Shanna: This is a big question that quite a number of undergrads face. They’re interested in science and research but does grad school or med school seems like a better bit?
I talk about medicine as the most amazing career in the world and encourage many people to consider it, but I’m super biased. Medicine is the perfect fit for my personality, my interests and what I believe is my purpose in this world (to help people). But, I acknowledge that that things that appeal to me in medicine are the downsides to some other people, while things that draws people to some other careers are not my cup of tea. So when some of you early in your schooling, e.g. in high school, ask “what should I be doing to get to medical school”, I suggest that addition to doing medicine-related activities, take your time to thoroughly learn about the many amazing other careers out there!
I asked a friend I made through the blogging world and I’m grateful that she’s open to share her decision-making process and journey to choose grad school. Cindy Wei is in her final semester as University of Waterloo Kinesiology student. She’s a recipient of the highly prestigious Schulich scholarship among other high-profile scholarships. Please follow her Instagram @_cindywei (https://instagram.com/_cindywei) to see her super cool aerial silks and hoop pictures, and other adventures. She previously blogged and shared lots of healthy recipes at https://cookiesnchem.com/
Cindy, can you tell us about what your academic/career journey has been like so far?
- Cindy: I started in 2015, as it is a five-year program with co-op. I recently applied to MSc. Kinesiology programs at the University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, and McGill University. In late 2019, I applied for Master’s level scholarships from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research with a research proposal on malnutrition for older adults with dementia and their care partners.
Throughout my program, I’ve done three co-op jobs:
- Clinical Assistant at the Toronto Health Centre in downtown Toronto (4 months)
- Anatomy and Physiology Tutor at Centennial College in Scarborough (4 months)
- Nutrition & Aging Research Assistant for Dr. Heather Keller in Waterloo (8 months)
What do you do for fun?
I spend much of my free time at the local dance studio, where I am an aerial silks and hoop student and assistant instructor. When I’m not at the studio, you can probably find me at the campus arena (I skated varsity last year, and coaching Learn to Figure Skate this winter). I enjoy yoga, ballet, reading and writing, and drawing. I also dedicate some time each week to volunteering around campus and the community.
What was your decision-making process like to decide to not to pursue medicine?
- In a sense, my undergrad MSc/MD (do I want to be a doctor or a researcher?) predicament was like a rom-com! Specifically, a typical rom-com where the protagonist really wants to date the alluring bad boy (in my analogy: med school) all while hanging out with the shy best friend (in my analogy: research). Throughout my undergrad, I was dead-set on the idea of going to med school, and set out to do whatever I had to do to get in. I was confident that I could, and should, do it! When a big obstacle–the MCAT–came up, however, I realized that the “bad boy” (med school) didn’t exactly fit my needs. Realistically, I didn’t see us having a future together.
- Cindy: With graduation and application deadlines on the horizon, what should I do? I realized that, for the past five years, I’d been spending a lot of time on research. Since I enjoyed doing it, whether it was volunteer work or paid, research never felt like a chore. It was always there, and I’d been using research as a “stepping stone” for medical school, gaining experience to add to my CV before applying to med school. Yet, I’d presented at a number of conferences, enjoyed travelling to different parts of Canada for research, loved working with participants, and even liked writing papers! At that point, I realized I should stick with research. I discovered that med school is a terrific option for many people, but there are other ways to make a difference in the world of healthcare.
- Shanna: I loved Cindy’s analogy. People often think my choice of med school is boring and nerdy.If medicine were a prospective boyfriend, it might look “boring and nerdy” to others but its intelligent and down to earth and selfless nature is more attractive to me. For example, I would probably never be a professional actress because 1) I don’t like needing to be often be a stage in front of 1000s of people I’ll never know on a personal level (instead of the one-on-one intimately personal interactions I’ve privileged to experience in medicine) and 2) value professional-personal boundaries and would hate to have paparazzi prying into my personal life, and 3) most importantly, have zero enjoyment or interest in acting. And that’s totally fine because there are people out there that love acting and thrive in front of an audience and enjoy people being invested in what’s going in their personal lives. It’s the same way some friends do not understand how I’ve always had zero discomfort around blood or needles or guts, and that I actually have a huge fascination for watching treatments get injected and subsequently provide tremendous relief for a patient. Choose a job that suits your personality, not what other people think is attractive J
- Shanna: Sometimes people ask me why I do so much research. Just like Cindy, I love all the different parts of research from coming up with ideas, to working with patients, to telling people what we found. You don’t have to do research to get into medical school but I would encourage everyone to try it at least once and see if you enjoy it.)
- Cindy: I know this is certainly not the case for everyone, but I felt like medical school—or the ‘premed journey’ at least—is a bit elitist. Throughout the process, I felt like premed students needed to complete semester-long MCAT courses ($), volunteer internationally ($$), and focus on school and research instead of working part-time ($$$). And, of course, it costs money to apply to medical schools, more if you wish to try for med schools abroad. Not to mention travel and accommodation for interviews! “These barriers discriminate against applicants with [lower] socioeconomic backgrounds”, according to this piece, which also points out that Canadian medical students are more likely to have a higher family income. I have some friends that felt defeated about not being able to try for medical school because they spent more time making burritos at the local Mexican joint than working for free at the hospital. There’s no doubt that traditional medical admissions benefit folks with higher socioeconomic status, and fortunately Canadian schools are taking steps to bridge this gap.
