<p>okay so im a HIGH SCHOOL sophomore going into my junior year (08-09).
i am really aiming to get into a BS/MD program in 2 years.
i am sort of worried about my extracurriculars so please HELP!!</p>
<p>Extracurriculars:
9th and 10th grades.</p>
<p>-Freshmen Track
-Student Council Representative
-Yearbook staff
-Volunteer at hospital- so far 50 hours -- will be like 100-200ish by end
-Quiz Bowl team member
-Spanish Honors Society (i doubt this will count, i barely did anything)
-Health Occupation Students of Am. - club member</p>
<p>that is about it right now.</p>
<p>this summer i am planning on:
-more Hospital volunteering
-doctor job shadowing
-Red cross volunteering
-i might look into EMS volunteering (i dont know how to get in there tho, help me if u can)</p>
<p>Next year (junior year), i doubt i will have any time in the school year for too much extracurriculars. I am getting a job at a hospital clerikal type. It requires about 20 hours of work a week. Thus, i will be working hard to just manage that and school. </p>
<p>How are my ECs looking so far? What else should i do to make my chances at BS/MD programs better? Should i not work next year and focus on ECs?
we are sort of low-income and the job will get me some experience even though it is clerical type but in a hospital setting.
Advice/help?</p>
<p>IMO getting a job at a hospital shows you are really commited to your desire to be a doctor. Also, getting the job to help your family out shows responsibility. </p>
<p>When I need to work, I just tell my club advisors that I have to leave in 20 or 30 minutes and apologize. Staying 20 minutes after school shouldn't cut into your job, and the advisors will notice you making an effort.</p>
<p>for my job, i get to leave school an hour before. Thus, i cannot really participate in any extracurrics after school. Is that a big disadvantage. Im giving the job a major priority and making in-school extracurrics not as big. im thinking of doing more out of school stuff.</p>
<p>well its bad if you do so many in-school ECs but don't commit to them. Colleges would rather see you commit to something and pwn in it. They don't want to see a long list of activities.</p>
<p>ya...honestly they aren't that good. You need achievements/awards/honors in ECs, not many ECs. 1 club where you are a nationally ranked person beats any number of clubs where you are simply a participant</p>
<p>yeah wut tpye of achievements tho. should i start going to state chess tournaments since im really good in chess? should i start a fundraiser and try doing like something good for community like raise $7k?</p>
<p>Paki786, I really don't think you should do a fundraiser for your community just to pad your college apps. If you want to organize one, then do it to help, not to enhance your resume.
I think you should just stick with your ECs. You don't have to have tons and tons of awards for them; just make sure you're doing what you enjoy. They're related to your prospective major, which is good, and show a level of commitment to a career involving medicine. Much better than frantically trying to add random things that just scatter the general picture of you adcoms will have.</p>
<p>well I'm just sayin, getting into college is a competition, and if you want to beat some people, it'd be useful to have some awards and wins and stuff...</p>
<p>Your ECs are decent, but for BS/MD they are average.
Also, BS/MD programs are going to focus mainly on grades and SATs, so if you have stellar ECs it won't really compensate for a sub par GPA or SAT. And BS/MD programs are extremely competitive and difficult to get into.</p>
<p>ivycmm: by no means did i say that i will raise a fundraiser for college apps. I was actually thinking before aobut the china earthquake victims and stuff. Really, my passion to become a doctor comes from the general fact of helping people. I really wanna make a difference.</p>