I am really borring...

[Dr.kennethnoisewater]

The title explains a lot. I am a sophomore and really do not have anything that will stand out when applying. I have about 150 hours volunteering in a hospital, I work in a hospital and other than that I just go to school and study. In my free time I like to hike, but that is about it. I guess I feel like I am expected to do something spectacular and that I should be inoculating babies in Burma. I know that most people say it is not just grades that will get you accepted. There really is not anything that makes me unique...

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[Lamel]

Maybe participate in a spelling bee or something.

 

[deleted407021]

That might just be your perception of yourself, but being an interesting person isn't just about the things you do. It also involves you perspectives, values ideas etc.

If you want to do something that would be more unique, take an interest of your's and get involved with others on your campus who share your enthusiasm. If you really like hiking, there may be a club. Look around. I'm sure you aren't boring like you might think.

 

[Dr.kennethnoisewater]

Maybe participate in a spelling bee or something.

I think that you have to know how to spell for those.

That might just be your perception of yourself, but being an interesting person isn't just about the things you do. It also involves you perspectives, values ideas etc.

If you want to do something that would be more unique, take an interest of your's and get involved with others on your campus who share your enthusiasm. If you really like hiking, there may be a club. Look around. I'm sure you aren't boring like you might think.

That is a good point. I just don't want to do something just to check off boxes. And other than hiking (which your right I could find a club or make something interesting from it) I don't know what to do that everyone else isn't doing.

 

[sunflower18]

I explored different activities in undergrad and discovered a profound passion for teaching. I wouldn't have come across that if I hadn't just gotten involved with as many opportunities as I could. Don't burn yourself out, of course, but I've been taking undergrad as a good chance to try things out and delve deeply into the activities I realize I enjoy. If you can't think of anything you're really passionate about right now, or don't have any "interesting" activities, maybe just peruse your school's job page or volunteer database and try something out that intrigues you. You might love it!

 

[kraskadva]

What's one crazy (legal) thing that you've always wanted to do? Or that you saw an ad for last week and looks cool? Travel? Skydiving? Underwater basket weaving?
Go do it.
If you're good at it/enjoy it, keep it up, and expand that by teaching it (or an aspect of it) to others &/or turning it into a volunteer activity (summer camp kids need to learn underwater basket weaving after all).

You have time and college is exactly the place to branch out and develop your interests. If that means taking time off because you realize you can live with out, say, spending a year backpacking across a continent or perfecting your xyz skills, then so be it.
Also, there's nothing you will do that nobody has done before, but you can find something that isn't run of the mill. And anything you do with a passion will be a good thing to talk about down the road.

 

[Goro]

Your local houses of worship will have lots of service-related volunteer opportunities.

Also consider Habitat for Humanity, being a Big Brother/Sister, tutoring poor children, working in a hospice or nursing home. And dare to break out of your comfort zone, because there of lots f applicants who are doing exactly that. You don't need to win the Nobel Prize or get a Cell paper, just show evidence of your humanity and altruism.

Don't be one of those pre-meds who just does what's convenient, in stead of what's necessary.

The title explains a lot. I am a sophomore and really do not have anything that will stand out when applying. I have about 150 hours volunteering in a hospital, I work in a hospital and other than that I just go to school and study. In my free time I like to hike, but that is about it. I guess I feel like I am expected to do something spectacular and that I should be inoculating babies in Burma. I know that most people say it is not just grades that will get you accepted. There really is not anything that makes me unique...

 

[Bovary]

The title explains a lot. I am a sophomore and really do not have anything that will stand out when applying. I have about 150 hours volunteering in a hospital, I work in a hospital and other than that I just go to school and study. In my free time I like to hike, but that is about it. I guess I feel like I am expected to do something spectacular and that I should be inoculating babies in Burma. I know that most people say it is not just grades that will get you accepted. There really is not anything that makes me unique...

When I was a sophomore in college (like you are) I had 0 hours of volunteer experience of any kind and 0 hours of any relevant experience. In college I was a member of 0 clubs or organizations. Nothing.

