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Eva-Labelle Kenmoe is the former President of Princeton Black Premedical Society.
Something unique that I implemented during my presidency was more hands-on clinical volunteering experiences accessible for students. Being in a small town like Princeton, it can be hard to find clinical opportunities during the school year. So, building on what the former president started, we established a connection with a local soup kitchen to administer free blood pressure readings and hospital referrals for hypertension. This not only allowed students to gain clinical experience, but also to give back to the community in a meaningful way.
Being at Princeton, I think a constant pressure is making sure that we have as high of a GPA as possible. This is something that most premed students think about, however, with the rigour of Princeton course work it can be even harder to maintain as high of a GPA as fellow applicants while also trying to balance landing summer internships, being well-rounded in extracurriculars, part-time jobs, and more. Also the struggle of finding the right clinical experiences during the school year and summer.
I would remove the expectation of needing extensive research hours to get into medical school. Being at Princeton, we each have to write a senior thesis so there are built in research hours in a way. However, it is already hard enough to balance GPA and extracurriculars without having to cold-email lab managers for potential opportunities. There is already the expectation of having extensive clinical experience before applying to medical school, and I think it would be great if students could mainly focus on getting that rather than trying to do it all including research that they sometimes are not even interested in. This would allow students to focus on the research that genuinely motivates them rather than trying to check a box.
I think it is a bit of both. I definitely think that there are resources available to talk through some of the challenges of being premed, and at Princeton I think premeds are very open with each other to talk about the stressors and motivate each other when needed. However, I think simultaneously it can feel daunting to complain sometimes for lack of sounding whiny, considering that there are so many people going through the same things as you.
I think social media is a double edged sword for premeds. On the one hand, it can be super inspiring to see similar students as you getting into these top schools and going on to be amazing doctors. It can also be helpful to hear med students talk about their application and give pointers so that you can get a sense of how you can improve and do your best during the application process. At the same time, I think comparison can be the thief of joy. I see many of my peers look at these “med-fluencers” online and feel a sense of dread, thinking “I can never have those stats and those experiences. How will I ever get into medical school?”. I think it is important to consume premed media with caution and in moderation to make sure you are staying in a positive headspace.
I would say the cost of preparing for the MCAT and applying to medical school. Although there are a number of free resources out there, some of the most popular and most effective resources cost upwards of $300. Not only that, but taking the MCAT itself costs roughly $355. This is considering you only take it once which a lot of people need to take it more than once. And finally med school apps can cost anywhere from $80-200 per school, with the average applicant applying to between 20-35 schools. Overall, these fees are not discussed nearly enough.
Inspira Advantage is proud to interview student leaders like Eva-Labelle Kenmoe, who shares valuable insights on balancing academics, clinical experience, burnout, social media pressures, and the financial realities of pursuing a career in medicine. Learn more about how our medical school admissions consultants can help you get into medical school today.
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