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[supercoolturtles]

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[Spinach Dip]

If anyone is looking for more evidence that the EC race is officially out of control, this post is it.

 

[Cotterpin]

Yo, if you love playing violin, never stop playing violin! I think you might want to put your own personal happiness above calculating what will "look best" to get into med school. Do you really want to spend your life not doing the things you love?

 

[Ricekrispie]

As a fellow musician, I'd recommend continuing your involvement in music. You can take this with a grain of salt, since I'm still a pre-med too, but I have read various posts that suggest adcoms look favorably upon musicians, since it is something that takes dedication and hard work to achieve. I have personally also gained a few unique leadership roles through my involvement with music at my university, and my director has offered to write me a stellar non-science LOR. Even without these perks, music is a huge part of who I am and something I love to do, so I would've probably been involved regardless. Depending on your school, I'm sure there's an ensemble that wouldn't require an exorbitant amount of rehearsal/practice time.

 

[ConfusedChemist]

I can't even validate this with a serious response. Use your brain. If you can't think of an answer, you have some serious inabilities to think rationally

 

[Slave to the Game]

10+ years, it's clear that you enjoy playing the violin so I don't think you should stop so that you can hand out band-aids at a hospital. If you want, you can combine your talent and interests by speaking with hospitals or hospices about how you and interested members of your ensemble can help out (musically). As far as my assumption of medical school admissions criteria, having a strong passion seems to be a big plus, and clinical exposure is pretty much making sure you know what kind of career you're getting yourself into. However, I think your EC's and application should also show how you're able to pursue both interests, and a long-time commitment to something clinical AND your continued involvement with the violin would be great! One of the applicants this cycle was a Div I athlete, I think the time commitment may be comparable - you should reach out to him and see how he managed to get it all done.

Hope this helped.

 

[wholeheartedly]

You can still have your hobby without playing formally in the orchestra. There might even be a few community groups you could play with requiring less of a time commitment. When I was in high school we played for the seniors at the local nursing home and they loved it.

Definitely don't stop playing, because it's things like this that you love that will keep you sane in all of this.

 

[Mirp]

because ultimately my goal is to become a doctor (not a musician).

I'd think about this statement long and hard before committing to it, especially considering how much you seem to enjoy music. Do you enjoy medicine just as much or more? Why? You don't have to answer that here, but think about it.

 

[NickNaylor]

Just about any activity - if you devote yourself to it, enjoy it, and get something from the experience - is "worthwhile" IMO. Things do not necessarily get "extra value" by virtue of the fact that it's medically related with respect to admission.

 

[futuremdforme]

You're right, you can't do everything, but everything will see more manageable if you enjoy it. If you like the violin, you won't mind making time for it. If you used to do it at a fairly high level, I'd continue even a little bit -- it will allow it to come up in interviews and you can discuss that if you like.

 

[thatwouldbeanarchy]

Also worth keeping in mind that medical schools like to see people with diverse interests. I think we'd all be hard-pressed to find a premed (or a doctor, for that matter) who doesn't have at least a few other interests besides medicine -- so my concern would be that if your application solely reflects medicine-related activities that adcoms might perceive this as box-checking (i.e. you're an overeager premed who took on a bunch of activities that you're not really interested in simply to make your application look good.)

I understand what you're saying--that continuing violin at a university level would be time-consuming and may take away from other clinical volunteer experiences. Maybe it's worth it and maybe it's not; that's up to you to decide. If you decide not to stick with orchestra, I think that's fine. Just be sure to replace it with other things you're interested in besides medicine! Try to achieve some balance. It might not be easy but it's good practice for when you actually become a physician and you have to learn to balance your crazy work schedule with hobbies/friends/family/social life!

 

[HybridEarth]

I can almost guarantee your musicianship will be brought up in every interview you will potentially receive lol

 

[Planes2Doc]

If anyone is looking for more evidence that the EC race is officially out of control, this post is it.

This is true, but don't hate the player... Hate the game.

To the OP, it sounds like you genuinely enjoy it. Keep doing it. See if you can maybe do music therapy at a hospice or hospital for patients. Or just stay involved. My suggestion is to pick up a weekly hospital volunteering gig. It is a small commitment. You can also try to find physicians to shadow during your shift, and you can double dip the hours. Skip any entry-level clinical jobs. They are so commonplace that they won't set you apart. If you are converned about time, then you especially shouldn't pick one up!

Now with this taken care of, you can piggy back musical ECs on top of this. This is what I did with photography, which I have been doing fot years and way before I was pre-med. Your passion will show and that will help.

 

[Terry Toma]

As a general note regarding non-medical ECs, I think it's important to remember that the best educational and professional opportunities sometimes come from unexpected sources. The more you can branch out and meet a wide variety of people in a wide variety of settings, the better chance you stand of finding really meaningful experiences within your field.

The experiences I've gained through traditional means have mostly been pretty run-of-the-mill. I've had a ton of great experience pertaining to medicine and my former career just from meeting the right person while volunteering/working at something seemingly unrelated. For example, a few kids I coached in track turned out to have parents who were physicians or executive directors of relevant organizations. These connections have provided me with a number of opportunities. People are more open to helping you when you don't show up asking for something, but just happen to meet through other means (if I'd met the same parents while I was handing out blankets at their hospital, they probably would have blown me off as another premed begging them for something).

OP, I'm not necessarily saying that playing the violin is going to result in becoming best friends with the chief of medicine at your local hospital, but everything you can do to get out and meet people is going to increase your odds of meaningful interactions with people who can help you in a setting where they'll be more open to taking an interest in you. I wouldn't sacrifice grades or completely neglect clinical volunteering to volunteer for other things, but to the extent you're able, I would definitely recommend music or any other non-medical EC.

 

[Goro]

Time mgt is an important survival skill in medical school, so this is something you need to master. But IF you try to do everything, you'll end up doing nothing.

For non-clinical ECs, hobbies are; they keep you sane. But you still need to also demonstrate your altruism by some form of service to others, especially those less fortunate than yourself.

To preface, I'd like to say that I've heard all the lectures/tirades about how "it's more important to do what you love, etc. etc." And I definitely agree! However, I have A LOT of different interests from high school and I'm starting to realize that I can't pursue ALL of them in college. I'm trying to prioritize what will be most beneficial to me in terms of getting into medical school.

My question is, is it worthwhile to continue my non-medical ECs at the expense of more relevant ECs? For example, I've been playing violin for almost 10 years now. However, continuing it at the university level is a HUGE time commitment and I would have to sacrifice other activities. Instead of practicing and attending rehearsals, I could be volunteering more hours at the hospital, involving myself in another service organization (UNICEF, Red Cross, etc), investing myself more in research, or spending more time studying.

I love playing violin; however, if it's not helping me stand out to medical schools and there are other activities which CAN help me stand out, then I'm willing to sacrifice it--because ultimately my goal is to become a doctor (not a musician).