Do my nonclinical volunteering opportunities have to be helping consistent?

[irecompliedthecode]

Before I get into the meat of the question, here's some background:

*Computational Biology Major, 4.0/4.0
*Good MCAT
*Volunteered at the same hospital for 2 years and have racked up 250 hours so far, haven't volunteered at other places because I liked this one institution

*Did research in the same lab for 2 years so far, and am in a second lab that I plan to be until I graduate, so tack on another 2.5 years for that (have been in there for 1 year so far)

*Clubs are all consistent, unique, and for 2 years+

However, I'll be honest, I want to have fun with my nonclinical volunteering. My events are all over the place, but it's because I want to enjoy my experiences. Not all of them are helping socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals. Sure, it's going to sound caustic, but I don't want to stir a soup ladle for 2 years. Here are my nonclinical volunteering activities:

*Volunteered at various academic events (about 7 events) for elementary, middle schoolers, and high schoolers- 50 hours

*I have a background in music, so I've played music for entertainment and played games at a hospice- 30 hours

*Volunteering at homeless shelter- 40 hours

*Played games with kids with broken families, abused kids, etc. (probably my "funnest" EC because I get to take their minds off their worries)- 40 hours

So I have about 160 hours of nonclinical volunteering, but they're broken up into various activities that have had stints for no longer than say 6 months at a time. Is this lack of consistency still bad on an application, provided all my other activities in my collegiate career have been very, very consistent?

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[acquiescing]

The reason they want consistency is to show that you are actually investing yourself in other people. If you volunteer for fun somewhere and leave after six months, it can be perceived as more selfish than if you go tutor the same 20 low-income kids for two years. That said, it's probably not an application killer. Just a weak spot. Consider why you volunteer, and be able to answer questions about it accordingly, and I think it'll be fine. If it were me I would try to make one of those experiences less transient.

 

[Relax!]

Although I am not an adcom, your nonclinical volunteering activities look fine to me. But consider pursuing at least one of these activities for a longer period of time. That shows that you actually felt passionate about doing it rather than just for having it on your application.

 

[f4reignbeauty]

Also consider what you've learned from these experiences, and how they will make you a good physician.

 

[irecompliedthecode]

The reason they want consistency is to show that you are actually investing yourself in other people. If you volunteer for fun somewhere and leave after six months, it can be perceived as more selfish than if you go tutor the same 20 low-income kids for two years. That said, it's probably not an application killer. Just a weak spot. Consider why you volunteer, and be able to answer questions about it accordingly, and I think it'll be fine. If it were me I would try to make one of those experiences less transient.

The reason they want consistency is to show that you are actually investing yourself in other people. If you volunteer for fun somewhere and leave after six months, it can be perceived as more selfish than if you go tutor the same 20 low-income kids for two years. That said, it's probably not an application killer. Just a weak spot. Consider why you volunteer, and be able to answer questions about it accordingly, and I think it'll be fine. If it were me I would try to make one of those experiences less transient.

So what if there's an annual event that's only offered once and I volunteer for that? There are some events that run for 5+ hours, and happen once a year. Is it "consistent" if I do that every year? I think I'm still going to bounce around anyway, and probably keep one activity consistent. I guess I don't care much if it comes off as selfless, because I'm donating my labor and pursuing an interest. I figured checking off two boxes: 1) donating your time, 2) pursuing something you like as medical schools don't want a same basic carbon copy applicant is pretty good imo.

 

[irecompliedthecode]

Playing games with kids/music at hospice- Medicine has a broader role than to just diagnose and write prescriptions or do physical intervention. Psychology plays a huge role in how people feel and should be considered in treatment regiments.

Volunteering at a homeless shelter- Perspectives of patients with respect to socioeconomics, humbling

Thanks for the reminder, though. It's a good point of emphasis.

 

[irecompliedthecode]

Although I am not an adcom, your nonclinical volunteering activities look fine to me. But consider pursuing at least one of these activities for a longer period of time. That shows that you actually felt passionate about doing it rather than just for having it on your application.

Playing games with kids/music at hospice- Medicine has a broader role than to just diagnose and write prescriptions or do physical intervention. Psychology plays a huge role in how people feel and should be considered in treatment regiments.

Volunteering at a homeless shelter- Perspectives of patients with respect to socioeconomics, humbling

Thanks for the reminder, though. It's a good point of emphasis.

 

[acquiescing]

So what if there's an annual event that's only offered once and I volunteer for that? There are some events that run for 5+ hours, and happen once a year. Is it "consistent" if I do that every year? I think I'm still going to bounce around anyway, and probably keep one activity consistent. I guess I don't care much if it comes off as selfless, because I'm donating my labor and pursuing an interest. I figured checking off two boxes: 1) donating your time, 2) pursuing something you like as medical schools don't want a same basic carbon copy applicant is pretty good imo.

