Picture this: the pre-PhD engineering student lining up summer internships with reputable automobile companies, the pre-med student juggling hospice volunteering with bench research and the pre-law student spearheading the mock trial team and investigating legal cases under the mentorship of a law professor. 

Sound familiar? Probably because at CWRU, most of us are submerged in the vast amalgamation of “pre’s”: pre-med, pre-law, pre-dental, pre-vet, pre-PhD and pre-grad school. Inevitably, the concept of “being pre” defines our undergraduate education—that universally understood “pre-professional experience” in which we work inside and beyond the classroom to achieve our career goals. The extensive list of extracurriculars we accumulate and entertain unequivocally speaks to our commitment, talent and willpower to reach professional school. Yet more often than not, on the other side of flawless resumes and impressive LinkedIn profiles lies anxiety, and potentially even burnout.

There appears to be an unspoken agreement amongst students that the more we do, the more we will stand out to professional schools—especially given the evergrowing competition to get into medical, dental, law, graduate school and PhD programs. Thus ensues the race to fill every minute outside of the lecture hall with activities that will bring that extra “oomph” to our applications. However, this can be problematic, not only for the anxiety that arises as a result, but also for the culture it creates: activities transform from meaningful experiences into seemingly empty obligations.

This phenomenon is not new. It’s called “tick-box culture,” which, as the name suggests, is about monitoring our success by checking off boxes just for the sake of “having done it.” 

Take medical schools, for example. Amidst looking for students with hours of shadowing, patient care, volunteer, research and leadership experiences, it appears that medical schools have constructed a rigid checklist that applicants should follow. While these are certainly meaningful in cultivating a genuine interest in medicine, the sheer volume of expectations shifts the pre-med experience away from the intrinsic value of these activities to an effort to check off all the right boxes, with the cost of stress and burnout.  

However, it doesn’t have to be that way. More and more, admissions committees are looking for applicants who can articulate their passions and demonstrate depth in their experiences rather than those who have dabbled superficially in a variety of activities. Quality, not quantity, is what sets candidates apart. 

Granted, professional schools have fundamental requirements that need to be met, whether its clinical shadowing for medical school or extensive research experience for a PhD program. And naturally, if you weren’t seriously considering a career in medicine or academia, for example, you wouldn’t and shouldn’t be making the effort to pursue these activities.

Yet beyond this, that pre-professional experience is ours to create. By pursuing our passions and identifying the impact we have, we can not only foster meaningful experiences, but become happier, more fulfilled versions of ourselves. 

If research excites you, commit to a long-term project rather than bouncing between multiple labs. If leadership is important to you, take on a role where you can make a tangible impact—perhaps by restructuring a club to increase engagement or spearheading a new initiative—rather than simply holding a title. If teaching and community service are your passions, consider mentoring young adults in their college application journey or tutoring elementary school students through a local organization. You don’t have to do it all—nobody expects that of you. Besides, it’s impossible and unrealistic to do a myriad of activities with equal amounts of passion and without spreading yourself too thin. The undergraduate experience is about more than just checking boxes.

Ultimately, the pre-professional journey should not be about assembling the perfect application—it should be a time of genuine growth, discovery and fulfillment. With that being said, the undergraduate experience also only comes around once in a lifetime. Thus, let’s shift our mindset from simply “checking the boxes” to pursuing what truly excites us—and redefine what it means to be “pre.”