There are certain keys to getting into medical school that all pre-meds know: a high MCAT score, a high GPA, a stand-out personal statement, amazing letters of recommendation and meaningful extracurriculars. With so much to do and so little time, we’re always scrambling to make ourselves the best candidates possible in a growingly competitive field. 

Unfortunately, I, too, have the over-achieving pre-med disease. I’ve taken horrendous course loads, given away copious amounts of my labor for free and spread myself thinner than the few strands of my brain somehow still holding my sanity together. Well, it’s actually not that bad. 

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The point is I work a lot, and I understand the constant pressure that pre-med students face in regards to improving their resumes. But the problem is sometimes we get so caught up in applications and academic competition that we don’t realize many of our opportunities for experience and learning come at the expense of marginalized communities. 

This really came to light for me when I was in my senior year of high school, right after the main college application period ended in the fall. My teacher suggested I volunteer at a local free clinic because she knew I was fluent in Spanish and interested in medicine, but I couldn’t go because of prior commitments. As I was telling my friend this in class, one of my classmates asked me why I was even interested in starting to volunteer at the clinic. 

I thought it was pretty obvious, particularly for her, because she was another student interested in going to medical school and becoming a doctor. Working at a free clinic would mean I get to interact with patients, use my Spanish and get healthcare experience; I would have taken the opportunity in a heartbeat if I could.

I told her all of this, and she responded with, “What’s the point if college applications are already over?”

I was appalled by her response. I know we all try to make ourselves look better for applications, but it amazed me how callous someone could be, especially someone who wants to dedicate their life to taking care of others. I think what really got to me was that the whole point of volunteering is that it’s supposed to be for helping your community — your neighbors. 

The clinic served mainly a Latine population, and as a Latina myself, I felt personally connected to the patients there. If my parents were not as fortunate with their jobs and insurance, it could have easily been my family who had to rely on these clinics as our only form of healthcare. And the idea that someone helping to treat me, even if not directly, is doing so solely for their own benefit, disgusts me.

My classmate wasn’t Latina, but even then that shouldn’t change anything. The patients who go to the clinic go to the same schools we do, buy from the same markets, walk the same streets and are part of the same community.

Free clinics and other medical volunteering programs were made in order to give quality healthcare to those who normally would not be able to access it, and it is the duty of those who work there to strive to provide the best care possible to their patients. And it’s up to us to place those standards upon ourselves.

In the end, schools and jobs are only going to see the surface level of your performance and experience. That classmate ended up going to a top 20 school, and honestly, I just wish her the best on her future development. I understand how easy it is to lose sight of why you’re doing something because of how much stress and pressure you put on yourself for things like getting into medical school. But our growth and opportunities cannot come at the cost of exploiting others. That goes against the very principles of what practicing medicine should be. 

Next semester, I’m going to start volunteering as an ad-hoc interpreter at a free clinic. I have my doubts about the whole thing: Am I actually going to be able to help these people? Am I just using these people for my benefit? Am I no different from the girl I got so mad at just a year ago? But when I get these thoughts, I always try to center myself and remember what my goal is as a volunteer: to help those as I’d want them to help me. So long as I keep that in mind, I’m confident I won’t lose myself or my ideals.