Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Tied for Neuroscience and Cardiology 

“Neuro is so fascinating since everything we do is controlled by one organ - our brain! But, our hearts are also essential. The brain and heart work so hard to allow us to breathe and live every day. Learning about both of these reminded me of the importance of life and why I want to be a doctor.” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Internal Medicine  

Top Tips for Success from Megan:  

• Meet new people and make friends - it makes medical school so much easier. 
• Never give up. Remind yourself of why you wanted to be a doctor - this was once your dream and it still is, just keep reminding yourself of that! 
• Keep trying different learning/ studying strategies and daily routines until you find one that works for you. You'll know when you find it because it makes studying easier and more enjoyable. 
• Don't lose sight of things that you do for fun/ happiness - for me it is listening to podcasts, working out, spending time with family/friends, etc 

Megan’s “Yearbook” Quote: “You aren't studying to pass a test; you are studying to prepare for the day when you are the only thing between a patient and the grave.”  - Mark Reid 

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Neuroscience  

“I really like brains (I promise I am not a zombie) and neuroscience was my favorite class during the preclinical years. I love how you can map the brain and find out exactly where the problem is just based off a few symptoms.” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Child Neurology 

Top Tips for Success from Alex:  

• Spaced repetition is key! I personally use Anki religiously but there are a lot of other ways to do this. 
• I love using practice questions to study. For M1 I used questions from Boards and Beyond a lot and in M2 and M3 I have been using UWorld. 

Alex’s “Yearbook” Quote: “Never be so kind you forget to be clever. Never be so clever you forget to be kind.” - Taylor Swift 

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Neuroscience  

“I liked feeling like a detective using the tracts and other clues to localize the lesion.” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Interested in Emergency Medicine and Radiology but keeping an open mind!  

Top Tips for Success from Katelin:  

• Create and find a routine that works for you and stick with it! Consistency and efficiency are two words I live by, and can be applied to most study routines, regardless of what resources you use, whether you go to class or watch ECHO, etc.  
• And ALWAYS reach out when you need help - we believe in you and want you to succeed! 

Katelin’s “Yearbook” Quote: "Don't give up, don't ever give up." - Jim Valvano 

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Psychiatry   

“I loved our psychiatry course the most! I felt that it offered a different perspective on our approach to healthcare and touched on topics that are relevant to today's patient population but are often not discussed in other courses. It definitely further peaked my interest into the field of psychiatry and I look forward to learning more!” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Psychiatry  

Top Tips for Success from Shelby:  

• Active recall – whether this is through Anki (doesn't have to be) or self-teach back. I felt this was the most helpful study technique I used because it helped build long-term foundations for the material.  
• Utilizing Pathoma or Boards and Beyond to fill in any gaps in knowledge after lecture.  
• Take time for yourself! 

Shelby’s “Yearbook” Quote: "Would I rather be feared or loved? Easy. Both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me." - Michael Scott 

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Neurology

“I'm a very visual learner and I found neurology to be like a big puzzle. Once you connect all the pieces things made sense.” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Urology or Anesthesiology  

Top Tips for Success from JT:  

• Using outside resources to connect pieces of the information given in class or to get the information from a different point of view, is something I do almost daily and many times saves time.
• Customizing class Anki's or Anking cards can really increase retention, the action of actually editing the card and/or reorganizing the information in a way that makes sense to me really helps me efficiently study.
• Using practice questions in advance of an exam from Boards and Beyond, UWorld, or past classes always helps me pinpoint where my weaknesses or lapses in content lie.

JT’s “Yearbook” Quote: "The key to success is to focus on goals, not obstacles."

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): MSK 

“Because we learned about Derm!” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Dermatology, Surgery or Emergency Medicine

Top Tips for Success from Sydney:  

Utilize Charts for studying, as well as finding the outside resources that work best for you as a supplement to course material. 

Sydney’s “Yearbook” Quote: Don't forget the reason that you're here!

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Cardiology     

“I loved how you could predict the symptoms of every disorder based on what part of the heart got damaged, and how this class pulled together the previous two courses (respiratory and renal) to make everything click.” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Internal Medicine, potentially with a fellowship in Hemeatology/Oncology  

Top Tips for Success from Susanna:  

• Adapt your studying for every class! Every course is very unique so if you find something is not working to help you understand the content, change it. 
• If you use Anki, make sure you understand the cards before doing them. This will help you remember the cards more and Anki will not be pure memorization. It will make your reviews faster too. 
• For diseases that are similar, focus on what is different. Test questions will likely have both as an option and you will need to differentiate them. 