This cycle I have 10 interviews. Why? Because I did very well in my last 2 years of college, on the MCAT, and at that time began volunteering. How? Ace your remaining classes, and it won't matter what you did or did not do during college. Ace the MCAT. Then check the voluneerism boxes, garner anecdotes, and you'll be just fine.

edit/update: Contrary to popular SDN belief, "cookie cutter" is OK if your grades/MCAT are top notch. Those should be your priority.

 

[Holmwood]

Someone who matriculated from my school was a big exercise nut. She put bicycling and rock climbing in her primaries. The caveat being that it was geared towards a fundraiser or something.

So you can definitely do more with hiking and exercising in general. Maybe hiking with kids to tackle childhood obesity or something.

 

[Promethean]

That is a good point. I just don't want to do something just to check off boxes. And other than hiking (which your right I could find a club or make something interesting from it) I don't know what to do that everyone else isn't doing.

Everyone else isn't doing the things that YOU care about. You don't have to go help Burmese babies... and if you did go there for a week as a voluntourist, it would look like you were just checking boxes unless it fit into a larger pattern of behavior.

You are boring to you. You need not be boring to an adcom. The way to not be boring is to get really into the things that you are interested in. If you like hiking, join a club or start one if you can't find it. Organize some interesting hikes to cool places. You will be able to talk about leading by example when it comes to teaching patients about fitness and exercise. You can talk about how you demonstrated leadership skills by getting a bunch of people ready, over a period of months, to hike a really tough trail... how you encouraged novices by going on a few progressively harder trails in the weeks before the big event... blah, blah, blah.

I'm now excited about your hiking adventures, and I was just making them up as I went along. If you actually do them, or some other thing that interests you, you are going to be great at your interviews.

EDIT: Most importantly, don't live your life as a preparation for medical school interviews. Live your life. Do things because you want to be doing them first and foremost, with your application as an afterthought. I'm not saying that you don't need to have a portfolio of experiences to present and talk about, but if that is your main/only reason for doing something then you wasted an opportunity to do something else instead that you would really have cared about. You can kind of fake being an interesting, humane, caring person... or you can actually throw yourself into your passions and be that guy.

 

[DoTheTrick]

Push yourself! Do something you've never done before and that involves meeting and working with people who may be from a background different from yours. Learn a new language!

 

[2Pints]

EDIT: Most importantly, don't live your life as a preparation for medical school interviews. Live your life. Do things because you want to be doing them first and foremost, with your application as an afterthought. I'm not saying that you don't need to have a portfolio of experiences to present and talk about, but if that is your main/only reason for doing something then you wasted an opportunity to do something else instead that you would really have cared about. You can kind of fake being an interesting, humane, caring person... or you can actually throw yourself into your passions and be that guy.

This is excellent advice.

 

[Meerkatology]

Everyone else isn't doing the things that YOU care about. You don't have to go help Burmese babies... and if you did go there for a week as a voluntourist, it would look like you were just checking boxes unless it fit into a larger pattern of behavior.

EDIT: Most importantly, don't live your life as a preparation for medical school interviews. Live your life. Do things because you want to be doing them first and foremost, with your application as an afterthought. I'm not saying that you don't need to have a portfolio of experiences to present and talk about, but if that is your main/only reason for doing something then you wasted an opportunity to do something else instead that you would really have cared about. You can kind of fake being an interesting, humane, caring person... or you can actually throw yourself into your passions and be that guy.

I feel like these kind of "just be yourself" advice really doesn't work for most people, sure there's some truth behind them. But, look at the locked up criminal, he probably was pretty passionate about robbing that bank too.

I think for most of us ordinary people, in order to succeed in getting into med school, you kinda have to live your life in preparation for it... and if your passions just happen to align with that, then you'll be one of those people that stand out. otherwise you'll be the average applicant and probably get into an average school. I for one didn't enjoy folding bedsheets or handing out pillows as a volunteer or doing some obscure bio research in a lab but did it anyway to better my application. If you can somehow find passion in volunteering and performing tasks in a hospital too menial even for the CNA's then power to you.

Alot of us wanted to go to medicine for reasons we wouldn't brag to adcom about. Money? job security? Azn parents? Just didn't know what else to do? Maybe and hopefully as you walk the path you begin to truly love it, as it was for me, but that moment didn't happen until I was almost done with med school.

