Karate = valuable EC activity?

[JoyKim456]

Hello, I am using my friends SDN account because I just have a general question. A friend of mine did karate starting freshman year of undergrad and became a black belt the summer after junior year. He is a first year medical student. A lot of med school interviewers were impressed with this. But I don't understand. How can karate possibly be an EC activity? It's weird.

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[Lamel]

Because he did something cool/interesting that took dedication and resulted in something significant.

 

[aklark]

Karate is a lie. It's weird. Only the practitioner of Kung fu can truly know The Way.

 

[claduva94]

I most definitely listed it.

 

[Fargofargo]

Yes do it.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I had trained in martial arts for about ten years by the time I was applying, and you can bet your lucky stars that adcoms were impressed. It takes a lot of time, dedication, discipline, and maturity to get to a black belt, and I think most adcoms are savvy enough to acknowledge this.

 

[DrowningInWork]

I had trained in martial arts for about ten years by the time I was applying, and you can bet your lucky stars that adcoms were impressed. It takes a lot of time, dedication, discipline, and maturity to get to a black belt, and I think most adcoms are savvy enough to acknowledge this.

Not exactly related to OP's post, but would spending an equivalent amount of time on, say, an instrument and getting really good at it (top 5 at my university) be just as impressive? Or is that too "common"?

 

[claduva94]

Not exactly related to OP's post, but would spending an equivalent amount of time on, say, an instrument and getting really good at it (top 5 at my university) be just as impressive? Or is that too "common"?

It has nothing to do with "common". It has more to do with your passions and commitment. So if you are committed you should absolutely include it.

 

[Ismet]

Not exactly related to OP's post, but would spending an equivalent amount of time on, say, an instrument and getting really good at it (top 5 at my university) be just as impressive? Or is that too "common"?

Absolutely include it.

Also, involvement in music is not as common in med school applicants as you might think. It takes a lot of dedication to continue playing through college. You see a lot of applicants who played the piano or other instrument through high school, but a much smaller percentage actually continued it.

FWIW, I was a music minor and performed all through college and into med school. It was a huge part of my application and a big talking point at interviews.

 

[DrowningInWork]

Absolutely include it.

Also, involvement in music is not as common in med school applicants as you might think. It takes a lot of dedication to continue playing through college. You see a lot of applicants who played the piano or other instrument through high school, but a much smaller percentage actually continued it.

FWIW, I was a music minor and performed all through college and into med school. It was a huge part of my application and a big talking point at interviews.

Really? There are sooo many premed music majors at my school lol.

 

[Ismet]

Really? There are sooo many premed music majors at my school lol.

Being pre-med is one thing, actually applying to med school and making it to review by admissions committee is another.

But in all seriousness, it's either a difference between our undergrads or a difference between the types of applicants my school sees and what other schools see. I can probably count on one hand the number of people in my undergrad orchestra who were pre-med. Also my school sees a lot of applicants who are heavy on research and less heavy on continued ECs like music. Not saying it's uncommon, as a lot of med students do have musical capabilities. But to stay truly dedicated to that instrument, improving and performing with it, is not that common.