How do my EC's look so far?

[Carmiche]

Hello guys! As I am about to start my Junior year and will be busier than ever preparing for my MCAT, I wanted to get some input on my extracurriculars to make sure I'm on par with my goals. "What are my goals?" you may ask. Well, I'd really like to have a chance at top 20 schools, but with that said I'm also a TX resident and have yet to take the MCAT. In other words: I'm not getting my hopes up until I get that score back.

As for EC's I'd just like to know which areas need work, where I should keep putting my time into, and if they are up to the top 20 standards.

cGPA: ~3.95
sGPA: (not sure, but not far off from above)
I'm not URM, first-gen college, etc.
Small LAC student

Leadership EC's:

-President of my school's Pre-Health club (was secretary my soph. year, will be president this year)
-President of my fraternity (was VP & academic chair this year, will be pres this year)
-Editor-in-chief of my school's undergrad research journal (was a reviewer last semester, will be EIC this year)
-Editor for an online undergraduate research journal (was an associate editor for ~6 months)
-Vice President of Greek Council

Research:

-500 hours of research in Orthopedic spine & trauma; this was with a medical school's summer research program. From this I was lucky enough to be able to design, execute, and write up an entire research project, as well as assist the attending with another. These resulted in two publications - one on which I am 1st author, the other I am 4th author. (This will definitely be one of my most significant experiences)

-150 hours of research in a neuroscience lab in my school doing animal studies. This will be continued this year, so I expect to have ~250-350 hours by the time I graduate.

-one poster presentation at my school's undergrad research conference. one oral presentation at the medical school I did the research at.

Volunteering:

-100 hours volunteering at a local hospital in the ER.
-~150 hours of miscellaneous general volunteering. These range from volunteering at fun runs, to fundraisers, highway cleanups, school events, etc.
-Chairman of committee that plans an annual service/fundraising event for Susan G. Komen. I've done this for 2 years so far and we've raised ~$2,000 collectively. (I go to a small ass school, so that's a decent amount for us)
- Tutored a local middle school student in math, only about 30 hours over 1 1/2 years.

Clinical Experience:

-170 hours of shadowing. Around 100 of these hours are in ortho spine and trauma surgery, the rest range from neurology, neurosurgery, oncology, family medicine, and EM. ~70 hours in the OR
-See above for clinical volunteering in ER.
-Currently taking a class to become an EMT-Basic. Hopefully going to volunteer in an ambulance when I'm done.



Let me know where I should improve. I think the area I'm lacking in most is clinical experience. Is this something that if I don't improve upon, will limit my chances at top-tier schools (given a good MCAT, obviously)?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Big&Juicy]

You've done everything you can. All you need is that MCAT and your goal is well within reach. Great job on accomplishing so much before junior year!

 

[Carmiche]

You've done everything you can. All you need is that MCAT and your goal is well within reach. Great job on accomplishing so much before junior year!

Thanks! The MCAT is definitely the scary part. Such a large factor.

 

[Big&Juicy]

Definitely set aside enough time to ace it and you'll have your pick at what program to attend.

 

[Catalystik]

Hello guys! As I am about to start my Junior year and will be busier than ever preparing for my MCAT, I wanted to get some input on my extracurriculars to make sure I'm on par with my goals. "What are my goals?" you may ask. Well, I'd really like to have a chance at top 20 schools, but with that said I'm also a TX resident and have yet to take the MCAT. In other words: I'm not getting my hopes up until I get that score back.

As for EC's I'd just like to know which areas need work, where I should keep putting my time into, and if they are up to the top 20 standards.

cGPA: ~3.95
sGPA: (not sure, but not far off from above)
I'm not URM, first-gen college, etc.
Small LAC student

Leadership EC's:

-President of my school's Pre-Health club (was secretary my soph. year, will be president this year)
-President of my fraternity (was VP & academic chair this year, will be pres this year)
-Editor-in-chief of my school's undergrad research journal (was a reviewer last semester, will be EIC this year)
-Editor for an online undergraduate research journal (was an associate editor for ~6 months)
-Vice President of Greek Council

Research:

-500 hours of research in Orthopedic spine & trauma; this was with a medical school's summer research program. From this I was lucky enough to be able to design, execute, and write up an entire research project, as well as assist the attending with another. These resulted in two publications - one on which I am 1st author, the other I am 4th author. (This will definitely be one of my most significant experiences)

-150 hours of research in a neuroscience lab in my school doing animal studies. This will be continued this year, so I expect to have ~250-350 hours by the time I graduate.

