<p>I'm a freshman at UCSD. My goal in four years is to make it to a Medical School.</p>
<p>Should I join clubs and such? I have no idea if it will help on admissions. I'm kinda scared since I don't know if I can handle clubs plus school at the same time. Do you guys have advice for a med-school hopeful? Should I be joining clubs? (First year) and will this help me? I know for sure in the summer I'll be back with my boyscout troop, doing church activities, and band. But for now, during school, should I look to join clubs and such? Thanks!!!!</p>
<p>Yes. You must be actively involved on campus and in the community - volunteering, research, leadership positions, and clinical experience are important aspects of the medical school application.</p>
<p>I find that undergrad starts you off as a clean slate. For the most part, your HS reputation does not carry over to college. Since you're a freshman, you should seek out activities that can land you leadership positions in the future (obviously you're not going to be a leader of anything big as a freshman unless you're the founder).</p>
<p>How many credits are you taking? I think that freshman should have no trouble juggling at least 2 extracurricular activities no matter how tough their schedule is. What do you do in your spare time that makes you think you can't do it? I know I spent a lot of time in HS goofing off in my spare time, but now that I've managed time better, I find that college allows you to balance a lot more stuff (even if you're a commuter like me who commutes 30 minutes each way).</p>