Hello everyone,
Hope you are well!
I have been asking so many questions recently and very much appreciated your helps! I have one more quick question regarding ECs: I'm an international student and plan on applying to med school next year. I studied online during my freshman year and due to the covid situation, couldn't really get much done during that year due to lockdowns so I just focused on academics. I started doing research in a lab the month I arrived in the U.S (fall semester of sophomore year) and after getting more adjusted to the environment here (which took some time!) I started my other ECs this spring semester: right now I do volunteering in a hospital (patient transport), play with children in a homeless shelter, volunteer at Red Cross, and also work in a nursing home/hospice where I do activities with people who are under hospice care and those with dementia. I also work as an academic tutor and course assistant for biology and chemistry courses in my school.
In terms of academics, my GPA is currently 3.8 (I have one B in a genetics course) and I'm overall comfortable with my courses/academic situation.
When talking to a friend today, they told me that starting all of these activities right the year before applying to med school will be a red flag to the admissions officers. But the problem is that during my freshman year I wasn't in the U.S because of covid and couldn't do almost any activities in my country due to lockdowns. I was wondering what you guys think about this situation. Would this be a red flag?
Any help is appreciated!
Hope you are well!
I have been asking so many questions recently and very much appreciated your helps! I have one more quick question regarding ECs: I'm an international student and plan on applying to med school next year. I studied online during my freshman year and due to the covid situation, couldn't really get much done during that year due to lockdowns so I just focused on academics. I started doing research in a lab the month I arrived in the U.S (fall semester of sophomore year) and after getting more adjusted to the environment here (which took some time!) I started my other ECs this spring semester: right now I do volunteering in a hospital (patient transport), play with children in a homeless shelter, volunteer at Red Cross, and also work in a nursing home/hospice where I do activities with people who are under hospice care and those with dementia. I also work as an academic tutor and course assistant for biology and chemistry courses in my school.
In terms of academics, my GPA is currently 3.8 (I have one B in a genetics course) and I'm overall comfortable with my courses/academic situation.
When talking to a friend today, they told me that starting all of these activities right the year before applying to med school will be a red flag to the admissions officers. But the problem is that during my freshman year I wasn't in the U.S because of covid and couldn't do almost any activities in my country due to lockdowns. I was wondering what you guys think about this situation. Would this be a red flag?
Any help is appreciated!
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