You don't have to take our advice, we're just telling you what it can come across as, and to be wary of that. The last things you want to come across as are selfish or, similarly, self-important. In my interviews I have been asked every time how long I did the volunteer things that I did. Some of the most positive moments in my interviews have been discussing longitudinal experiences, because they show growth and investment in other people. It is not your labor, but your empathy that is important. Not expanding upon your own interest, but protecting the interest of others that they are looking for. Even if you don't add anything to your application, I think it is important to ingrain that perspective for your interviews, and really for a life in medicine.

 

[irecompliedthecode]

You don't have to take our advice, we're just telling you what it can come across as, and to be wary of that. The last things you want to come across as are selfish or, similarly, self-important. In my interviews I have been asked every time how long I did the volunteer things that I did. Some of the most positive moments in my interviews have been discussing longitudinal experiences, because they show growth and investment in other people. It is not your labor, but your empathy that is important. Not expanding upon your own interest, but protecting the interest of others that they are looking for. Even if you don't add anything to your application, I think it is important to ingrain that perspective for your interviews, and really for a life in medicine.

With a long lab tenure, a job for 4 years (not a labor job, actually involved helping others, paid...but still a good experience), extracurriculars for multiple years, and clinical volunteering for many years...wouldn't that be enough to show commitment in areas of high importance? Just curious. You lose nonverbal communication over the internet, so I don't mean to sound like a douchebag, my tone is actually of curiosity and I'm appreciative of the input.

 

[f4reignbeauty]

@acquiescing that is a great point!

 

[acquiescing]

With a long lab tenure, a job for 4 years (not a labor job, actually involved helping others, paid...but still a good experience), extracurriculars for multiple years, and clinical volunteering for many years...wouldn't that be enough to show commitment in areas of high importance? Just curious. You lose nonverbal communication over the internet, so I don't mean to sound like a douchebag, my tone is actually of curiosity and I'm appreciative of the input.

Yeah I may have perceived it as more caustic than you meant for it to come across. I don't think it makes your application weak, but I was explaining why the longitudinal experiences are often preferred. If you can address that and understand that, then you'll likely be fine. Just putting yourself in that mindset (empathy over pure labor; others' interest in front of your own) and framing your own experiences and growth accordingly may be the most helpful thing you can do for yourself.

 

[NeuResurgens]

I agree with the above posters - the best experiences are going to be the ones you stick with.

I have a question for you guys - do long-term religious missions count as non-clinical volunteering? I did one for two years in one foreign country and paid my own way. It consisted of religious instruction as well as physical service (helping people move, participating in service projects, service after large weather events, etc.) The focus was on helping people.

 

[f4reignbeauty]

I agree with the above posters - the best experiences are going to be the ones you stick with.

I have a question for you guys - do long-term religious missions count as non-clinical volunteering? I did one for two years in one foreign country and paid my own way. It consisted of religious instruction as well as physical service (helping people move, participating in service projects, service after large weather events, etc.) The focus was on helping people.

I would think so, but to make sure I would ask an adcom of sorts to weigh in on that one. I volunteered every summer for my church as a teen camp counselor, and listed that as volunteering-non clinical. I don't know if that helps...

 

[NeuResurgens]

That helps a lot. Thanks!

 

[LizzyM]

So what if there's an annual event that's only offered once and I volunteer for that? There are some events that run for 5+ hours, and happen once a year. Is it "consistent" if I do that every year?

OK, so let's say I help cook and serve Thanksgiving dinner for 200 people (true story) at a place that offers free meals for the poor on holidays. I'm there from 9 am until 2 pm every single year on Thanksgiving Day. Does it seem like a consistent thing if I have done it for 5 years in a row? That's 25 hours spread over 4 years (e.g. 2010 through 2014).

Does that sound like consistent compared with someone who tutors a kid for 2 hours every week for 30 weeks per year for 3 years?

 

[irecompliedthecode]

OK, so let's say I help cook and serve Thanksgiving dinner for 200 people (true story) at a place that offers free meals for the poor on holidays. I'm there from 9 am until 2 pm every single year on Thanksgiving Day. Does it seem like a consistent thing if I have done it for 5 years in a row? That's 25 hours spread over 4 years (e.g. 2010 through 2014).

Does that sound like consistent compared with someone who tutors a kid for 2 hours every week for 30 weeks per year for 3 years?

Is consistency a function of participation in absolute time period or participation as a function of overall availability of applicable volunteering? Is LeBron James inconsistent with his All-Star games? He has played in 10 of those games over the course of 10 years....but the All-Star game is offered annually. Is he inconsistent in his participation in the all-star game? There are about 5 of these events, annually, and I volunteered for them this year and the year before...and I plan on volunteering next year. These events are in different months. On the macroscopic, I'm consistent in volunteering for academic events for youth.