In my college years all I wanted to do was play world of warcraft, I don't think it would have gotten me far in my application if I just followed my passion...

 

[Promethean]

I feel like these kind of "just be yourself" advice really doesn't work for most people, sure there's some truth behind them. ....
In my college years all I wanted to do was play world of warcraft, I don't think it would have gotten me far in my application if I just followed my passion...

I was aware of that counter argument. I'm not saying that you should roll up into an interview (assuming that you got one) with nothing better to talk about than your amazing WOW character because gaming is your life and all you care about. If someone isn't really motivated by compassion toward other human beings, if they don't actually have any research interests, or any desire to have an interesting and fulfilling life, you shouldn't go out and try to mimic the people who do have those traits just to win an acceptance.

I'll go further to say that if one is only going into medicine because of prestige, money, parents, don't know what else to do... well, maybe one shouldn't. At least not until one is older/more mature/have tried something else/at least have given it more serious thought. I'm glad if it worked out for you that somewhere toward the end of the line you found some passion for it. But it would be tragic if you hadn't.

The sacrifices that are required in order to study and practice medicine are perfectly acceptable when it is a calling. They are intolerable if one is doing it for the wrong reasons. The lost opportunities to do something that one would have found fulfilling can never be recovered. Someone could end up chief of their department at the best academic center in the world, and still have it be a total waste of a life, if it was done by always ignoring what was really wanted in favor of what one was "supposed" to want.

I was just reading a blog that advised people not to go to grad school, because saving and investing the money they would spend on it would yield a better lifetime net worth than attending. At first, I was outraged, because commenters were thanking the author for talking them out of going back to school. Then I realized that anyone who could be so easily dissuaded from following their dreams was probably looking for a reason not to follow that particular one. That is legit. You can do just about anything, but not everything. Choose wisely.

Edited for clarity.

 

[Meerkatology]

I was aware of that counter argument. I'm not saying that you should roll up into an interview (assuming that you got one) with nothing better to talk about than your amazing WOW character because gaming is your life and all you care about. If someone isn't really motivated by compassion toward other human beings, if they don't actually have any research interests, or any desire to have an interesting and fulfilling life, you shouldn't go out and try to mimic the people who do have those traits just to win an acceptance.

I'll go further to say that if you are only going into medicine because of prestige, money, parents, don't know what else to do... well, maybe you shouldn't. At least not until you are older/more mature/have tried something else/at least have given it more serious thought. I'm glad if it worked out for you that somewhere toward the end of the line you found some passion for it. But it would be tragic if you hadn't. The sacrifices that are required in order to study and practice medicine are perfectly acceptable if it is your calling. They are inexcusable if you are doing it for the wrong reasons. The lost opportunities to do something that you would have found fulfilling can never be recovered. You could end up chief of your department at the best academic center in the world, and still have it be a total waste of your life, if you got there by always ignoring what you really wanted in favor of what you were "supposed" to want.

I was just reading a blog that advised people not to go to grad school, because saving and investing the money they would spend on it would yield a better lifetime net worth than attending. At first, I was outraged, because commenters were thanking the author for talking them out of going back to school. Then I realized that anyone who could be so easily dissuaded from following their dreams was probably looking for a reason not to follow that particular one. That is legit. You can do just about anything, but not everything. Choose wisely.

Even if being a doctor IS your calling, it doesn't mean you'll enjoy every part, or most of the steps it takes to get there. Performing menial tasks as a volunteer or doing research in a lab are nothing like what you will do as a doctor. Nor do most of your undergraduate classes have any relevance. Just because you don't enjoy these things doesn't mean you won't enjoy being a doctor. Sometimes you have to fake it to make it and put that smile on your face when they ask you about your volunteer experience during the interview.

It's easy to sit on a high horse and tell someone they are "in it for the wrong reasons" or that they should instead be following their dreams, but maybe a 200k+ salary, respect, a nice car/house, IS their dream. Or it's enough of a motivation for someone to work really hard and become a good physician - and yes, if you don't want to get sued you WILL have to continue to be a good physician after you finish school/training. Maybe they mostly cared for the salary and respect, but they worked just as hard to get there and is providing the appropriate care for their patients, and are perfectly happy where they are. Do they deserve it any less than someone who dreamed of being a doctor while in their diapers? Should they have followed their dream and been a starving artist on the side of street instead? I'm guessing alot of people working in the real world isn't exactly working their dream job and they do it just to put food on the table. Would you still choose medicine if the pay was 8$/hr?

