Dear pre-meds,

I came to Washington University knowing—as many here do—that the University’s undergraduate program for pre-med students is phenomenal. I thought that for me to achieve the goals I had long dreamt about, Wash. U. was the best place to prepare me for a future career in medicine, a truth that many will standby. But as much as Wash. U. is the perfect pre-med hub, it is equally challenging, ranked No. 21 on the most difficult universities to get into in the nation, according to Niche. To any student here, however, this information is obvious through the academic rigor that we see on a day-to-day basis in the classroom setting. Knowing this, it’s also fair to assume that the University pulls those academic “high achievers” from high schools. These students come to Wash. U. and are accustomed to a sort of accelerated experience, one where competition undoubtedly follows close behind. However, this competition carries over and has essentially become the definition of pre-med culture on Wash. U.’s campus, and it’s problematic.

I will say this: Wash. U. pre-med culture is not as ruthless as other schools. No one here—that I’ve heard of, at least—is ripping out the pages of textbooks to skew the grading curve of an exam, or anything else of that magnitude. Wash. U.’s pre-med culture differs from that of other schools in the sense that it isn’t blatant, but more felt.

Perhaps my greatest example if I were to try and visually demonstrate pre-med culture is that of chemistry lab sections. Chem labs become a sort of “Hunger Games” scenario with everyone trying to finish first, beat someone to the spectrophotometer or simply deny the answering of simple questions. You could attest this harshness to time, seeing that (depending on the class) you’re given three to four hours to complete the lab, but as someone who consistently finishes labs near the end, I can assure you that time is not the issue. So, what is?

It comes full circle to this concept of competition, but even this is hard for me to understand. To provide some insight on the medical world, most practicing physicians will tell you that where you go to medical school doesn’t matter. Medical school is medical school, regardless of the name attached to it. Which brings me not the point that the competition that has long since been practiced by Wash. U. students is outplayed an unnecessary.

As a pre-med student, you shouldn’t feel obligated to help every struggling person who crosses your path. However, as a pre-med student, I shouldn’t feel as though looking to other students for assistance or questions will be met with avoidance. This is not an article meant to condemn, but rather one meant to bring to light the problem that persists.

As pre-meds, we all have the same goal: To make it to med school, and all of us are capable of attaining that, whether we choose to help our fellow students or not. A student isn’t less likely to make it into medical school because of their decision to share their information with another student. The culture of competition is holding us back, much more than helping each other ever would.