Susanna’s “Yearbook” Quote: “The life so short, the craft so long to learn.” ― Hippocrates 

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Respiratory    

“I loved the connections between physiology and clinical applications that we learned in this class!” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Pediatrics

Top Tip for Success from Alex:  

Set aside specific time with no distractions - no phone, no talking, etc. It makes study time much more efficient!

Alex’s UKCOM “Yearbook” Quote: "For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Neurology     

“Neural pathways are interesting once you figure them out. Before figuring them out, not so much.” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Orthopedic Surgery  

Top Tips for Success from Nate:  

• Treat studying like a full-time job. 
• Take breaks when you're not being efficient. 
• Be able to talk through entire concepts before test day (teach someone). 

Nate’s “Yearbook” Quote: “Survive and advance.” 

Previous Medical Field Involvement: Miranda spent three years performing research in GI surgical oncology at the Markey Cancer Center. She helped develop IRB and clinical trial protocols, drafted grant and journal submissions, and had the opportunity to present our work at research conferences. 

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Endo/Repro     

“I enjoyed learning about the underlying pathophysiology of different hormonal cascades and how a deficiency or excess can lead to different endocrine conditions.” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Internal Medicine, with a Hematology/Oncology Fellowship  

Top Tips for Success from Miranda:  

• Throughout M1/2, I created my own Anki cards based on lecture content to study for exams.  
• The outside resource that was probably the most helpful for me was Sketchy Microbiology/Pharmacy. I would watch the videos and unsuspend Anking cards relevant to the videos. 
• During dedicated, I transitioned to writing notes in a notebook and reading the notebook whenever I ate meals or went on a walk for review. This seemed less stressful than keeping up with thousands of Anki cards each day. 

Miranda’s “Yearbook” Quote/Advice: Read the room. To me, a lot of medical school is about evaluating situations and adapting as you go. During the first two years, you are moving through many different subjects; third year is about working in clinical teams and interacting with patients that may change on a daily basis. I think it's exciting to recognize new challenges and reflect on best approaches for tackling new content, contributing to a team, and developing a relationship with patients! 

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Foundations      

“I really loved how organized the class was which made learning so easy. Moreover, I surprisingly really enjoyed all the immunology we learned regarding T cells and B cells.” 

Top Choice for Specialty: No specific specialty (yet!), but dreams about going to a big academic center for residency like UK, UL, or Vanderbilt   

Top Tip for Success from Shivam:  

Anki, Boards and Beyond, and Pathoma were ways I succeeded in class, as well as on Step 1. 

Shivam’s “Yearbook” Quote: “I'm not superstitious, but I am a little stitious” —Michael Scott 

A Note from Shivam: I believe that medical school should be a team effort. We will all succeed if we work together, don't be afraid to reach out to peer coaches for anything (advice, school help, venting, etc.). All of us have been there and done that, and are really happy to help! 

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Neuroscience

"It was really rewarding to spend time drawing and understanding tracts that were so intimidating at first and then actually see all that hard work pay off when questions started making sense! It was tough for sure, but rewarding in the end.” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Internal Medicine or Ophthalmology, but still exploring!

Top Tips for Success from Niki:  

• Do practice questions a few days before the exam, don't wait until the day before to test your knowledge!

• Focus on learning objectives to help pick out content that is most high yield.

• If you're struggling to understand or memorize a certain concept- don't be afraid to re-watch that lecture on a higher speed to help. Often this takes less time than trying to learn it on your own. Pathoma helps with this too!  

Niki’s “Yearbook” Quote: "I'll do it after this next exam." - Niki, probably

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Heme/Lymph   

“I enjoyed learning about the complexities and intricacies of the various leukemias and lymphomas. I'm also fascinated by the body's various immunological processes, so it was interesting to learn about how interconnected cancer is with the immune system.” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Internal Medicine, with a Hematology/Oncology Fellowship  

Top Tips for Success from Jaewon:

• Don't get resource FOMO; find what works for you and roll with it. Don't be intimidated and feel "left out" just because you're not using the same resources that your friends might be using!

