r/smithcollege • u/Hi_hello_there_12 Prospective Smithie • Aug 20 '26
Smithie Premed Opportunities
Hi!
I am a prospective student who is trying to decide if I should apply to Smith College! I am really interested in majoring in biochemistry and pursuing a premed pathway. I am currently leaning towards a MD-PhD route, and was wondering if any Smithies have been admitted to this program, or an MD program.
I saw online that Smith offers a lot of amazing research opportunities, which is great for the MD-PhD pathway. However, I also saw that there is only one hospital nearby, where students from the (four?) college consortium also do clinical hours at. I am a little scared I will not be able to do volunteer hours here, or my hours will not stand out because there are so many other students also doing the same work as me.
I also saw Smith offers discounted support for the MCAT. Does Smith host suturing clinics or other opportunities to learn medical-related skills? I know Smith has an EMS team and courses as well, which is cool!
Finally, does Smith help students if they take a gap year before applying to medical school? How is the alumni support specifically for premed or pre-scientists? Do most alums attend medical school in the United States, or do they attend Caribbean? I have looked into Caribbean medical schools (eg Saint George’s), but I am worried about my ability to attend them since they seem much pricier than US medical schools. Also, I am mostly really prioritizing an MD-PhD, which seems to be more offered in the US.
Overall, I am looking for any experiences, advice, or suggestions from Smithies who went the premed route! I really like this school, and I would love to learn some more about the scientific support 😁.
Thank you, everyone!
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u/Hi_hello_there_12 Prospective Smithie Aug 23 '26
Also, I had some more questions if anyone has answers:
How is Chapin house's community? I have been looking at this house and it is my favorite so far.
What are the fun traditions at Smith? What do students at Smith do for fun socially? I would love any insight or tips/help!
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u/Deep-Somewhere1524 Aug 23 '26
Incoming first year! This post was super helpful in learning about different traditions, smiths website is also a great resource!
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u/snoopy_lauver7858 5d ago edited 5d ago
Hi! (This is kind of long sorry)
I’m a sophomore student at Smith Neuroscience major on the pre-med track and an art history minor. I’m also on the executive board for the pre-med society at Smith and am on the council for a lot of other STEM outreach programs as well. A couple things:
I definitely recommend joining the pre health society because we put together tons of volunteer and networking opportunities. Just this month we will have a smith alumni and medical student at Stanford come to speak with us to give her advice and answer questions. We also get funding so we can send students to conferences in Boston and we overall work to build a good community of students. It’s not a competitive environment at all, just supportive girls helping one another achieve their goals.
Definitely contact Elle Mons when you get here she is absolutely amazing and will be able to give you tons of information about your classes, resume, essays, research opportunities, and clinical experiences. She’s one of the people who wrote you a letter of recommendation for medical school so meet with her at least once a year if you can.
The Jandon center here is the place to go if you are looking for clinical volunteer opportunities. I am currently volunteering at an outpatient clinic nearby. There are definitely limited options due to area, but if you go there they can help you find a good fit.
As far as research if that’s something you might be interested in I am in the AEMES scholars program which allows you to get paid to do research in labs on campus starting your freshman year. I did research in Katzlab (a biology lab) my freshman year and am doing Neuroscience research in Coomer lab right now. So if you are a low income student the AEMES program is something I would highly recommend. You would apply before you come to Smith.
As far as external opportunities smith is amazing at sharing them with students. My freshman year I did cancer research at Boston University Medical School for 3 months and shadowed an oncologist at the BMC during that time as well. I was able to do this through the Praxis funding smith offers. This is 3,500 dollars Smith gives you to fund opportunities outside of smith that you want to pursue. So through this opportunity I got my name in a paper and got tons of clinical shadowing hours.
As far as alumni getting into medical school the stats are very high from what I’ve seen and been told. Smith College has an 85% acceptance rate for students who apply for medical school. I’ve also talked to a lot of doctors outside of Smith who have told me medical schools especially on the East coast love Smith (that’s just what I heard though). The Smith alumni are absolutely amazing. I got in contact with a smith alumni who is currently at Tufts school of medicine who worked in the same lab I did at BU and she is my mentor now. She’s always willing to look over my applications and give me advice on opportunities to pursue at Smith.
I’m on the board for the STEM outreach club that focuses on volunteer at local Boys and Girls Clubs to teach science to kids. A great opportunity as well.
We also have the medical brigade’s volunteer program where you can go abroad and help people in medical need in other countries which is cool.
I also know that Smith does offer MCAT financial help but I’m not sure how much.
Overall, Smith has TONS of funding so whatever opportunity you want to pursue there is most likely some funding available to help if that is a barrier.
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u/ttwun22 Aug 23 '26
Currently an MD/PhD student who graduated a few years ago. Please get in touch with Elly Mons Jess Pfeffer. They are the pre-med advisors from Lazarus Center and truly amazing humans. They can help answer a lot of questions you have. Smith is small but I know there are a few of us who get accepted to MD/PhD programs every year so definitely doable! Good luck!!
Also to add, many people take gap years and esp for Pre-med, they don’t set a limit on post-grad years for advising so you don’t have to worry about that at all.