To play devil's advocate, as a pre-med, pre-law, pre-whatever, do you REALLY know that medicine or profession X is your dream? Do you really know you won't like anything else? life isn't the peachy perfect thing it might seem as a college student. Alot of us sacrifice their dream so they can make a reliable living, provide for their family etc. Alot of us never really had a dream to begin with and didn't care that much for any career and just chose something we didn't hate. You can make the argument that premeds with their calibur of intelligence would be equally successful as a investment banker or w/e, but alot of our personalities are even less of a fit for that kind of job, and i highly doubt that if half of premeds became investment bankers they would all be making a reliable living.

I guess at the end of the day most of SDN is about HOW to get into the profession rather than why. The OP's goal is to get in, I don't think he was asking us to re-evaluate his motivation and dreams.

 

[Promethean]

Should they have followed their dream and been a starving artist on the side of street instead? I'm guessing alot of people working in the real world isn't exactly working their dream job and they do it just to put food on the table. Would you still choose medicine if the pay was 8$/hr?

To play devil's advocate, as a pre-med, pre-law, pre-whatever, do you REALLY know that medicine or profession X is your dream? Do you really know you won't like anything else? life isn't the peachy perfect thing it might seem as a college student.

I am likely going to lose money by going into medicine. I'm not a college kid who has never done anything else. I'm a mid-career professional in a high demand specialty with earning potential that nearly matches what I expect to make as a Family Medicine attending. (I have travel agencies pounding my inbox with offers that would let me earn $120+k right now, without going into further debt or spending the next 7 years in school/training.)

It worked out for you. Great, you were lucky. I know other people who did it for the wrong reasons and ended up saddled with enormous regret. The commitments that they made were too great for them to get out, and no amount of money could make it right. I don't think it is unreasonable to warn pre-meds about that potential outcome. I think anyone who is willing to do the work to get where they are going should have as much a chance to get there as anyone else... but delayed gratification is only a good deal if you actually get something you want in the end. It is a better deal to be sure that you enjoy the process as much as the reward, so that you won't be quite so cheated if it turns out to be less than you'd hoped.

 

[Meerkatology]

I am likely going to lose money by going into medicine. I'm not a college kid who has never done anything else. I'm a mid-career professional in a high demand specialty with earning potential that nearly matches what I expect to make as a Family Medicine attending. (I have travel agencies pounding my inbox with offers that would let me earn $120+k right now, without going into further debt or spending the next 7 years in school/training.)

It worked out for you. Great, you were lucky. I know other people who did it for the wrong reasons and ended up saddled with enormous regret. The commitments that they made were too great for them to get out, and no amount of money could make it right. I don't think it is unreasonable to warn pre-meds about that potential outcome. I think anyone who is willing to do the work to get where they are going should have as much a chance to get there as anyone else... but delayed gratification is only a good deal if you actually get something you want in the end. It is a better deal to be sure that you enjoy the process as much as the reward, so that you won't be quite so cheated if it turns out to be less than you'd hoped.

I also know people who thought they wanted to be a doctor initially and realized they hated it later and dropped out - was very sad actually, they were in the 2nd year of residency.

It's not so black and white, people who went into medicine for the "right" reasons will often later find alot of things they hate about medicine; people who go in for the "wrong" reasons can still find many things they enjoy. It's an oversimplification yes, but I'm saying alot of people discover things to like about their career as they move along instead of the "i have a dream since I was 5" thing. Medicine is a great profession with alot to like, and many people discover it as they go, I mean how many of us actually "hate" helping people?

While my case certainly won't apply to everyone and yes I was lucky. Your case isn't exactly the norm either, while I do not doubt that you've gotten ample experience in your life and career to figure out whether being a doctor is right for you; that isn't the case for alot(most) premeds. Most premeds apply straight out of college without actually working in the medical field or any field. And most of them end up happy as a doctor.