Dear Michigan Pre-Med Advising Program,
As a rising senior, I can now say with certainty that the University of Michigan’s promises, particularly when it comes to pre-med advising, have not lived up to the expectations that brought me here. When I chose to attend Michigan as a pre-med student, I did so with hope and ambition. As a first-generation college student, gaining admission to such a prestigious university felt like a dream and proof that anything was possible. I came here not just for Michigan’s academic reputation, but because I believed in the promises made to students: world-class support, unmatched resources, and a community that would guide me as I worked to become a physician.
As a college student in the early stages of a challenging career path, there are inevitable moments when guidance is needed. However, every time I sought support from your advisors, it felt like an uphill battle just to schedule an appointment with someone who matched my availability. And when I finally managed to get a meeting, I’d often leave feeling more confused and disheartened than before. This wasn’t because I didn’t come prepared with questions or a plan either. It was because I never truly felt heard or helped.
One advising meeting particularly stood out to me. So much so, it shifted my entire perspective on the credibility of your program. During this unforgettable Zoom advising meeting, I had asked one of your advisors about how the workload of a certain class might fit into my already packed schedule. “I took that class about a year ago when I was in undergrad. I really enjoyed it,” she replied. I was utterly shocked to hear this. While I had met with other young advisors before, I never imagined they were fresh out of college. I had always assumed that, at the very least, the people guiding me through one of the most competitive, emotionally taxing, and financially demanding career paths had a few years of professional experience under their belt. Instead, I found myself receiving advice from people who had only recently been in my exact position.
Realizing that many of your pre-med advisors were recent college graduates was frustrating, not just because my advisor did not have the knowledge or credibility to provide the support I needed, but because it made me question how seriously your program was taking the advising needs of its students. These roles require far more than just familiarity with Michigan’s courses and departments. While some may see value in having advisors who recently attended the university, the reality is that course suggestions alone are not enough. Students need guidance on the complex and time-sensitive topics like MCAT preparation, gap years, letters of recommendation, and the overall medical school application cycle. We need guidance from people who know the ins and outs of the grueling preparation process for medical school.
During that same advising meeting, I asked specific questions about how to structure a gap year and plan out MCAT study timelines. However, the advisor struggled to provide any real clarity because she was also unsure. Her responses were vague and hardly the kind of informed guidance you’d expect from someone in this role. As a result, all I gained from this meeting was confirmation of my concerns about the quality of advising that your program was providing.
These repeated, unfulfilling experiences have led me to believe that many of your younger advisors are not fully equipped to support students through the rigorous and often overwhelming path to medical school. The lack of relevant, long-term experience among your advisors was not just something I sensed, it was something your own website confirmed. Out of frustration from my series of failed advising meetings, I began reviewing the advisor bios listed on your official page, only to find that several had no experience related to medical education or the medical school application process. For example, one advisor described her background as follows: “I worked in the Lawyer's Club dining hall in undergrad, was an intern with Wolverine Wellness, served as a graduate student instructor, and later became a Program Coordinator Assistant with Wolverine Pathways after earning my Master's degree.”
None of these roles suggests familiarity with the complexities of the pre-med process. Which makes me believe that your advising positions may function as stepping stones for your advisors’ own professional growth, rather than the professional growth of the students you claim to be so committed to supporting. This suspicion was confirmed when I continued to read her bio, and she blatantly stated, “I wanted to continue my journey and growth while working in higher education, and now have the wonderful opportunity to work in Newnan.” Her desire to continue her “journey and growth” suggests that the primary focus of her accepting this role was for her own resume, not the long-term mentorship and specialized support that students like me are desperately seeking.