-one poster presentation at my school's undergrad research conference. one oral presentation at the medical school I did the research at.

Volunteering:

-100 hours volunteering at a local hospital in the ER.
-~150 hours of miscellaneous general volunteering. These range from volunteering at fun runs, to fundraisers, highway cleanups, school events, etc.
-Chairman of committee that plans an annual service/fundraising event for Susan G. Komen. I've done this for 2 years so far and we've raised ~$2,000 collectively. (I go to a small ass school, so that's a decent amount for us)
- Tutored a local middle school student in math, only about 30 hours over 1 1/2 years.

Clinical Experience:

-170 hours of volunteering. Around 100 of these hours are in ortho spine and trauma surgery, the rest range from neurology, neurosurgery, oncology, family medicine, and EM. ~70 hours in the OR
-See above for clinical volunteering in ER.
-Currently taking a class to become an EMT-Basic. Hopefully going to volunteer in an ambulance when I'm done.



Let me know where I should improve. I think the area I'm lacking in most is clinical experience. Is this something that if I don't improve upon, will limit my chances at top-tier schools (given a good MCAT, obviously)?

Did you mean to say you have 170 hours of shadowing? (Not considered a volunteer experience, BTW.)

Having 100 hours of active clinical experience is a bit light, but you have a year to get more.

 

[Carmiche]

Definitely set aside enough time to ace it and you'll have your pick at what program to attend.

Already started studying for it. Test date will be at the end of January 2017.

Did you mean to say you have 170 hours of shadowing? (Not considered a volunteer experience, BTW.)

Having 100 hours of active clinical experience is a bit light, but you have a year to get more.

Oops, yes! That should read: "170 hours of shadowing..." haha

Also, could you explain what you mean by "active" clinical experience?

 

[Catalystik]

could you explain what you mean by "active" clinical experience?

Shadowing is passive clinical experience, as you mainly watch physician-patient interaction and do nothing that aids the patient. Interacting with current patients in a helpful way (via volunteer activity, job, or clinical research), is active clinical experience.

 

[Carmiche]

Shadowing is passive clinical experience, as you mainly watch physician-patient interaction and do nothing that aids the patient. Interacting with current patients in a helpful way (via volunteer activity, job, or clinical research), is active clinical experience.

Ah ok. Yeah I am going to try to get some more, hopefully as an EMT after I get my cert.

 

[Catalystik]

Ah ok. Yeah I am going to try to get some more, hopefully as an EMT after I get my cert.

Sounds good.

 

[flapjack3d]

Solid. Your ECs wont hold you back from anywhere. Just ace the MCAT and you're golden.

 

[Carmiche]

Solid. Your ECs wont hold you back from anywhere. Just ace the MCAT and you're golden.

Thanks for your input. Also, best of luck in your application cycle!

 

[MoDiddy]

Great EC's Bro! Best of luck on the MCAT

 

[Swish16]

This is like asking if your 520 MCAT is good enough


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

 

[grapp]

@Goro any thoughts for OP?

 

[Goro]

I'd like to see more clinical experience than shadowing hours.
I'd also like to see OP get off campus, out of his/her comfort zone, and do more service to others less fortunate than themselves.
Personally, I consider EMT-B to be a glorified taxi driver. Shoot for paramedic instead.

@Goro any thoughts for OP?

 

[Carmiche]

I'd like to see more clinical experience than shadowing hours.
I'd also like to see OP get off campus, out of his/her comfort zone, and do more service to others less fortunate than themselves.
Personally, I consider EMT-B to be a glorified taxi driver. Shoot for paramedic instead.

Thanks for the input. However, I do have some questions.