• Anking is not always king; adapt to the class! Charts and diagrams work better for some classes and Anki works better for others. Find what works for each class depending on the type of content.

• Health is wealth; Physical/mental health should never be left behind! Studying isn't everything in medical school; it's important to take care of yourself and take breaks when necessary. Sometimes it's better to rest and refresh.

Jaewon’s “Yearbook” Quote: "Insecurity is loud. Confidence is silent."

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Foundations

“I really enjoyed the intersection between genetics, biochemistry, and medicine. The professors did a great job of giving us the building blocks that we’ll need for the rest of our time in the classroom!” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Anesthesia, Radiology, or Ophthalmology 

Top Tips for Success from Drew:

• Start preparing for exams early. A good method is to review material either the day of or the day after you learn it in class. The earlier you prepare, the less you will need to cram.

• Do not get too crazy with outside resources; this may overwhelm you. EVERYTHING you need to know for exams will be inside the powerpoints. Study them carefully!

Drew’s “Yearbook” Quote: “The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot."

More from Drew: Find ways to enjoy life outside of medical school. Spend time with friends, go on walks, exercise, etc. I personally made it a priority to workout twice a day, and I found that really helped with any stress I had! And always ask for help from peers, professors, and those in the OME if you need it. We are all here to help you along this journey.

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Neuro!

“Once I (finally) learned the pathways, I liked being able localize where a lesion might be from a patients symptoms. I’m also a visual learner, so drawing and mapping out pathways was cool! ” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Pediatrics

Top Tips for Success from Maddie:

• BALANCE! You will learn your best when you’re taking care of yourself (working out, getting enough sleep, spending time with loved ones, etc). Don’t compare yourself to what everyone else is doing!

• Practice questions really helped with my learning! Don’t worry about waiting until you’re ‘ready’… I found them to be helpful even when I was still solidifying topics.

• Use active recall (Anki works best for me) and tailor it to your own needs. Talking through topics with my classmates was something I also used in every class!

Maddie’s “Yearbook” Quote: "Be curious, not judgmental." - Ted Lasso

More from Maddie: Medical school can be really overwhelming, and sometimes you just need someone in your corner telling you 'you're doing great!' Don't hesitate to reach out for anything, we're all here to help each other!

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Multisystems

“I thought Multisystems was really interesting. All of the systems you've learned about come together and things you learned in previous courses make a lot more sense the second time around. ” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Interventional Radiology

Top Tips for Success from Cameron:

• Go to lecture in person (or at least watch lectures early in the day)!

• Try to get plenty of practice questions in before exams

• If a concept doesn't make sense, keep researching explanations until you find one that makes it click for you.

Cameron’s “Yearbook” Quote: "The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." - Marcus Aurelius

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): MSK and Cardio

“I liked both for different reasons. I loved all of the pathologies in MSK, but also loved the ECGs in cardio.” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Emergency Medicine 

Top Tips for Success from Jacob:

• Make to-do lists each day either on your phone or on a sticky note. When you complete something, cross it off. It’s a great way to not only stay organized but also see how much progress you are making. Made it so much easier to tackle things throughout the day for me!

• Sketchy Pharm and Micro was so helpful for me for Step; and looking back could have been so helpful in classes (especially cardio), too.

• I’m a big Anki lover. This was my primary method of studying, but I also learned pretty quickly that just doing Anki will not be enough to learn everything that we need to. 

Jacob’s “Yearbook” Quote: “Just keep swimming”- Dory

More from Jacob: I’d love to help out in any way I can! Whether that be with studying or just adjusting to school in general, I’m more than happy to give some helpful advice!

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Foundations

Top Choices for Specialty: General Surgery, Trauma Surgery, Vascular Surgery or Interventional Radiology

Top Tips for Success from Meg:

• Find a buddy who studies similarly to you and talk through big ideas out loud one or two days before the exam.

• Brain dump when you sit down to start studying.. before opening notes, see what you can remember from memory and write on the white board... challenge yourself to reason through pieces you don't remember and don't be afraid to be wrong because getting it wrong usually makes you remember it 10000x better next time around.. check your work with your notes after.

