Hey I am currently ending my 2nd year at UCR and I was wondering what other Extra Curricular would be good for me to look into at this point. My GPA is not high tier yet so I’m trying to get an edge by doing an out-of-the box Extra-Curricular to boost my application.
Currently I have
100 hours volunteering at a local hospital
2 years of research (should be getting my name on a published paper end of this year)
Another Volunteering job at a different hospital (this one is more hands on and I get to work with doctors/nurses directly)
Student Teaching Assistant (Basically I help a Biology TA with their discussion class and help answer questions/come up with activities for students)
An on-campus job (Just basic tasks such as filing, or making schedules for students)
What else I should try to do to make my application more well rounded?
Since you are at UCR, did you check out their early assurance program? Only CA resident and UCR undergrad can apply. Average GPA for the admitted is 3.7 and no need to take MCAT.
Without a good GPA, all the ECs may not mean anything if one gets screen-out. No EC can make up for poor GPA/MCAT. CA residents are expected to have higher GPA/MCAT due to no in-state preference (except UCR EA program) and too many applicants.
Yes I am aware of that program and I will definitely apply for it! I know that EC’s will not make up for a poor GPA and I am not trying to have it do so. I’m just curious on what other EC will help bolster my application in general, not to make it hide my GPA. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding!
For a pure MD clinical practice(Not research), the more clinical experiences the better. You can be a volunteer EMT, EMT scribe or CNA, as long as you have patient direct interaction those are good ECs for med school. Shadowing is another, you should shadow as many different MD specialties as possible. A little bit research also good, but don’t do it too many hours. D had two and half years of research, she ended up took a Gap year just to catch up ECs.
Based on my D’s experiences, email MDs are not very effective, calling them might be better. Perhaps email first then followup with a call. They are busy people, they have no obligation to accommodate a shadowing. You will get better success through the doctors in the University Hospital. Or use your contacts at local hospital.
Below are excerpts from a current thread on SDN by Goro, a well respected adcom
Have the right ECs. You need ECs. There are tons of people on SDN who ■■■■■ and moan about them. Well, tough. Each school gets thousands of apps for some 100-250 seats. How do we winnow down the pool? The answer is something that hyperachievers with no people skills hate hearing: you have display your altruism and humanity, your willingness to serve others, you know what you’re getting into, and that you know what a doctor’s day is like.
It’s not only about GPA and MCATs…it’s about the rest of the packet. All the people you’re competing with are academically clones of each other. So the guy with 1000 hrs in the lab and 100 hrs shadowing (and who thinks shadowing counts as volunteering) but has no other clinical experience doesn’t know what he’s getting into, hasn’t shown anything altruistic and will be passed over for someone who reads to poor children, or brings coffee to the dialysis patients in hospice. 4.0 automatons are a dime-a-dozen. Stats may get you to the door, but ECs get you through the door.
Have you “done the math” to see what would needs to be done to bring your GPA up that much as an undergrad? I’m not sure it’s possible unless you were to get “all A’s”. You’re taking a gap year after graduation and applying then, correct? You’re not planning on going directly to med school after grad, correct?
How many units have you taken? How many units remain to be taken? If you have 90 units remaining to complete, and you get a 4.0 in those 90 units, and you’ve completed 90 units, then I think your GPA might end up around a 3.6-3.7 (just off top of my head.).
Instead of adding more ECs, narrow down the ones you have to a couple meaningful medically related, and FREE up your time so that you can focus on academics and getting A’s.
What is your science GPA (BCPM GPA of all science classes…not just premed)
I agree that I would prioritize GPA over ECs at this point. You can get paid to do some of your ECs after college (aka a job) but no one is going to pay for you to take more classes to raise your GPA.
You should download the GPA calculation excel spreadsheet from SDN and put your grades in there to see where you stand in terms of BCPM (sGPA) and cGPA. Then plug in the next 2 years’ hypothetical grades to see how many A’s you need to bring your sGPA and cGPA to the desired range. If you’re good at Chem or Bio, take more those to get more A’s. Then make sure you allocate enough time to prep for MCAT.
Thanks for the input guys! So the overwhelming advice I am getting is to cut down on some EC’s if I have to so I can bring my GPA up as that should be my number 1 priority. Thanks again for all the help!
Where are you with the pre-med chem classes? If you just finish Biochem, you can start prepping MCAT this summer. No need to take Physics 1/2 (for MCAT) if you already had AP Physics in HS.