Hello,
Would like opinions on whether hours accumulated shadowing, volunteering etc. during the summer before starting college (freshman year) could be included for med school apps?
How about medical related activities undertaken during high school? I suppose this would be relevant mostly to those folks that targeted direct med programs and subsequently went the traditional way
IIRC correctly, anything you do in high school really won’t be relevant to your medical school applications.
@WayOutWestMom right?
@med2023
You can include anything you want on your med school application. There are no formal rules about what you can and can’t include.
However, med school admissions is all about “What have you done lately?”
Adcomms have zero interest in anything you did during high school.
Generally activities done BEFORE starting college (including the summer before) are NOT included in an application unless the same activity with the same agency/institution/organization at the same location is continued during college.
AMCAS only has 15 slots to list everything you’ve done and accomplished—academic honors & awards, research experiences, internships, community service, publications/posters/presentations, clinical experiences, physician shadowing, leadership positions, paid employment, military service, TAing , tutoring, coaching, sports involvement, hobbies.
(And believe it or not many pre med advisors recommend including sports and hobbies–especially if you devote substantial amounts of time to them-- on your app to show that you’re not a one-dimensional all-science-all-the-time grinder. )
Many students find they need to leave stuff off their application.