What would be the one book recommendations that every pre-med or med student should read?

First, let me tell you why I needed this book (author) in my life.

I was going into the unknown. No not underwater cave diving. Close but not quite.

I was about to begin college as a first generation high school grad. My parents were now there just for support, but they didn’t know how to navigate the college life.

On top of that, I was trying to get into med school. So my ability to “screw up” and learn via trial and error was basically zero. I had very little margin for error.

Thus I needed help.

So what did I do? I read.

I read a lot.

Anything I could get my hands about remotely about college, how to study, how to manage my time better – I flipped through those pages looking for the secrets to college.

More often than not, the books left me with the sense of incomplete info. I didn’t feel any more confident about succeeding in college than I did before I picked up the book.

But this finally changed when I found this one author and his two amazing books.

On a side note: If you prefer a video format to this post, check out my YouTube video below! Subscribe if you enjoy.

How To Win At College:

Ever have a book you read in one sitting?

This is one of them.

Not only is it an easy read, but How To Win At College is oozing with golden information.

Before we get into the book some more, you need to be introduced to the author.

Meet Cal Newport, a does everything kind of man (author, computer scientist, speaker, blogger, professor).

Cal is basically my inspiration for learning better and becoming more productive. His blog, studyhacks.org. made me wonder how many things in our life we could actually hack.

This is exactly the atmosphere he created in his book How To Win At College. 

Cal doesn’t rely on the typical, “Read the syllabus, go to class, and study for the test notion.”

No, instead, his advice his practical for students who want to learn how to study better, but also succeed in all aspects of college (productiveness, experience, etc.)

If you are a pre-med and you want a book recommendation, here it is. Each chapter is quickly digestible (2-5 pages) and easy to take action on. You can follow the tip if it interests you. If not move on the numerous other tips in the book.

Check out all the nice things other readers like me have said about this book here. 

You can check out How To Win at College here. 

See Reviews On Amazon

How To Become A Straight-A Student

How To Win At College put Cal Newport on the map for me, but this next book really changed everything.

How To Become A Straight-A Student was the next book which completely changed how I studied in college as a pre-med. I still use these techniques today in med school!

On the surface, it may sound like a lame title and a great predictor of generic content.

But boy was I wrong. 

This book is filled with so many unique approaches to studying. 

Some of my favorite techniques that I teach in own books and video courses are inspired by Cal Newport’s Idea/Evidence structure.

It was a game changer in college and even in med school.

Now I won’t spoil too much about the book, but it nicely lays out how to study for the variety of courses in college. This includes how to study for an English vs. physics course.

All of the principles are surrounded around one idea – how to understand and retain more information from the very start. 

If you are a pre-med and are looking for improvements in your studying techniques, grab this book!

Just check out all the amazing reviews it has on Amazon.

You can check out the book here. 

See Reviews On Amazon

What’s Next: 

If you want to check out Cal Newports other books, here are a few of my favorite:

So Good They Can’t Ignore You
Deep Work

If you enjoyed this post then check out the following post:
How To Study Less Than 5 Hours In Med School
5 Mistakes New Med Students Make
Is Really Med School Hard? 
What You Need On Your Application Before Applying To Med School

Also if you’re not sure what you want help with just check out the following sections for wherever you are on your medical journey:

Pre-Med
1st or 2nd Year Med Student
3rd or 4th Year Med Student

That’s it for this one! Hope you enjoyed!

Once again if you enjoyed the YouTube video to this post, then be sure to subscribe to the channel here! I always pick one lucky winner each month to win my books and courses for free! 

Want a more comprehensive guide on how to do well in college and get into medical school without all the stress?

I have a few options for you! If you want an initial step-by-step guide on how to create an irresistible med school application, check out The Pre-Med Journey. 

You can grab a copy and see the reviews on Amazon by clicking the link here. 

Then you will love our highly reviewed video course, The Pre-Med Blueprint! Updated on a weekly basis, the course will help you master your studying, boost up your CV, and know what you need to do in order to get accepted into medical school!

Check out The Pre-Med Blueprint here. 

Thanks for reading my friend.

Until next time…