Being Pre-med and Studying Abroad, by Meg Barrow'13

I hear it all the time: “Wow, you studied abroad? I would love to, but I’m pre-med.”

“Really?” I always respond. “I am too.”

Coming into college I wasn’t sure about many things, but studying abroad was something I knew I wanted to be part of my college experience. I had never actually left the United States, but ever since starting Spanish classes in middle school I was certain that I wanted the chance to live in and experience the culture I had learned about so often. On the other hand, being pre-med was something I wasn’t sure about at all. Science was always one of my strong points in high school, and I knew I wanted a career that involved working with children, but it wasn’t until I was accepted at Harvard that the idea of pursuing a career in medicine even crossed my mind. I decided that, while I wasn’t 100% sure medicine was where I wanted to end up, I should at least take the pre-requisites to keep it open as an option.

So, coming into freshman year I had a lot of stuff I wanted to cram into my four years here: concentrating in psychology, fulfilling pre-med requirements, studying abroad for a semester, and completing a secondary field in Spanish. I sat down the summer before coming to Harvard and came up with a plan of attack that proved to me that it was possible to do all of these things. Clearly I haven’t taken every single class I outlined in that plan and have adjusted along the way, but it certainly allowed me to be much more confident with my decisions knowing that it was indeed possible to fit everything in. One of those decisions was choosing to study abroad my sophomore spring in Alicante, Spain. Based on this plan I had made, sophomore spring was the best time for me to go abroad.

For me, the most important thing about figuring out a time to go abroad was being flexible with the semester and order in which I would take my pre-med classes. Many students think there is just one acceptable sequence in which to take pre-med requirements, but that is not the case at all. I’ve ended up taking LifeSci 1b my junior year after taking LifeSci 2 as a sophomore, and will take Organic Chemistry as a senior. When you actually look at the course listings, several of the pre-med classes can be taken out of what is seemingly a necessary order – you don’t have to take LS1b before LS2, for example, and I’m doing the entire Physical Science series before Organic Chemistry. Being flexible and creative with scheduling pre-med classes, combined with my plan of attack that gave me the confidence to pursue all of these paths, is what ultimately allowed me to find a way to fit study abroad into my schedule.

Studying abroad was by far one of the best decisions I have ever made. By the end of sophomore fall I was starting to get burnt out and began questioning my commitment to and motivation for being pre-med. I knew that I couldn’t keep justifying spending so much of my time on pre-med classes if I was only taking them to “keep the option open.” Studying abroad gave me the chance to remove myself from the pre-med culture at Harvard and really reflect on my personal goals and motivations for being pre-med. Having time away from science classes and a chance to explore other interests actually solidified and deepened my desire to pursue medicine. I came back junior fall refreshed and with a new sense of purpose, motivation, and determination to finish my pre-med requirements.

Studying abroad as a pre-med is completely possible. It may take some extra planning and flexibility on your part, but the experience and benefits of getting to immerse yourself in another culture make all of the tradeoffs well worth it. I challenge you to re-examine the role that study abroad could play in your college experience – as one of my friends put it, “You may always regret not going, but you’ll never regret going.”