Pre-med Don't Ask, Dont Tell

The pre-med: an organism known for its ruthless competitiveness, its obsessive studying, its social awkwardness. A growing species on college campuses, its survival is nevertheless threatened by an erratic sleep schedule and poor dietary habits: coffee stains on chemistry homework, dribbled ink on biology notes when sleep eclipses writing.

But not all pre-meds are like this. In fact, few of us are. However, I have recently found that the medical school application process instills even the sanest pre-meds with a sense of paranoia. The rules are simple: don't ask, don't tell. Oblique, overeager questions such as "So...how did the MCATs go for you?" and "What schools have you heard from?" are simply taboo.

Paradoxically, this reticence may point to a desire to be as not-pre-med as possible. After watching my peers apply, I realized that not asking and not telling not only gives you an edge (no one knows about this awesome shadowing opportunity but me!), but also enables you to retain a persona of nonchalance. It veils the competitiveness and allows fellow pre-meds to interact more pleasantly during a stressful time.

Of course, there are definitely those who genuinely do not care to know what schools Tom has heard from, or what Dick's GPA is. But I am willing to bet that there are at least several among us who remain mute not because we are not interested in Harry's secondaries, but because we do not want to become that guy in the front row with his arm spring-loaded. Social Darwinism, FTW?

-Tara Tai

 Photo Credit: Jeanne Dang