What's New With You?

There is SO much to update y'all on since my last newsletter, so I guess we better go month by month.

March/April - I matched into my dream program - Prisma Health Greenville! My match day story was not what I was expecting (see more here), but I firmly believe everything worked out exactly as it should have. What a reminder that God's plan is always greater than ours! Right after Match, I headed to Brazil with my besties, we had the trip of our dreams. We spent time in Rio de Jainero, Ihla Grande, and São Paulo. Honestly, even after living in NYC, I am just not a big city person, especially when it comes to travel. I am a vacationer - put me at the beach, and I will be happy. So I could've gone without São Paulo. But Rio was lovely, and Ihla Grande is such a hidden gem that I would 10/10 recommend visiting - it's an island about a 1.5 hour drive and 30 minute ferry away from Rio - but there's no cars, just beautiful beaches that you can hike or boat to and super safe. I wish we would've spent more time there! See a recap of our trip here.

Literally the day after I got back from Brazil, I headed to Pittsburgh for AMEC 2026, and a time was had!! As a fourth year, I was living my best life - I slept in, connected with my future residency program family that was there, and enjoyed the nightlife. Fingers crossed I can be there for Vegas 2027!

Then, I visited my future city - Greenville, SC! I realized that affordable housing is truly a thing of the past, and it's so tough to find a place with no income. My program starts at the end of June, but I wanted to get settled in first, so I ran into a lot of - where is your proof of income before your program starts? But anyways, I found the perfect place, and I can't wait to get it all set up and share a full tour on YouTube.

May - I GRADUATED!! Our class council planned so many fun senior week events leading up to graduation - karaoke, private comedy/magic show, rooftop formal celebration. Then, my family came into town for graduation, and I walked across the stage for the first time as Dr. Morgan McManus, MD. It still feels surreal! Since we had limited tickets (and NYC is expensive), my family also threw me a graduation celebration in SC full of extended family and friends from all stages of life. I would not have survived medical school without my village, and it was so sweet to see them show up for me again!

Then, the time came for me to leave NYC. I still don't have the words for my farewell to NYC post. While I am so excited to be back in SC and close to family, my time in NYC will forever be some of the best years of my life!

June - I'm officially a SC resident again! I moved into my new place, and have slowly been decorating. The perks of being close to home - my cousin and high school bestie came over to help me unpack ALL of my boxes. Again, what a village I have! Right now, I am just enjoying life and fitting in some local travel before I hit the ground running with oritentation in two short weeks.

So yeah - life has been busy, but I am so blessed that I am living out my dream in my home state!

Chat soon,

- Morgan :)

Planning Proactively as a Premed

Medical school admissions is becoming increasingly competitive, but that does not mean it's impossible. The #1 thing I recommend is planning proactively. As soon as you decide you're interested in pursuing medical school, your planning begins!

In undergrad, I highly recommend meeting with both your major advisor and your premed advisor. They each have different goals, but your goal should be to mesh their recommendations into a four year plan. Consider what courses you'll take to graudate and meet medical school admissions requirements, when and how you'll get involved in extracurriculuars and leadership opportunities, when you'll take the MCAT, when you'll apply to medical school (and how you'll spend your gap year if needed).

Creating a plan early lays the foundation, but you should meet with your major advisor at least once each semester and your premed advisor at least once a year to make sure you're on track and adjust as needed.

If you're looking for guidance on how to make a strong plan, check out The PreMed Planner Journal. I created it thinking about everything I wish I had considered when I was in your shoes as a premed! It is available in both digital and printed formats.

Tackling MS1 Year

My DMs have been inundated with questions on how to navigate the transition to medical school and survive MS1 year. Last year, I shared a series on my Instagram covering this. I still agree with it all, so I wanted to reshare the content here. Good luck to all of the incoming MS1s!

​Part 1 - Technology Essentials

​Part 2 - Unexpected Expenses

​Part 3 - Study Methods

​Part 4 - Outside Study Resources

​Part 5 - Getting Involved

​Part 6 - Research

​Part 7 - Building your Community

The Resource Corner

I have a myriad of resources available to guide you through each step of your journey! This month, I want to highlight my application reviews. I have been busy reviewing personal statements and activities sections for those applying this cycle. If you haven't submitted yet and want an experienced set of eyes before you submit, grab a review here!

If you've already submitted your primary application, I highly recommend taking this time to prewrite common secondary essays. Check out A Step by Step Guide to Secondary Applications, which includes what prompts to prewrite and how to approach them. You can enroll today for only $59. Here's what a previous course enrollee had to say -

"The secondary essay bank and the breakdown of how to tackle all the secondaries were most valuable. When I first began receiving secondaries, I immediately felt very overwhelmed. It felt very daunting for me to have to write tens of essays in a very short time period and they all be well-written. I didn’t know where or how to begin and your breakdown of how to make the spreadsheet and find the common themes and start with those was very helpful. It made the task seem a bit less daunting and honestly I was able to use bits and pieces from those key essays to write most of my secondaries. The secondary essay bank was extremely helpful. It was nice to see different approaches to the same essay question and to gain an understanding of what the essay should convey. I also just enjoyed reading the essays before I started writing as it would help me get in the writing spirit."

I am very selective about the brands I partner with, and I always prioritize securing benefits for you as well. See below for some of my favorite resources and how you can save!

FIGS - Code MorganMFirstFIGS for 15% off your first purchase​

UWorld - Code Morgan10 for 10% off Medical Library​