Non-trad pre-med student heading back to school. I am considering a few affordable college options at the moment and transportation is a big cost I predict if volunteering opportunities are not in walking distance. Assuming most pre-meds don’t have cars in college, how do they commute to and from volunteer sites?
In the college I am currently enrolled in, I won’t have a car and the public transportation is unreliable (rural area). Walking to and from the closest volunteer site would mean a one hour commute each way…which I see as a huge waste of my time (loss of meaningful volunteer/studying hours). As a result, if I do end up attending here, I am considering using uber or lyft but it would cost $15 each way. Assuming I volunteer once a week, that’d cost me about $120 per month.
In looking at other schools, should this be taken into consideration when picking a school (i.e, choose a college with opportunities that are close by)? Or is this a normal/common method of transportation and worth the extra cost? At what point would it be a dealbreaker?
A couple of things to keep in mind:
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having volunteer sites nearby (like a close-by hospital) does’t necessarily mean you’re going to be able to get a volunteer position at that site. Sites closest to campus always have far, far more applications for volunteer spots than there are available positions.
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even in towns with good public transit, the city buses aren’t necessarily going to get you to where you need to be, when you need to be there.
You may want to leave those shadowing and volunteering for the summer at sites near home.
School should have existing volunteer programs. During school year, it is best to participate in those long running programs. Usually the commitment is just one to two hours per week per program. Just like college application, you don’t want your ECs to look like a bunch of individual events. You might want to get a [Yamaha Scooters](https://www.yamahamotorsports.com/scooter) if you are concerned about transportaton. In most states, if not all, you can’t ride a 49cc scooter on an Interstate highway though. It is much faster than walking and you get 127 MPG. You can also use a bicycle but it is much slower. It is unlikely to get good clinical experience during school year due to course schedule conflicts. As others have pointed out, summer is the best time for 250+ hours of medical related experience within a short period of time. Those precious summers are what will make or break your medical school applications just like you would have a hard time finding a job after graduation if you didn’t have internships while you are in college.
I was under the impression that long-term volunteering (throughout the school year) was the norm and is preferred by adcomms to show sustained commitment. Planning my next two years this way…volunteering throughout the school year, shadowing during shorter breaks (winter, spring, etc.) and research during longer breaks (summer).
Is the summer volunteer “cramming” common amongst pre-meds? Is it more widely accepted that I originally thought? If it is, I’d gladly drop all my ECs during the school year and focus on academics and working instead.
Of course you should consider the transportation to volunteer opportunities, just like you should consider transportation to an airport, or the convenience of a grocery store, or the availability of Mexican restaurants if that’s important to you. They may not be deal breakers, but may make one school more appealing than another. If getting to a hospital is going to be part of your day, then consider all options and costs.
Students in my city get a bus pass which gets them to almost any hospital in the city (and connecting suburbs). Some are very convenient, right on the light rail line or a bus line, while others are less convenient and require changing buses or a walk at the other end.
There are other ways to commute too like bikes or ride share. I was very lucky for one of my summer jobs. I could have taken a 45 minute bus ride (which I did take home) but someone offered me a ride in the mornings.
Volunteer activities should show you embrace humanitarianism. If you only embrace humanitarianism during breaks, it wouldn’t look very good. Summer is for research (clinical/lab) and other activities. Although EMT certification is quite popular, believe or not, a lot of places you can’t find a place to serve as an EMT. At my kid’s school, only 25% got accepted as EMTs. You will find that even getting a volunteer spot is not a cakewalk, thanks to huge number of premeds. It is important that you actively look for those opportunities early … assuming you are qualified as a premed academically. BTW, if you do get a scooter, make sure you use an U-lock to secure it to a pole. Otherwise, it will be stolen within days.