I am preparing to be a Pediatrician in the future, I am currently a sophomore.
I just wanted to know if “Model UN” is a good club for me to join. (I am an active member of FBLA)
Members of Model UN think it is a good idea for me to join and learn.
I am just worried because (both clubs) they do not seem like an extra curricular that is Science or Bio related.
Would Colleges like this or would they be expecting me to perform more medical extra curricular?
It certainly won’t hurt. If you are genuinely interested in it then by all means do it. But you definitely need to pick 2 or 3 clubs that you are interested in(preferably relevant to your major) and stick with it so you can hopefully become president of the club because thats really what schools want, leaders. If there isn’t any clubs in your school relevant to your major then found one. President and Founder of a club looks AWESOME to colleges. Also Extra-curriculars don’t just stop at clubs. If you want to be a pediatrician you can volunteer at your local pediatricians office, or something like that. It’s good that you’re thinking of this as a sophomore. Because a lot of people wait till they’re juniors sand realize they have no ECs so they end up having on their transcript that they did two clubs for one year without a leadership positions. If you want to go to an ivy or another selective school you need great ECs. Almost every kid applying to the elite schools has an elite GPA and test scores. How you stand out to admissions is through ECs. The power of good ECs is extremely underestimated by students. It can be the difference between you getting accepted or denied from your dream school.
Being a president of a club and showing leadership is all good, but if you really want to stand out and solidify your chances of getting into a top 20 or even top 10 college, the best thing you can do as a high school student is research. Ask a biology or chemistry teacher, or your guidance counselor, if your school endorses student research. Some schools do it more than others. If not, ask your parents if they know any professors or researchers in the medical field, or try to contact professors or researchers on your own with a research idea. Remember, this all takes time - years - so it’s good that you’re a sophomore now. When you’re a senior, you can submit your research to the Intel Science Talent Search or Siemens competition, and winning a prize in one of those competitions is extremely prestigious. You could also try to get it published in a medical journal - also extremely impressive. Just food for thought.
Also remember that you’re not going to be applying to medical school right out of high school (unless you apply to a 7-year med program). If 7-year med is indeed your plan, keep in mind that they are notoriously difficult to get into, and if you want to get into one of the best ones like Brown PLME or Northwestern HPME, something as substantial as an independent scientific study should definitely be on your radar.
Thank You for the Guidance It will definitely help.
If you want to enter the sciences, research is the best.