On the rare occasions I met with older, more experienced advisors, I noticed a stark difference. They gave clearer, more honest, and direct advice. You could tell they had a deep understanding of what medical schools were looking for. More importantly, they were present, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. They were invested. They were also there because this was their chosen career, not a temporary stop on the way to something else. This is exactly what I desire when I show up to advising meetings overwhelmed, stressed, or uncertain. I need someone who not only has the knowledge to guide me, but who is truly committed to helping me succeed. But unfortunately, in your program, these advisors are so few and far between that they’re often booked out weeks in advance, making them practically inaccessible.
Your advisors and your program matter so much to me because I am a first-generation college student. I don’t come from a family of doctors, and I don’t have parents or relatives I can turn to for advice about my career. I came into this process completely alone. So when I struggle, I turn to my university for support, as any student would, and because I was told Michigan could offer help. Your program's own mission statement is “to support undergraduate liberal arts students in achieving their success and growth by empowering them to make informed and purpose-driven decisions.” But your every attempt at support has made me feel like I’m being let down by the very institution I trusted to guide me.
I am not the only student who has faced these advising struggles with your program. Plenty of my friends and peers in my pre-med classes have expressed similar frustrations. Some of them have even completely given up on your program for help. One of my friends, Kate, felt so frustrated and unprepared that she asked her parents to pay for a private pre-med advisor from an outside source because “the advising was so useless” at Michigan.
I have also joined an outside program for advising help. But this was only because I was lucky enough to stumble upon one that was relatively cheap. This advising program was started by prior Michigan undergraduates, who are now in medical school. They understood the poor advising offered at Michigan for pre-medical students and created an entire program not associated with the university to combat this. I currently pay $140 out of pocket for this external advising program that operates on a fraction of the funding of your program, yet it offers far more meaningful support. Unlike many of your advisors, this program is run by current medical students who genuinely understand the challenges of getting into medical school since they’ve lived through them themselves. They offer targeted MCAT guidance, opportunities to publish research, and even support for starting your own nonprofit. They also assign you your own mentor who meets with you monthly, and there are tons of weekly drop-in advising sessions. Furthermore, they provide recorded interviews and workshops featuring students from top medical schools like UCLA and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, where those students break down exactly what they did to succeed. This outside program has given me something I rarely found in your program: real advice that I can use and a support system that feels invested in my success.
However, while I’m grateful to be able to afford and find outside resources like this, many other students can’t. I know there are tons of other students, first-generation or not, among Michigan’s large student body who are trying to navigate complex, competitive career paths with little to no external support. Thus, many of these students depend entirely on your university-provided advising program to help them avoid costly mistakes, provide a sense of direction, and make them feel like they’re not in this alone. But when your program’s advising is inconsistent, unhelpful, or inaccessible, the consequences are real, and students may miss opportunities, experience added stress, delayed timelines, or want to give up entirely.
I understand that running an advising program for such a large and diverse student body is no small task. Staffing challenges and high student demand may be some contributors to the difficulties your program faces. But even with these constraints, students should not have to sacrifice meaningful, informed support. A university of this caliber, with its reputation and resources, should meet students’ needs. It is unacceptable that students like me and many others are left to fend for ourselves in trying to find support when we are paying for it to be at our fingertips. That being said, your program could be drastically improved. So, I’m not just asking for myself, but for every student who depends on this advising system: do better.
Hire more experienced advisors. Professionals who have seen multiple cycles of medical school admissions and know what success looks like. Professionals who are passionate about mentoring and supporting students in meaningful, informed ways. And hire more of them, because it is outrageous that at a school with a student body as large and diverse as ours, it takes weeks to get help from reputable advisors during time-sensitive decisions. I’m not suggesting firing the other advisors either. They can become general LSA advisors and help students whose main questions are more course and schedule-related. Furthermore, I urge you to communicate the background and qualifications of your advising staff so students can make informed choices. And above all, you should strive to recognize that advising is not just a service, it’s a lifeline for students like me.
We, your students, deserve better. We deserve to feel supported, seen, and guided, not dismissed or left more confused than when we reached out for your help..
Sincerely,
A Concerned Pre-med Student
