columbia. I thank these students and wish them great success in the future. To the reader, I hope you find this guidebook informative, relatable, and maybe even humorous at times as you read it to cure what ails your premed soul! Note from Our Co-Collaborator Jasmine Alves, CC’13 Congratulations on making the decision to become a doctor! This Guidebook, written for Columbia premed students, by past and present Columbia students, aspires to be an essential tool for maximizing your chances of succeeding here and getting into medical school. We know that becoming a doctor is a challenging yet rewarding process, so our goal in creating this Guidebook was to help make this process go as smoothly as possible for you. To do so, we have gathered as much information and advice about what it takes to be a successful pre-med student at Columbia and made that all available to you in one place. The advice comes from students just like you who have already gone through the process. In putting this guidebook together, we hope to dispel myths about the Columbia premed experience and address everything we think a premed student needs to know—from choosing a major, to finding a research opportunity, to everything in between. Along the journey to become a doctor, you may be faced with a variety of obstacles—why not avoid some of those pitfalls by learning from the mistakes and successes of other Columbia pre-meds? The content of this book will benefit both present and future generations of premedical students. That’s exactly what this book allows. I am excited and honored to be a part of this project. We hope the content of the book will benefit both present and future generations of premedical students. Truthfully, I wish I had this book freshman year, but I am grateful that I have it now. Good luck on your journey to become a doctor, and enjoy the book! We are truly thankful for everyone who has taken the time to make a contribution to this project. This book would not be possible without the help, support, and contributions of past and present members of the Charles Drew Pre-medical Society. 3 Introduction AACCKKNNOOWWLLEEDDGGEEMMEENNTTSS CREATOR Princess Francois, CC’11 CO-COLLABORATORS Antoinette Allen, CC’12 Jasmine Alves, CC’13 EDITORS Antoinette Allen, CC’12 Jasmine Alves, CC’13 Christina Ortiz, CC’12 Kwanza Price, Post-Bacc’11 VISUAL ARTIST Melvin Green, CC’11 4 Introduction CONTRIBUTORS Graduates Ruqayyah Abdul-Karim, CC’10 Mark Attiah, CC’09 Heidi Bonilla, CC’10 Tomás Díaz, CC’10 Nausheen Hakim, CC’10 Maritza Harper, CC-SEAS’09 Amanda Lynn Hernandez, CC’08 Edwin Kulubya, CC’10 Mabo Imoisili, CC’10 Kwaku Kyere, CC’09 Chamika Miles, CC’10 Ivan Pena, CC’10 Victor Thompson, CC’10 Seniors (Class of 2011) Tanisha Daniel, CC’11 Princess Francois, CC’11 Daniela Guisado, SEAS’11 Amy Huang, CC’11 Jasmine Jackson, SEAS’11 Kimberly Laughman, CC’11 Brian Lewis, CC’11 Calvin Nash, Post-Bacc’11 Kwanza Price, Post-Bacc’11 Connie Qiu, SEAS’11 Rotsen Rocha, GS’11 Patricia Rojas, CC’11 Jenny Ruiz, SEAS’11 Chris Travis, CC’11 Joanna Wang, CC’11 5 Introduction Juniors (Class of 2012) Antoinette Allen, CC’12 Kyra Caldwell, CC’12 Brandon Christophe, CC’12 Johanna Miele, CC’12 Eric Ndikumana, CC’12 Chinyere “ChiChi” Okunji, CC’12 Randy Subramany, CC’12 Sophomores (Class of 2013) Jasmine Alves, CC’13 Margerie Cadet, BC’13 Lindsey Hastings-Spaine, CC’13 Yamira Bell, CC’13 Angelica Lopez, BC’13 Chinenyenwa “ChiChi” Mpamaugo, CC’13 Isaac Nyarko, CC’13 Kimberley Small, CC’13 First-Years (Class of 2014) Doreen Agboh, CC’14 SOURCES OF INSPIRATION "Publications | The HPS Student Guide to Premed Life." The HPS Student Guide to Premed Life | A Guide Written by Harvard Premeds for Harvard Premeds. 2008. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. <http://hpsunofficialguide.wordpress.com/unofficial-guide- 2008/>. University of Pittsburgh Chapter of Student National Medical Association, and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Office of Student Affairs and Diversity Program. Medical Crossroads 2009. Pittsburgh, 2009. 6 Introduction This publication was created by the Charles Drew Pre-Medical Society during the 2010-2011 school year. 2010-2011 EXECUTIVE BOARD Co-President, Princess Francois, CC’11 Co-President, Brian Lewis, CC’11 Senior Advisor, Patricia Rojas, CC’11 Junior Advisor, Johanna Miele, CC’12 Director of Organizational Committee, Kimberly Laughman, CC'11 Treasurer, Connie Qiu, SEAS’11 Secretary, Christina Ortiz, CC’12 Publicity Manager, Melvin Green, CC’11 Events Coordinator, ChiChi Mpamaugo, CC’13 Underclassmen Liaison, Jasmine Alves, CC’13 Underclassmen Liaison, Jasmin Neal, CC’14 Barnard Liaison, Claire Wu, BC’13 High School Pipeline Chairperson, Randy Subramany, CC’12 PUMP Co-Chairperson, Angelica Lopez, BC’13 PUMP Co-Chairperson, Kwanza Price, Post-Bacc’11 Historian, Yara Tercero-Parker, CC’14 Publications Editor, Antoinette Allen, CC’12 Webmaster, Darling Jimenez, CC’12 7 Introduction TTAABBLLEE OOFF CCOONNTTEENNTTSS ACADEMICS: DIFFERENT ROADS, SAME DESTINATION ......... 12 Why Pre-Med? Why Medicine? ................................................................................ 13 Pre-Medical Requirements ........................................................................................ 16 The Columbia Pre-Med Experience ........................................................................ 18 Freshman Year: Pushing Through the Start of the Struggle ................................. 20 Sophomore Year: An Uphill Battle ............................................................................ 23 Junior Year: A Year of Self Discovery and Solidification .....................................

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