• Try different study methods for different topics; it is okay to have 8 different ways of studying that work for you depending on what the content is. I liked the variation of having different options for studying and it made it less mundane that way for me.

Meg’s “Yearbook” Quote: "Squeeze the juice out of life"

More from Meg: I have ADHD and am comfortable talking about and sharing my experience of navigating that with others who may be curious.

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Neurology

“I loved how if you really understood the anatomy pathways, you could almost answer any question on the test.” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Internal Medicine or Surgery (still very undecided!)

Top Tips for Success from Justin:

"I think the best thing anyone can do is to be consistent. I try to study the same amount each day rather than studying all night long two days before the test. I also highly recommend doing practice questions the day before the test and treat it almost like a practice test."

Justin’s “Yearbook” Quote: "Keep on keepin' on."

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Clinical Anatomy & Radiology

“It's applicable to everything, and the diagnosis is right in front of you!” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Radiology

Top Tips for Success from Matt:

• Understanding concepts rather than just memorization--always ask why!
• Keeping up with studying everyday pays dividends.
• Make sure you make time to do something you enjoy throughout medical school.

Matt’s “Yearbook” Quote: "Fool me once, strike one. Fool me twice, strike three." - Michael Scott

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Respiratory

“The physiology of the lungs is very interesting!" 

Top Choice for Specialty: General Surgery

Top Tips for Success from Sydney:

• Experiment with study methods until you find something that is sustainable for you - one method does not work for everyone, so don't worry about what others are doing!

• Get in a routine of studying everyday to avoid falling behind. There is a lot of flexibility in M1 and M2, and a routine helps avoid procrastination.

Sydney’s “Yearbook” Quote: "I knew exactly what to do. But in a much more real sense, I had no idea what to do." - Michael Scott

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): MSK

“I enjoyed the dermatology week especially!” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Family Medicine

Top Tips for Success from Evelyn:  

• Find something that works for you as a supplement to lectures - ex: uworld, amboss, anki, sketchy, boards and beyond - and try to incorporate that into your study schedule early on to reinforce important topics or brush up on things that were confusing in class

• Using UWorld or Amboss questions (clinical vignettes) are one of the best ways to cement knowledge from lectures and prepare for application.

• Never give up! Remember your "why" and use it to power you through challenges and emerge stronger and smarter on the other side :)

Evelyn’s “Yearbook” Quote: "If you are feeling disheartened, that you are somehow not enough, set your heart ablaze - dry your eyes and look ahead."  - Kyojuro Rengoku

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Neuroscience

“While it was one of the more detailed and difficult courses, once you connect all of the pathways, it was so interesting to see their effects on our sensory and motor output. Learning the outcome of different lesions was like a very intricate puzzle!" 

Top Choice for Specialty: Pediatrics and OB/GYN are at the top, but still deciding! 

Top Tips for Success from Brie:

• Find what works for YOU and stick with it! Collaborate with your classmates and share resources, but do not get caught up in what others are doing once you've found your routine.

• Practice questions, practice questions, practice questions. Wherever you can find them, use them!

Brie’s “Yearbook” Quote: "Human knowledge is never contained in one person. It grows from the relationships we create between each other and the world, and still it is never complete." - Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Cardiology

“I really enjoyed how all the courses started to come together during the cardiology block to form big clinical pictures. It put into perspective how much we actually learn over the first two years.” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Ophthalmology

Top Tips for Success from Nick:  

• Find what resources work for you and don't feel like you have to use what someone else is using. Don't feel like you need to use every resource out there either.

• Remember to take breaks and take care of yourself! You don't need to study 24/7.

• I loved practice questions and thought applying knowledge was good for reinforcing the material.

Nick’s “Yearbook” Quote: "I knew exactly what to do. But in a much more real sense, I had no idea what to do." - Michael Scott

Favorite M1/M2 Class(es): Neurology

“Neurology was a ton of information but it connected to my undergraduate studies a lot!” 

Top Choice for Specialty: Neurosurgery  

Top Tips for Success from Cassity:  

• Go to class and take notes on paper (can't emphasize this one enough!)

• Don't study in the same place that you rest

• If you find yourself getting bored, take a break (preferably without screens)! 10 minutes resting your mind is much more beneficial than 10 minutes of unfocused studying.

Cassity's “Yearbook” Quote: "Even one Anki card keeps the streak alive."