I agree that my clinical experience is the most lacking part of my application. You said that you'd like to see more than shadowing. Is shadowing + the ER volunteering not adequate? I know that it isn't as impressive as some of the leadership or research I've done, but what other types of clinical experiences are there aside from shadowing, clinical volunteering, scribing (which I simply can't fit in my schedule), or working as a low-level healthcare provider?

This leads into my next question on your belief that an EMT-B is a glorified taxi driver. Can you expound on that? This is how I was planning on gaining more clinical experience. My thoughts were that becoming an EMT would give me the opportunity to play a role in the healthcare team and provide solid knowledge and limited intervention to directly help patients - as opposed to watching beside as a shadow, or getting patients water and blankets in the ER. While I do enjoy these things and have learned a great deal from them, I think I will learn more and have more profound experiences as an EMT. While on a rural service or transfer service, "glorified taxi driver" may be an accurate description, but I plan on volunteering for a 911 service in an urban area, which as far as I can tell is immensely different than the former.

You say to shoot for paramedic instead, but that involves much more training than I will have time to complete before I apply to medical school. I don't plan on taking a gap year, and I would hate to become a paramedic and not actually utilize it. In my eyes that would be like becoming a nurse and immediately trying to switch to physician. Would you agree?

Lastly, on your comment about getting off-campus, what is your opinion on volunteering abroad? My school has a fellowship program that sponsors (see: pays for) students going abroad to volunteer. I could definitely go to another country and do clinical volunteering (or any type of volunteering really, I would just prefer to do clinical), which I think would also be a great experience. Although, I am hesitant that this would get instantly written off by adcoms as the typical "voluntourism" that some are involved in.

I realize this may sound argumentative, but I'm really just trying to pick your brain as an adcom and potential interviewer. The last thing I want is to be blind-sided when I sit down at an interview and hear a view, such as your EMT one, which contradicts what I thought would be a very meaningful EC. Through the process of gaining EC experience I've been very careful to not only cover all of my bases, but more importantly to gain well-rounded experiences that give me insight into all facets of medicine. As you can see, clinical experiences has definitely been the most challenging, as in my opinion there are many pitfalls such as "voluntourism," too much shadowing, or lack of depth. I feel like I'm getting closer and closer to the end of the [very first part of] the race which is getting into medical school, and I just want to be sure that I don't shoot myself in the foot somehow with regard to my goals.

Again, thank you for your current input and I look forward to hearing more when you get a moment.

 

[Carmiche]

Great EC's Bro! Best of luck on the MCAT

Thanks!

This is like asking if your 520 MCAT is good enough


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile app

Haha I can understand that. Sorry if my post sounded like a humble brag or something of that nature. I really just wanted some in-depth input on areas that I should improve upon and what it's looking like as a complete unit. The pre-med advisor at my school doesn't really give that type of analysis. Quite frankly, he's kind of used to students who want to stay within the realm of Texas medical schools, which for the most part are lower/mid-tier schools, with one or two exceptions. Not many students from my school end up elsewhere.

 

[ZPakEffect]

Humblebrag post. Calling it like it is.

 

[Goro]

I generally get nervous when I see people with more shadowing hours than volunteering. The whole idea behind the latter is to show Adcoms that you know what you're getting into and, more importantly, that you really want to be around sick and injured people. 100 hrs is, in my opinion, the bare minimum. And, for what it's worth, of my SDN advisees who get into top schools, they have hundreds to thousands of hours in patient contact experience. So, just do more patient contact experience.

I agree that my clinical experience is the most lacking part of my application. You said that you'd like to see more than shadowing. Is shadowing + the ER volunteering not adequate? I know that it isn't as impressive as some of the leadership or research I've done, but what other types of clinical experiences are there aside from shadowing, clinical volunteering, scribing (which I simply can't fit in my schedule), or working as a low-level healthcare provider?

You load the patient into the bus, and you drive the bus. That's it.

This leads into my next question on your belief that an EMT-B is a glorified taxi driver. Can you expound on that?

Do what you have to do.
You say to shoot for paramedic instead, but that involves much more training than I will have time to complete before I apply to medical school. I don't plan on taking a gap year, and I would hate to become a paramedic and not actually utilize it. In my eyes that would be like becoming a nurse and immediately trying to switch to physician. Would you agree?

