Thank you!
Last edited:
I did review my CV and it looks fine? Would it be too much to ask if you'd mind taking a look at it?First, welcome to SDN!
Don't feel too discouraged at this early stage of your career. Seriously, plenty of frosh students all over the USA are feeling the same way. In time, things will be okay. Have you reviewed your cv (resume) ... just in case something is amiss or needs to be changed/revised?
Suggestion: have you looked at Flying Samaritans at UCLA?
That is encouraging and how I feel right now, thank you! I do intend to keep looking until I find something.I remember seriously stressing out the third week of college about whether med schools would look down on me for not having gotten a volunteering spot at the hospital that semester.
Getting involved in EC's at big schools is always a challenge at first. You've gotta grind it out, don't get discouraged. The cold call/emails, trying out different volunteer gigs etc - we've all been there. I didn't find something I truly loved until the end of sophomore year. You'll find something as long as you keep at it. And don't be afraid to stray off the beaten path, hospital volunteering really kinda sucks. From my experience, the meaningful ECs are found outside the typical big premed club.
Check your PM.I did review my CV and it looks fine? Would it be too much to ask if you'd mind taking a look at it?
I did look at Flying Samaritans but unfortunately I didn't take Spanish in high school (I took French) and it seems like they focus on a Spanish-speaking area predominantly so I don't feel like it'd be a good fit for me.
You don't need to join a club to get involved on campus! Just find something that you enjoy doing (maybe volunteer at nursing home, working with children, homeless shelter, etc) and start doing that! It's a long road and picking 1 or 2 activities freshman year that you enjoy and can start getting involved in is a great step (as well as maintaining a decent GPA ) good luck!
Thank you guys that makes a lot of sense. I think a lot of clubs have finished recruiting or are already underway but I'll look into non-medical volunteer clubs next quarter!Pick a few clubs that interests you and stick with it. Get some leadership positions while you're at it. You don't need to be involved with a pre-med society or something like that. Just make sure you have volunteering and clinical experience by the time you apply.
I personally have avoided all the clubs where the pre-med concentration was high and stayed in two clubs I actually had fun with for 4 years.
As a freshman, spend time getting real world experience. I'm assuming you probably studied all during high school/are nerdy (sorry ). Learn how to socialize with your peers. Keep up with the grades, but those don't mean anything if you can't be good in social situations. Join social clubs, go out drinking*, learn how to talk to people in non medical situations, get a job at Safeway. This will go a lot further than you realize your first 2 years of college.
Please don't get caught drinking alcohol when you are underage.
Please don't get sloppy drunk and draw the attention of police.
Please don't drink & drive.
But the rest holds true. Find some things to do that are fun and enjoy this first year of college. There will be plenty of time next year to begin research and volunteerism can wait until summer. (try to figure out over winter break where you'll be for the summer and start setting things up -- it can take time for background checks, immunizations, TB test, etc).
Ooooh, yeah. I'm so used to people being my age. Definitely follow the law while you are underage. Hold off on the beer until you turn 21. Sorry about that, I definitely don't condone illegal or unsafe behavior.
Also there are no safeways out in LA haha
I think you're jumping a bit quickly to conclusions about me! I simply value my career and academics a lot and actually enjoy the process of learning and challenging myself, and my concerns are not out of neuroticism but a desire to grow. I am actually currently in a social club and try to enjoy college life. But when it comes down to it I came to college to learn and get involved not just have fun.As a freshman, spend time getting real world experience. I'm assuming you probably studied all during high school/are nerdy (sorry ). Learn how to socialize with your peers. Keep up with the grades, but those don't mean anything if you can't be good in social situations. Join social clubs, go out drinking, learn how to talk to people in non medical situations, get a job at Safeway. This will go a lot further than you realize your first 2 years of college.
That makes sense. Do you have any advice for applying to these programs (stroke team, stroke force, EMRA)? I've heard of them but they seem even tougher to get into than typical volunteering, and I have no idea how I'd get into them if I'm being rejected for "lower-prestige" programs. Would having a high GPA help?Welcome to UCLA. You've been here for less than five weeks, you need to relax. Most researchers do not take on first quarter freshmen because you have yet to take any real college courses and they prefer older more experienced upper classman. For this quarter you should focus on grades, you say you're not worried about them but you sure as hell should because this is a dog eat dog environment and your gpa could take a tumble at any moment. once you got that down, apply to prestigious health programs like stroke force or stroke team. Even care extenders is good and they take a good amount of people. Then you can retry searching for research by going to the David Geffen School of Medicine page and looking for Principal Investigators who are currently working on projects. The key here is to not over work yourself and just allow everything to fall into place. Don't worry about things like this your first five weeks in college, you got another three years to build up your application assuming you don't take a gap year.
That makes sense. Do you have any advice for applying to these programs (stroke team, stroke force, EMRA)? I've heard of them but they seem even tougher to get into than typical volunteering, and I have no idea how I'd get into them if I'm being rejected for "lower-prestige" programs. Would having a high GPA help?
Also, buy this book. Changed my life. Definitely worth the 15 dollars. It'll give you more guidance than SDN ever could. "www.amazon.com/Top-Tier-Premed-Awesome-Applicants/dp/1475007191/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1478251096&sr=8-1&keywords=top+tier+premed"
Yeah, I was pretty intense my first year. I definitely mellowed down a lot but the book was certainly helpful. 6-12 months of research isn't sufficient for many research heavy medical schools (i.e. UCLA) . You definitely shouldn't do it to pad your resume. I personally love research but anybody considering medical school should do some form of research for at least 2 years.
