<p>1.) Deadlines are not useful and should be ignored.</p>
<p>2.) Deadlines are officially in October or November, I think. This is ridiculous and should be ignored.</p>
<p>3.) In a situation where an April exam is seriously aberrant -- that is, when you've been taking a series of practice tests and scoring five or six points above what you actually got -- then another exam might not be a bad idea.</p>
<p>generally, if scores (GPA/MCAT) aren't the greatest, are ECs able to trump that weakness? this is pre-primary</p>
<p>1.) "Pre-primary" -- meaning before a school ever gets your application? Generally you can't get in very many places without applying.</p>
<p>2.) It depends on what you mean by "not the greatest." EC's matter, but they help borderline candidates. They can't qualify candidates who simply don't have the scores.</p>
<p>Generally, I look at it like this - you have to get some sort of minimum GPA and MCAT to have a shot. Those things get you a foot in the door. If you're a 24 and 3.0 student, then no amount of EC's are going to make up the deficiency.</p>
<p>If your scores are "competitive", or even just a tad lower, then EC's and interview become important because they might bump you up to getting an interview. Get an interview, and who knows what may happen.</p>
<p>If your scores are superior, then EC's are icing on the cake and may affect things like if you get in right away, or your position on the waiting list. I don't want this to sound like EC's aren't important because they are, but some schools are clearly fixated on numbers more than anything else. </p>
<p>Part of EC's though, and this is something I say ad naseum, is how you sell them during your personal statement and/or interview. You may have the greatest EC's in the world but if you don't discuss their relevance, what they've meant to you, how they've affected you, and how that is going to make you a better physician, then they're worthless. I harp on this because I was someone with excellent EC's - not necessarily in the things you'd expect, but lots of involvement and lots of leadership experience - and so I know what they can do. In the three interviews I had (2 were at one school) I was asked specifically about my involvement, and was able to use those opportunities to my advantage.</p>
<p>The other take-home point is that you need to do EC's because you like doing them, not because youre expecting them to help you get into med school. There are going be a thousand people who were involved with the pre-med club at their school, there are going to be even more who volunteered at a hospital or shadowed a physician, there are going to be a ton of people with research, and there are going to be a ton of people who were TA's for Bio 101 Lab. Research and clinical experience (especially clinical experience) are pretty much check boxes you need to mark off (research only at research heavy schools), but that doesn't mean you can't use them to help you. Being able to talk about the impact those had may allow you to stand out.</p>
<p>As for the other things, if you feel like you have to do them, at least try to get some leadership positions while doing them, but I would recommend that you search out things you actually want to do - whether student government, the campus choir, or whatever. If you're passionate about them, you're going to enjoy them and it's going to be easier to talk about them during an interview. Again, leadership is better than just participation, but passion trumps that. And while I would personally choose things that get you out talking to people and think that those help interview skills, hopefully talking about things you like can make up for something that doesn't necessarily make you the most social (something like photography club or the paintball club).</p>
<p>so a pre-med student technically wouldn't have to pack all 4 yrs of college w/ ECs right from the get go? what would be the plan freshman yr?</p>
<p>Pre-meds shouldn't ever do EC's because they're premeds. They should do them because they like them. If they find that they're not doing the important ones (clinical experience), they shouldn't add them to the resume; they should find a new career plan.</p>
<p>In other words: if you like clinical experience, you should get some. If that's the case, then think about being premed.</p>
<p>Let your interests define your activities AND your career; don't like your career define your activities despite your interests.</p>
<p>Well...in MY opinion, there is a need to start EC's early. If you want the leadership positions, it's hard to have a lot of credibility if you joined as a junior and have only been involved for a short time. Further, it's easier to get into other selective organizations (those that have applications, you can't just show up and participate) if you have other experiences/organizations you're a part of.</p>
<p>I guess if everything were ideal, I'd agree with BDM's comments, but I know that's not how it works out. My major point is that you need to be involved, but what you are involved in, should be things that you really want to do. Don't choose your involvement because you think it looks good for med school.</p>