how important are medicine related EC's in admissions to BS/MD programs?

<p>Rising senior interested in applying to a BS/MD program, but I don't have any health related or research EC's. Is it still worth it to try applying to these programs or has anybody gotten accepted in a similar situation as me?</p>

<p>SAT: 2100- 770 M, 710 W, 620 CR (Probably not going to submit my SAT score)
ACT: 33: 33 M, 29 R, 34 S, 35 W
Subject tests: Math II: 770, Chemistry: 770
GPA 4.0 UW, 5.248 W
Rank: Top 5%
My only EC's/volunteering are band (All stater, drum major, and previously a section leader), volunteering (~40hrs/yr) at church with 3-4 yr olds, and 3 honor societies (only a member so it doesn't help much)</p>

<p>I understand that I'm at a serious disadvantage for not having any medicine related EC's, so is there any point in applying to these programs or should I focus on my regular college apps? Thanks in advance</p>

<p>I think you should focus on regular college apps. My understanding is that programs look for medical related activities (you can say you’re interested in something but unless you show that interest they won’t care). I didn’t have too many outstanding medical related activities but was still offered a few interviews. If you do end up applying to programs make sure your essays are great, though. Good luck.</p>

<p>I agree with @FrozenShardz‌, regular college apps would be a good way to go. Unless you can pull off a job-shadow or full-time volunteering right now, it’s really not worth the effort in your case. Enjoy 4 years of a normal pre-med life, maybe even try a non-science major, and then apply to med school. Although it wouldn’t hurt to apply to two or three BS-MD programs for the heck of it, no harm done, if you’re willing to pay the app fees.</p>

<p>what everyone said above. I hate to break it to you, but applying for bs/md programs require significant planning beforehand. Unfortunately, you don’t have the EC’s to convince committees that you really have a grasp of what medicine is like.</p>

<p>The main objective of bs/md programs is to recruit students who are passionate about medicine. The first way in which a student can reflect that is through their EC’s. The BS/MD route may not be the one for you this time around. Your grades are excellent though. You should look into applying to IVY Leagues instead. Good luck :)</p>