I actually have a tutoring experience in coding for URMs traditionally deprived of STEM opportunitis in a school district for 2 years, 10 hours a week, 52 weeks a year (yes, including summers and the holidays). However, that was a job. What I'm trying to inquire on is that there is a theme of consistency in my application, as iterated with the lab, clinical volunteering, etc. Only thing I'm inquiring about is keeping one part of my application variable and how detrimental that is.

 

[LizzyM]

It all comes down to the adcom trying to read your application and answer a series of questions about your candidacy:
Does the applicant have the academic horsepower to do well here? (grades, scores, coursework beyond the pre-reqs)
Does the applicant have experience in a clinical setting? To what degree (a little? Much more? etc)
Does the applicant have research experience? To what degree (how involved)?
Have the applicant demonstrated leadership and teamwork or is the applicant a loner? To what degree (how involved)?
Has the applicant been of service to others? To what degree (how involved)?
Does the applicant have a realistic and mature interest in medicine as a career?

Do the letters of recommendation add anything to what we have in the application? (this could include positive things as well as negative -- for example, that the applicant has been very involved in class discussion and of assistance to students who struggle in lab)

 

[Goro]

To this, also add: does the applicant know what s/he's getting into?
Does the applicant given evidence that s/he really wants to spend the next 30-40 years around sick and injured people, and their families?

It all comes down to the adcom trying to read your application and answer a series of questions about your candidacy:
Does the applicant have the academic horsepower to do well here? (grades, scores, coursework beyond the pre-reqs)
Does the applicant have experience in a clinical setting? To what degree (a little? Much more? etc)
Does the applicant have research experience? To what degree (how involved)?
Have the applicant demonstrated leadership and teamwork or is the applicant a loner? To what degree (how involved)?
Has the applicant been of service to others? To what degree (how involved)?
Does the applicant have a realistic and mature interest in medicine as a career?

Do the letters of recommendation add anything to what we have in the application? (this could include positive things as well as negative -- for example, that the applicant has been very involved in class discussion and of assistance to students who struggle in lab)

 

[irecompliedthecode]

It all comes down to the adcom trying to read your application and answer a series of questions about your candidacy:
Does the applicant have the academic horsepower to do well here? (grades, scores, coursework beyond the pre-reqs)
Does the applicant have experience in a clinical setting? To what degree (a little? Much more? etc)
Does the applicant have research experience? To what degree (how involved)?
Have the applicant demonstrated leadership and teamwork or is the applicant a loner? To what degree (how involved)?
Has the applicant been of service to others? To what degree (how involved)?
Does the applicant have a realistic and mature interest in medicine as a career?

Do the letters of recommendation add anything to what we have in the application? (this could include positive things as well as negative -- for example, that the applicant has been very involved in class discussion and of assistance to students who struggle in lab)

Just curious, in all seriousness because my major is non traditional, what does academic horsepower imply in terms of coursework beyond the pre-reqs?

Beyond the pre-reqs I have:

Genetics
Microbiology
Physiology
Immunology
Biochemistry I
Biochemistry II

I'm majoring in biochemistry during my gap year, but I don't know how much a prospective intent weighs in medical school. Not at all, I assume.

But that's about it because I'm pursuing a computer science degree. I thought most, if not all schools, encouraged diverse majors, and I've seen many friends with just the pre-reqs get in. Is the coursework beyond the pre-reqs just any generic term for rigorous coursework or does it imply one of biological nature? Like my computational modeling course has no use in medical school curriculum and medical school at all (unless I'm doing research in the medical school). My dad's friend is a prof at a local medical school..and he's told me that medical schools assume you know the pre-reqs down to a tee and from there they teach you what they need to know.

 

[LizzyM]

Just curious, in all seriousness because my major is non traditional, what does academic horsepower imply in terms of coursework beyond the pre-reqs? <snip> Is the coursework beyond the pre-reqs just any generic term for rigorous coursework or does it imply one of biological nature? Like my computational modeling course has no use in medical school curriculum and medical school at all (unless I'm doing research in the medical school). My dad's friend is a prof at a local medical school..and he's told me that medical schools assume you know the pre-reqs down to a tee and from there they teach you what they need to know.

Everyone takes courses beyond the pre-reqs in order to earn a degree in something. Did you take the easiest 100 level courses in a broad variety of subject areas that were within your comfort zone (your heritage language, your religious faith, art history of your ancestors' homeland) or did you take a lot of depth in a subject area that was all "easy A's" (e.g. if you took dance or band for credit and seemed to get an easy A in every term) or did you stretch and take courses that went into greater depth and took you out of your comfort zone and look harder or more challenging? It is something of an art to examine a list of courses and say that one 3.95 GPA was in a more rigorous curriculum than an other 3.95 from the same school but I have seen it done.

In some cases, the committee LOR will tell us that an applicant took the harder or more challenging sequence in physics or o-chem and that's helpful, too.