Your first year of medical school is an important time to establish a strong foundation for the years that follow. While you’re developing a new normal, it helps to further equip yourself by learning about financial planning, exploring career options, establishing relationships with your advisor and peers, and more.
Visit the AAMC Financial Information, Resources, Services, and Tools (FIRST) program to develop a strategy for managing money while in medical school, applying for financial aid, and establishing a plan for repaying loans. To learn what you can or should do in your first year (and beyond) to set yourself on the path to a well-informed, well-reasoned specialty choice and smart residency application strategy, visit the AAMC Careers in Medicine® (CiM) website.
Struggling to keep track of everything you need to do this year? Use this checklist to track your progress. Note: Some resources on this page are part of the AAMC Careers in Medicine (CiM) program. Most U.S. and Canadian students have access to CiM. Confirm your access.
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Task |
Complete? |
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| Get involved in campus life. | |
| Find a study group. | |
| Subscribe to the AAMC Medical and Graduate Student Calendar to stay up to date on the latest dates and important deadlines for AAMC services, applications, and specialty-related events. | |
| If you are a first-generation medical student, visit the AAMC Tools and Resources for First-Generation Medical School Students, an online toolkit for first-generation students as they navigate through medical training. | |
| Read the Entering Medical School section of the AAMC FIRST Guide to Money Management and Loans and develop a strategy for managing money while in medical school, applying for financial aid, and establishing a plan for repaying loans. | |
| Connect with your financial aid office for guidance on how to manage funds your first year and get any questions answered. | |
| Attend financial aid related sessions offered by your school. | |
| Create an account with AAMC Financial Wellness for access to hundreds of resources on how to manage financial life, including budgeting and financial basics. | |
| Create or polish your curriculum vitae (CV). | |
| Start exploring your career questions and goals with this orientation from CiM. | |
| Attend career-oriented workshops offered by your school. | |
| Work with your advisor to determine whether you’ll use your upcoming summer to gain some experience or to take a break (or both). | |
| Search the Clinical and Research Opportunities Database for summer or year-round opportunities to gain some experience. | |
| Use your upcoming summer to gain some experience, noting all application requirements and deadlines for the opportunities in which you’re interested. | |
| Complete the Physician Values in Practice Scale (PVIPS) to help you clarify what is important to you in your career and how you want to practice medicine, regardless of which specialty you choose. | |
| Complete the Medical Specialty Preference Inventory (MSPI). This assessment measures your interest in various tasks, activities, and experiences found in medicine, then suggests specialties for you to start exploring. | |
| Complete the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) or the Keirsey Temperament Sorter to help you understand your personality type and receive a report explaining your type as it relates to the field of medicine. | |
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Attend the AAMC Virtual Specialty Forum for early exposure to specialties and subspecialties you might not have yet heard of:
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| View AAMC Webinars for Medical and Graduate Students to learn more about choosing your specialty, managing finances, and applying to residency programs later in medical school. |