06/17/2026
Application season hit me in a way I honestly wasn’t expecting.
At first, everything felt organized and manageable… just a few schools, a few deadlines, a few essays.
But once secondaries started coming in, it quickly became a different story.
Different portals. Different prompts. Different timelines. And this constant feeling of “wait… did I already do this?”
I remember spending way too much mental energy just trying to keep track of everything instead of actually focusing on my secondary prompts
That’s when I realized something important:
It’s not that premeds can’t handle the workload… it’s that most of us are trying to carry it all in our heads.
And that’s exhausting.
Having a simple system (even something as basic as a spreadsheet) changed everything for me. It didn’t make application season easy, but it made it manageable.
And honestly, that makes a huge difference when things start moving fast.
If you’re in the middle of applications right now, I really hope this helps you feel a little more grounded.
You just need a system that helps you keep going.
Comment SPREADSHEET and I’ll send you the one I created during my own application cycle!
Follow Joyce | Med School Apps & Anatomy Strategy for more premed guidance, application support, and encouragement through this process 🤍