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.

Also, if you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. Hence my comment about getting off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Anything done overseas that doesn't involve the Peace Corps, the US military , or a NGO for a prolonged period of time is considered medical tourism.

Lastly, on your comment about getting off-campus, what is your opinion on volunteering abroad? My school has a fellowship program that sponsors (see: pays for) students going abroad to volunteer. I could definitely go to another country and do clinical volunteering (or any type of volunteering really, I would just prefer to do clinical), which I think would also be a great experience. Although, I am hesitant that this would get instantly written off by adcoms as the typical "voluntourism" that some are involved in.

I

 

[Chromium Surfer]

I generally get nervous when I see people with more shadowing hours than volunteering. The whole idea behind the latter is to show Adcoms that you know what you're getting into and, more importantly, that you really want to be around sick and injured people. 100 hrs is, in my opinion, the bare minimum. And, for what it's worth, of my SDN advisees who get into top schools, they have hundreds to thousands of hours in patient contact experience. So, just do more patient contact experience.

I agree that my clinical experience is the most lacking part of my application. You said that you'd like to see more than shadowing. Is shadowing + the ER volunteering not adequate? I know that it isn't as impressive as some of the leadership or research I've done, but what other types of clinical experiences are there aside from shadowing, clinical volunteering, scribing (which I simply can't fit in my schedule), or working as a low-level healthcare provider?

You load the patient into the bus, and you drive the bus. That's it.

This leads into my next question on your belief that an EMT-B is a glorified taxi driver. Can you expound on that?

Do what you have to do.
You say to shoot for paramedic instead, but that involves much more training than I will have time to complete before I apply to medical school. I don't plan on taking a gap year, and I would hate to become a paramedic and not actually utilize it. In my eyes that would be like becoming a nurse and immediately trying to switch to physician. Would you agree?

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all, but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimers or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.

Also, if you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients. Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. Hence my comment about getting off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Anything done overseas that doesn't involve the Peace Corps, the US military , or a NGO for a prolonged period of time is considered medical tourism.

Lastly, on your comment about getting off-campus, what is your opinion on volunteering abroad? My school has a fellowship program that sponsors (see: pays for) students going abroad to volunteer. I could definitely go to another country and do clinical volunteering (or any type of volunteering really, I would just prefer to do clinical), which I think would also be a great experience. Although, I am hesitant that this would get instantly written off by adcoms as the typical "voluntourism" that some are involved in.

I

Hi Goro,

Just curious is around 200 hours of clinical volunteering considered competitive?

 

[Goro]

I think anything > 150 hrs is good.

Hi Goro,

Just curious is around 200 hours of clinical volunteering considered competitive?

 

[wontonsoup]

.

 

[Carmiche]

Humblebrag post. Calling it like it is.

Sorry, but see the post above yours.

 

[grapp]

I'd like to see more clinical experience than shadowing hours.
I'd also like to see OP get off campus, out of his/her comfort zone, and do more service to others less fortunate than themselves.
Personally, I consider EMT-B to be a glorified taxi driver. Shoot for paramedic instead.

It's really funny you said that, I've decided I'm going to major in paramedic science and then "transfer/convert to Health Science", then continue for 2 years for a B.S. in Health Science.

I second your comment on a "glorified taxi driver", I've heard anyone with a pulse can pass it. Currently in my final week of the course at a CC, I'd have to agree. If you can breath and study, you can pass.

 

[Bluepineapple3]

I guess it depends on the EMT course or where you do your EMT service hours...In my EMT class about 40% of the people who were in the class failed out. I consider myself pretty smart, but that class was definitely no joke. Also, EMT experience varies by where you work...you could be dealing with life and death most days at one first aid squad vs. treating mild cases i.e. "glorified taxi driver" at a different squad. It's all relative and pretty much all it comes down to is what you get out of it...trying to become a paramedic seems a bit too much if you're only going to be doing it for a year anyways...but good job on the ECs, it seems pretty clear that you've been trying to attain this goal for quite some time now and all that's left is the mcat so good luck