<p>So I'm not doing any first semester EC stuff. Rather, from what I'm gathering, I will be fine if I do volunteering and research over college years..right? :/
I've already done research before freshman year and I hope to do research during all my summers of college. Alongside, I'm also thinking of shadowing three fields of medicine that I badly want to learn about from a "day in the life of..." perspective. I'm pretty sure about starting my own club sophmore year which is an international organization that I have done at HS. So I want to carry that through. I'm thinking of joining a club also that focuses on exchange programs at my uni probably this year/next and another club (medical) that I'm thinking of joining next semester. It's just that I'm going to begin with analytical and math next semester and orgo next year w/physics that I don't want to jump start with anything too rashly. Also I live off campus so technically it is sort of a pain to have to travel late in night back at my place when these established clubs take place so late. Any advice guys???? I'm still trying to transition into the school and I was just wondering that if I did volunteering, shadowing, and research...is there still a need to join 3 clubs in a row too early in the year?
Oh and also does med school application ask you what you did your freshman year, soph, jun, senior seperately? If anything, I'm thinking of volunteering at a hospital next semester and have that as an ec.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: all of this is totally my opinion, which is somewhat informed but by no means authoritative.</p>
<p>1) Yes, should be fine if you do most of your stuff after freshman year. I didn’t do much freshman year–a small leadership position, started attending meetings at the lab I eventually did research with, but that was about it. I don’t know many people who were super active freshman year.</p>
<p>2) Research before college probably doesn’t count. Research during summers certainly will, and using summers for research can be a good idea. If you can carry that research over to the school year, and leave a summer or two for another experience, that would probably be a good idea.</p>
<p>3) I probably wouldn’t have expectations for the numbers of fields you shadow, but that might just be me. I chose to focus on the quality of the experience rather than the quantity of it–meaning I primarily focused on two related specialties (hem/onc and surg onc) but supplemented with about 20h in ortho and 20h ENT and 10h pulm. I’d just go with whatever you find and work from there. I think it’s great that you’re planning to have a variety of shadowing experiences though!</p>
<p>4) Starting a club is a huge time commitment if you’re going to do it right, as you may know from doing it in high school. I started one myself and I’m tremendously proud of how it’s gone so far, but just know that it will likely consume a huge chunk of your free time.</p>
<p>5) Traveling to campus is just something you’ll have to deal with. It’s irritating but you’ll deal :)</p>
<p>6) When you’re listing your activities, you’ll list when you started them and how much time you spent on them. So it’s not like a list of freshman activities, sophomore, junior, senior, etc. Think of it like an abbreviated CV. </p>
<p>7) The key to managing all this is having solid time management skills. Balancing school, work, research, leadership, involvement, volunteering, and clinical experience is very challenging–especially because you’ll want to leave lots of time to just relax and hang out with your new friends. But part of it is that medical school is absolutely not a joke–and your time management skills will be tested from day 1 of med school. Your ability to balance a large quantity of high quality activities, including some of the ones you outlined above, is an indicator of how you will handle the intense time demands of medical school. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I would say do not plan too much. I am not sure about all these clubs and why you need them. Be open to opportunities that might just land on your laps, see what might ignite your personal interest. It might not be connected at all to your previous experiences. Try them out, you might like your new experinces, they might be very rewarding. This is what UG is for. Take care of academics, be flexible, participate in college life, travel, try something totally new to you, see how well you can adjust and learn, self-asses yourself. You will be locked out of the most at Med. School, you will be very very busy. So appreciate your UG years, enhance your life, have great memories…Best wishes!</p>
<p>Thanks @Kristin5792. The examples you presented were very supportive to my decision and the examples you provided have certainly made me see that I should try new things out and see how they go.
@MiamiDAP. Thank you also for giving me that push and making me realize that I should not cave myself from the opportunities I am gifted at my ug.
I think I will try to make a flexible schedule for myself with a few clubs here and there my first year.</p>