- Shanna: I agree that finances/family situations can be a major barrier to how much time you can dedicate to volunteering and extracurricular activities. There are initiatives in place to make the playing ground more even so I hope that $$$ will not be a barrier to prospective students in the future. The MCAT, application fees, and flights did add up. I stayed at the houses of current medical students and friends in cities I interviewed to save on costs. There are fee assistance programs for the MCAT and application if these are a concern.
- That said, I hope that no one gets discouraged if you strongly feel that medicine is your calling. I didn’t spend the $$ for a MCAT course or international volunteering. During the application period, I got quite anxious that lacking those experiences would make me less competitive- and maybe that’s true. However, I think paid jobs and local volunteering and self-studying for the MCAT were equally valuable learning experiences.
Were there particular experiences that turned you away from medicine?
- One of the key reasons that I decided not to attend medical school was the MCAT. Most students take 4 months, give or take, to study full-time for the exam. I did not have 4 months to take “off”, as the University of Waterloo co-op program gives you back-to-back school and work terms. In other words, no summers off. I tried to study for my MCAT on top of full-time research, but sadly I’m no galaxy brain; the last thing I wanted to do after summarizing interventions and memorizing presentations all day was summarize CARS passages and memorize amino acids. That being said, I have brilliant friends who were able to work full-time and study for their MCAT, and I wanted to follow their lead, but I wanted to find balance between academics, athletics, and my other hobbies.
- Shanna: Studying for the MCAT is a big commitment. During my study period, I had the mindset “med school or nothing” to give myself the willpower. While I did still do some fun things to stay sane, I did spend hours upon hours studying.
Any advice you would give to students conflicted between grad school and med school? What students (in terms of their goals or their personalities) do you think would suit grad school?
- I’m not sure how I to answer this because I have (a) never been in medical school, and (b) not yet been accepted to grad school, but my major personality marker that made grad school seem like a better choice was independence and self-motivation.
- During my research co-op, I worked with a number of grad students who are incredibly diplomatic, competent, and organized. I felt like grad students don’t have to “wait” for someone to teach them something—they can just go to PubMed and read up on the topics themselves.
- I also loved the flexibility of working from home if it was too snowy to walk, working at the lab if I needed peer feedback, or working from Chatime if I wanted milk tea. In terms of flexibility, I also found plenty of flexibility in time. I could start chipping away at my literature reviews at 6:00 AM if I woke up at 5:30. I could spend the day at a skating showcase, and then work on my projects late evening. I loved that I had the ability to create and adhere to my own schedule.
- Shanna: Med school is highly structured, though after med school, it can more flexible time and location wise. Most days, I have to be at our learning facilities at the hospital at a certain time. Sometimes, this means we have to from one hospital for lectures in the morning to another for clinical skills in the afternoon. Our priority is caring for our patients, so it’s our responsibility to stay late or come early to meet a patient’s needs.
- This is a tangent: I was at a casual dinner where someone not in medicine could not understand why doctors at a particular hospital in China cancelled their holidays to provide extra hands on deck for treating coronavirus patients and wondered why the doctors didn’t run away. The other physician at the dinner and I were both firm that we would both do that in a heartbeat. It’s more than obligation. It’s a desire to be helping people in need if you have the skills and knowledge to do so, and the risk of also getting infected is part of the price of the job.
Any traits that would make someone not suitable for grad school
- In my experience, my supervisor gives me a lot of freedom. This depends wholly on one’s supervisor, but perhaps if you are someone who requires daily supervision and “checking in”, then a busy supervisor may not fit your needs. Still, that doesn’t mean grad school is out of the question, because course-based grad programs exist!
Is there a particular trajectory or end-result you want and why.
- I am interested in working as a professor, perhaps 50/50 research and lecturing. My supervisor is so brilliant, kind, patient, and articulate, and I wish to be like her when I am older. Though, I’ve always been open to new doors and don’t like to stick to one goal… if things change and my ideal “end result” is different, I’m going to embrace it! I always thought it would be neat to work in health policy, to work for the government… 🤔
What made you decide to choose your particular program as opposed to other programs you applied to & What made you decide to choose your particular field of grad studies?
- I love kinesiology. The professors are committed and compassionate, and my peers have always been supportive. I applied to thesis-based MSc programs at the University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, and McGill University because my career advisor highly recommended doing a thesis for the full research trainee experience. I am in the process of doing my undergraduate thesis and enjoying it, so why not do a more fleshed out version of a different, but similar, project?
What is the application process of competing to get into grad school like? How competitive is it? What things do you need to be competitive?
- I’m not sure how competitive it is. I applied to the Knight-Hennessy Scholarship (Stanford) and the Rhodes Scholarship (Oxford), knowing both would be long shots, but why not? Prestigious scholarships like these require a lot of advance planning. For instance, the Rhodes Scholarship was due end of September for the year before you wish to attend. Each university could only choose one representative, so you must apply to your school’s admission committee for institutional endorsement by August. Also, the Rhodes Scholarship required six reference letters; I started working on my personal statement and asking for reference letters in the spring. Although I received institutional endorsement and was granted the honour of applying for these scholarships as the University of Waterloo’s nominee, I unfortunately did not get them, which is okay!
- Shanna: I admire Cindy’s courage to take chances even if something is not guaranteed, and her positive attitude.
Thank you again, Cindy. Feel free to leave questions for either Cindy or I in the comments 🙂