Clever Earth | Inside the pressure cooker mind of a pre-med: The case for mandatory health sessions

“What did you get on the midterm?” “Do I care about doing research at CHOP? No, but it looks good on my resume!” “I have 23 hours of class time for 5 credits.” “Do you want to sit next to me and trade answers for finals?”

These conversations echo through the hallways of Leidy Laboratories and the Chemistry Library. They are what any STEM student overhears outside of their classes and perhaps even participates in with their friends. It represents the inevitable, but shocking, manifestations of competitive pre-med culture at Penn — a culture unsurprisingly defined by preprofessionalism. While such a culture pushes students to excel and adopt a forward-thinking mindset of the next big thing, it also leads students to feel discontent with themselves. Self esteem often becomes inextricably linked with how well one is doing compared to their peers. It is a perpetual contest of who can be more perfect. Someone always has a higher grade. Someone always has a better research position. Someone always is working harder than you.

Imagine repeating these thoughts to yourself over and over again, and you have just entered the mind of a typical pre-med student at Penn. When competition bleeds into one’s perception of self, it becomes a battle against oneself — against thoughts of not being good enough. That is when the pursuit of success equates to a quest for self acceptance. Like many other preprofessional students at Penn, pre-med students struggle with feelings of inadequacy and powerlessness over their situation. 

I’ve seen students look up the average GPA and Medical College Admission Test scores of the top medical schools and internalize the belief that getting into medical school is a zero-error game. I’ve seen them feel discouraged for weeks upon receiving an A- because now they feel that the Perelman School of Medicine is out of the question. Anything less than perfection is not good enough for a top three medical school. 

That narrative dangerously becomes that they are not good enough. When the pressure to succeed affects one’s wellbeing, Penn must do more to address the mental health issue head on. This means going beyond monthly wellness workshops, emails that students instinctively delete, or a few words about the importance of taking care of oneself. Penn must instead implement mandatory mental health information and wellness sessions in place of a couple of classes throughout the semester.

These wellness sessions are not breaks; they are necessary to help students who would otherwise never seek help. They would aid students who simply feel too busy in their tireless pursuit of success. But most importantly, mandatory wellness sessions serve as a lifeline for students who suffer from mental health stigma — those who feel ashamed and incompetent for a supposed lack of character or strength. This stigma is accentuated especially in the Asian American community — where conflicting cultures and familial expectations compound upon the already intense stress of being pre-med. While competition undoubtedly produces strong students and stellar numbers for Penn, they cannot come at the cost of student health. Academic success cannot substitute for students’ wellbeing and happiness under any circumstance.

College sophomore and pre-med student Grace Tan, who is studying neuroscience,affirms the concerns raised about Penn’s pre-med culture. “It’s almost expected that you become toxic — that you put yourself first against everyone,” Tan said. Tan's account illustrates the pervasive pressure amongst students to prioritize individual success over mutual support. It is an unsettling reality where students distrust one another and close themselves off from their communities instead of building meaningful camaraderie.

The American Medical Association reports that 40% of pre-med students considered dropping out because of stress, with 26% of students experiencing stress “pretty much always.” This should not surprise anyone. The path to medical school has always been a numbers game. Popular guides on gaining admission to these elite institutions will undoubtedly emphasize that GPA and MCAT make or break a hopeful applicant. These metrics can open the door for aspiring students hoping to become the next generation of doctors — or they extinguish the dreams of countless passionate individuals. They have the power to validate a student’s hard work or invalidate them as futile efforts. When two numbers control a student’s fate, we can understand why students feel that they need to become toxic.

By incorporating wellness programs in place of a few classes, Penn can communicate a powerful message that students need to hear: They are not alone. They don’t have to be perfect. They are still young adults who make mistakes.

While we cannot alleviate the demanding expectations of the pre-med path, we can empower students to manage stress in a healthy way. It is not enough for Penn to offer help. Penn must reach out to students directly.

CLEVER EARTH is a College sophomore studying moral and political philosophy from Philadelphia. His email is cearth@sas.upenn.edu.