Extracurriculars for Medical School and other Questions

Pre-Med & Medical School Pre-Med Topics
1

<p>Hey, if you are seeking to get into a really top medical school and plan to strive really hard for a high GPA and MCAT ( I know easier said than done) plus hospital volunteering and research (preferably junior year, do you think that any additional additional activities are viewed that important? I mean obviously something like Division 1 basketball or anything else on the national level shows tremendous dedication. My point is that as a premed, I know there will be many sacrifices that I am willing to make which I do not mind, but I was hoping to be a part of some of the wonderful extracurricular opportunities which may be non-medical related. </p>

<p>1.) Well, I used to do Taekwondo when I was younger and I stopped. However, at Notre Dame (where I will be attending), there is an amazing program where I can get my black belt in 2.5 years. I mean, this club team meets 3 times a week plus there are many national competitions. I guess as a primary extracurricular, how would medical schools respond to this. I hope to do this freshman/soph year.</p>

<p>2.) In addition, I may plan on joining ballroom dancing during my junior and senior years ( I danced in high school). Plus there are many competitions throughout the year. Without Taekwondo, this could be my other major EC. This only meets one day a week.</p>

<p>3.) Other minor activities may include a weekly fitness class, a yoga class, a premed club, and a cultural club (I am a minority at ND considering it is 82% catholic and well, I am Asian and non-catholic)</p>

<p>My basic medical related ECs will be volunteering during the year, planning on starting a fitness physiology monthy college publication during sophmore year(I am big into fitness and gym training), shadowing during the summer, and research during sophmore spring until end of junior year with a professor - the research projects are funded by NIH grants and thus hopefully it will be an impressive research project.</p>

<p>As a side note, I do plan on doing a Classical Languages Major.
I have 5s in AP Bio and Chemistry and have drilled the content and I plan on also repeating it. In addition, I am currently in a gap year where I have learned Organic Chemistry and Physics through private tutoring so at least at the very least, these subjects will come a second time around during college.</p>

<p>In your opinion, do you think that doing non-medical ECs will be of any importance when you look towards the final goal - getting into Medical school. Or would my time and money be best well spent on focusing on only what is necessary- the biggies GPA and MCAT, and I truly do want to try to get into a top 20 medical school. The thing is I have learned my lesson in high school where I might have faltered in academic acheivement becuase of too much focus on my ECS and I do not want to make the same mistake again. And of course guys, the godly statement is that it is easier said than done which is why I have made a preliminary list of what I want to do and how to limit what I perhaps could reasonably manage and do. When I hear about students who do not get into medical school, the main reasons are GPA or MCAT and perhaps I should just focus on this.</p>

2

<p>Let me say this.</p>

<p>Your goal is to make yourself a better doctor. Mostly - not completely, but for the most part - this overlaps with getting yourself into medical school.</p>

<p>If you can legitimately argue that these EC's will make you a better doctor - and I think such an argument is tenable, but it all depends on whether you really believe it - then do it. It will come in handy for secondary essays and interview questions. Remember, of course, that making yourself a better person overlaps considerably with making yourself a better doctor.</p>

<p>But do not, under any circumstances, pursue an activity - especially a non-medical one - simply to put it on the resume.</p>

<p>PS: Which exception to the "prestige doesn't matter" rule are you? There are a lot of them, so there's plenty of room.</p>

3

<p>One problem I have with your approach to this whole thing is that everything is aimed at getting you into medical school. You are worried about every minor detail is going to appear, asking how it will be interpreted, and if there is a positive or negative view to everything.</p>

<p>What about just doing something because you enjoy doing it? I mean this somewhat overlaps with BDM's statements, but not entirely. If you want to do something, I say do it, have fun and enjoy it without worry. I mean, I'm all for being composed and having a purpose, but sometimes you need to do things for you and not for someone else.</p>

4

<p>so it is better to conconcentrate, i mean really concentrate, on a few things that I really enjoy doing rather than dabbling in many different activities?</p>

5

<p>I'd say so, yes, but I can't base that on any evidence. It's just better for your development as a person, that way.</p>

6

<p>Yes, it is better to do fewer things well, than to do many things crappy (crappily?).</p>