The following is my advice.
1. Get a 4.0 your first year..
What compels you from volunteering at Ronald Raegan Hospital?Yeah my major has me taking the life science versions of math and chem so it's going pretty well!
Where do you recommend I look into volunteering? I got a position volunteering at the Venice Clinic but they say that you have to do administrative volunteering for 6 months before you have an opportunity to be a clinical assistant, and even then it's obviously not guaranteed. This doesn't sound very attractive to me mostly because of transportation (I don't have a car as of right now).
Yeah, that is the exact reason why I want to spend time at a small clinic.I suppose I get the impression that it is a large, impersonal hospital therefore the opportunities I'd have volunteering there would be fairly limited as so many students want to volunteer there, but that's UCLA in general too I think! Also many of the roles are not as interactive as I'd like (Wayfinding, patient escort) and things I've already done for years throughout high school. I was hoping to dedicate my time to something with more responsibilities than what I've already been doing.
I do not have access to a car, I'm thinking about getting one next year along with a parking permit so that I can volunteer at these organizations. I haven't heard back from Care Extenders because I have not attended their information session yet, upcoming this winter. I'm probably going to check it out but from what I've heard it's not the most worthwhile program.@Skarl do you have access to a car? Have you heard back from CARE Extenders yet? Clubs only provide opportunities, but you can find them on your own. CARE, LAC+USC DEM Program, Venice Family Clinic, Cedars Student Programs, Scribing, Habitat, etc. For now, get through your first semester.
What's not worthwhile about it? What are you expectations? You want clinical experience. This is clinical experience.I do not have access to a car, I'm thinking about getting one next year along with a parking permit so that I can volunteer at these organizations. I haven't heard back from Care Extenders because I have not attended their information session yet, upcoming this winter. I'm probably going to check it out but from what I've heard it's not the most worthwhile program.
From what I've heard it is very bureaucratic with little patient interaction. Most of the work is door-greeting, or wheelchair duty. While I do think this has value it's something I've done for years throughout high school and can be very mundane and unfulfilling at times.What's not worthwhile about it? What are you expectations? You want clinical experience. This is clinical experience.
From what I've heard it is very bureaucratic with little patient interaction. Most of the work is door-greeting, or wheelchair duty. While I do think this has value it's something I've done for years throughout high school and can be very mundane and unfulfilling at times.
I didn't know there were opportunities for leadership roles or expansion of responsibility. Can you elaborate a little bit more on that? I still signed up for an information despite my early reservations and knowing that there are further opportunities if I commit is definitely an incentive to stick with it.It's a one year commitment. The first couple rotations may not be great if you are already used to the basics, but the options become much more expanded later, especially if you apply for leadership roles.
Overall, it's about where your motivation and sincerity of success are at, not what will be handed to you. There are somewhere around 800 volunteers and you won't get something handed to you. However, from my experience, it has shaped my premed direction through the networking I've done and experiences I've initiated on my own. I've also seen plenty of entitled people have a sour taste after a rotation or two.
Sure it's not the best option, but it is a good experience on average and great for the most motivated to learn and see new things. If you are shy it will probably suck or force you to stop being shy.
Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
Who are you doing it for? Are you doing it for the patient (like me -- a few times) who can't get to the front door on their own and who needs someone on wheelchair duty? Or are you doing it for some kind of thrill or excitement that you can write about on an application? Figure out why you want to volunteer before you make yourself miserable and fail to serve with a smile those who need someone.From what I've heard it is very bureaucratic with little patient interaction. Most of the work is door-greeting, or wheelchair duty. While I do think this has value it's something I've done for years throughout high school and can be very mundane and unfulfilling at times.
Everything from now until you retire in medicine will be bureaucratic.From what I've heard it is very bureaucratic with little patient interaction. Most of the work is door-greeting, or wheelchair duty. While I do think this has value it's something I've done for years throughout high school and can be very mundane and unfulfilling at times.
I'll definitely apply to those programs and focus on writing a more unique and thoughtful application. I think a lot of my earlier applications came off as bragging and thus I didn't have a lot of success despite relevant experiences. They're highly competitive but I think it's worth a shot! I also plan on applying to Mobile Clinic as well, it sounds like a very worthwhile organization and I like that it recruits in the Spring!
I said some form of research. By research universities, I'm talking about Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc. They expect medical students to contribute to academia in some way. That's why I said that SOME form of research is important if you want to go to these types of institutions. This is also why MD/PhD students match better into competitive residencies because they are going to contribute to academia in the future. Also, 6-12 months of research will definitely look like you were trying to pad your resume. You will hardly make an impact within this short period of time.
"If you agree that you shouldn't do it to pad your resume, then you should agree that not everybody wants to go to a research heavy medical school."
I also don't see how these two statements are linked in any way.
Clinical experience, in the context of the AMCAS, involves patient interaction. From my knowledge, care extenders involves very little patient interaction and hence, one should ideally spend time elsewhere. Most people that I have I interacted with that are part of Care Extenders do not seem to be getting the type of experience that you obtained. Again, I could be wrong about this program but I know many people who can attest to what I am saying