I am going to start my junior year of college this August but I’m concerned because I have not devoted that much time toward my ECs because I’ve been focusing on grades. My only involvements are…
Member of Honor Society
Honor Roll(s)
Shadowing with a neuphrology physician (50 hours)
Shadowing with orthopedic surgeons (48 hours)
Research Assistant (96 hours)
But that is literally it, so I’m afraid this is unimpressive. I have a few more volunteer things I’m doing this summer so I will add to this list later but any suggestions on what else I can do to be competitive?
You have zero hours of clinical experience and that will hurt you more than anything when you go to apply to medical school.
Adcomms want applicants to understand the kind of life they’re getting into. Dealing with the sick, injured, dying, mentally ill, elderly and disabled on an intense day-to-day basis is not something everyone can handle. Adcomms want proof that you can deal.
You need to start volunteering ASAP. It doesn’t need to be at a hospital. You can volunteer at a standalone clinic (free county public health clinic, Planned Parenthood, Healthcare for the Homeless), nursing home, hospice, cancer or dialysis center, group home for the mentally or physically disabled, summer programs for disabled children, EMT service…Be creative. Find an activity that is meaningful to you. For example, D1–who is a avid rock climber–was a volunteer EMT with Mountain Search & Rescue. D2–who has a strong interest in all thing neurologic-- was a volunteer therapy aide at a rehab center for stroke and traumatic brain injury patients.
You also have zero hours of community service. Adcomms want to see evidence of altruistic behavior through service to those who are less fortunate than you. Working in a food pantry, tutoring inner city children or newly arrive immigrants, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, mentoring thru you faith community, coaching Special Olympics, etc.
Those are your 2 biggest glaring weaknesses. Concentrate on fixing those.
And if you do decide on additional shadowing–do some with primary care doctors. They’re the front lines of medical care.
When are you thinking of applying? If after junior year you may want to wait until after senior year in order to both accumulate enough clinical hours/ community service to strengthen your app and also maintain a schedule (school, ECs, college life, MCAT prep if not already taken) that doesn’t burn you out. Good luck.
I think AMCAS does hours per week not total hours
What is a good amount of clinical hours? I have some normal volunteering but nothing at a hospital/clinic yet, and I will also be starting my junior year. I really want to go to med school right after college too…
edit:
I also had a question but didn’t want to create a redundant thread…
So far I’ve done:
Club sport- started freshman year
Relay for life (nothing “official” because I’m not part of the board but I’m hoping to be on the board next year. That said I put the time in so I might add it… not sure if it counts as volunteering or not)- started sophomore year
Volunteering student org- started sophomore year
Research lab- started 2nd semester sophomore year
Two summers of a research internship/summer program
Shadowing 1st a resident in my first semester and then an opthalmologist my second
I was going to add clinical hours junior year along with probably another event organization board that I was interested in joining (app was denied last year haha)
Is there anything I can do to improve my ECs? I’m concerned that I started everything too late namely the research lab I’m in right now which I was hoping would be the cornerstone of my app…
That’s not correct. AMCAS asks for beginning & ending dates and total hours. It doesn’t ask about weekly involvement.
Clinical experience–which is probably the most important EC of them all.
Are you involved in any long-term community service activities?
Adcomms want evidence of altruism directed toward others who are less fortunate than yourself.
The importance of research experience is oftenover-rated by most pre-meds.
https://www.aamc.org/download/434596/data/usingmcatdata2016.pdf
Thanks for the information. I do have a lot of clinical experience from high school but it is way too long ago. Currently this summer I am getting involved with a diabetic children’s summer camp, global poverty campaign, and volunteering at a disability clinic (unfortunately this is only brief). I tried to volunteer at a hospital but they are very unreceptive so I’m looking at other hospitals. Hopefully I can find something soon!
@sarainbow
Sounds like a plan! Good luck!
@Suffer
Bear with me–mini-rant ahead–
Unless you’re gunning for a MD/PhD, I think making research the cornerstone of your application is a mistake. Medicine is at its heart a clinical endeavor. It’s hands-on, not theoretical. While bench research is all fine & good, it’s not what’s important. Adcomms aren’t looking for future research scientists; they’re looking for future hands-on practitioners who are willing and able to dive down into the messiness of humanity and deal sensitively with the often everyday sordidness that is the worst of humanity. Adcomms want individuals who have the interpersonal skills to handle delicate situations and who can deal sensitively with individuals who come with a broad variety of life experiences and from an enormous diversity of educational backgrounds & prejudices. Remember–most of your patients will look nothing like you and will not have had the advantaged life you have led. The basic question every adcomm asks himself while interviewing med school candidates is this: Would I want this person treating my elderly mother?
I would pose this question to you: how does being an experienced bench researcher make you more/better qualified to deal with that adcomm’s elderly and potentially demented mother than someone who has spent 3 years volunteering in a nursing home or hospice center? If you can write/articulate a convincing and cogent argument in your favor, then go ahead and make research the focus of your application; otherwise I would thing long & hard about how you frame your application.
@wayoutwestmom Someone sent me their EC list off their AMCAS I believe and it said to list start and end date and hours/week but I didn’t see a slot for total hours. Maybe they changed it recently?
Based on what you said about clinical experience/volunteering, if I only have 1 year of clinical volunteering (will be two by the time I graduate though), 2 years of normal volunteering through a student org (3 when I graduate), and probably 1-2 years on an organizational committee board, am I lacking in this area to be a strong candidate?
I’m concerned I started everything too late and that’s going to poorly reflect my interests on my applications. Is that true or do they understand that interests and involvement change?
There is no formula that says W hours of clinical volunteering + X hours of shadowing + Y hours of community service + Z hours of leadership + MCAT score + GPA = med school acceptance. It just doesn’t work that way. The metrics are not one size fits all.
You’re focussing too much on numbers–and that’s indicative of the checklist mentality too common among pre-meds. Numbers don’t matter nearly as much as what you’ve gained/learned from your experiences.