Several Unique EC questions

[Stubbornly Pre-Med]

1. Is volunteering at a hospital a necessary EC? I know that there should be clinical experience but can it be done in places other than a hospital? Could a nursing home, orphanage, hospice, a 'school' with children with mental health problems, etc. count as clinical hours?

2.Is it better to do 2 or 3 ECs for a long time (3-4 years) or 5-10 ECs for a shorter time (1 month-1 year)?

3. Should 2 very short term mission trips (1 week) based on community service in a poor neighborhood be listed as ECs? We helped long term missions communities who serve the neighborhood because we knew we could do little if we just directly helped (we could possibly harm them from directly helping).

4. If you had a year and a half to do anything (on a budget) for medical school before going into medical school, what would you do?

5. I have a very sick relative. I have administered over 10 intravenous injections to this person, read many abstracts about related things so I could translate them for this person, I started reading those pamphlets that come in the prescription medicines boxes, and I have experienced a lot of the hospital workings from a patient's prospective. Even now this person helps me learn everyday because they desire to know about their disease. Should this be in my personal statement, or is this an EC?

6. I have had jobs for one summer, or for only a few months, should I even mention those?

7. How do you do research if you go to a very small school which only offers 3 spots to only the most qualified? And you cannot get into paid internships? Can you pay for or do volunteer research anywhere?

8. Is taking care of a community garden or horses for in need communities an EC? Or would my time best be served of taking care of another part of the community?

9. How interesting is being able to speak another language, or 2 other languages?

Thank You

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[RisinOutlaw]

Try not to get too wrapped around the axle with "checking the boxes." When considering the quality/quantity of ECs, ask yourself: does this show a genuine commitment to the betterment of humanity? And, does this show that I have a reasonable understanding of what it means to serve the sick?

Find some ECs, some clinical and some not, and invest yourself in it. Don't pick an EC just to sit around racking up the hours. So that way, when the adcoms ask about that experience, you have a genuine answer; I'm sure they get tired of hearing the same canned responses.

EDIT: I realize I didn't answer any of your questions directly, and I hope the tone of my post wasn't abrasive. It seems you have several relevant interests and experiences, so pick the ones that will interest you the most and pursue those. Good luck!

 

[Stubbornly Pre-Med]

Try not to get too wrapped around the axle with "checking the boxes." When considering the quality/quantity of ECs, ask yourself: does this show a genuine commitment to the betterment of humanity? And, does this show that I have a reasonable understanding of what it means to serve the sick?

Find some ECs, some clinical and some not, and invest yourself in it. Don't pick an EC just to sit around racking up the hours. So that way, when the adcoms ask about that experience, you have a genuine answer; I'm sure they get tired of hearing the same canned responses.

EDIT: I realize I didn't answer any of your questions directly, and I hope the tone of my post wasn't abrasive. It seems you have several relevant interests and experiences, so pick the ones that will interest you the most and pursue those. Good luck!

You are very right. I suppose I ask myself, what do I want to do? Then I move on to, what good will this do for others? You have mentioned good questions to ask because sometimes, quantity can be better then quality say when your goal is more to expand your own viewpoints if you are not sure what specialty you want. I will keep those in mind as I think of potential ECs.

I am more worried about if the ECs a choose are worth something, but I suppose they are all worth something if you get something out of it. I believe that is what you are saying. Something like taking care of horses for a community that focus' on special needs children does not seem like something medical schools would find useful, this is where my doubts come from, but I can see value in it.

No, no, you were not abrasive at all! I think your advice is very helpful and even without answering a question directly I think you see a vague picture of who I am and why I asked certain things and responding to that is very helpful. Thank you!

 

[RisinOutlaw]

I am more worried about if the ECs a choose are worth something, but I suppose they are all worth something if you get something out of it. I believe that is what you are saying. Something like taking care of horses for a community that focus' on special needs children does not seem like something medical schools would find useful, this is where my doubts come from, but I can see value in it.

I think that is a unique EC that could possibly garner some positive feedback. Helping to facilitate a therapeutic activity for physically/mentally disabled people, how can that not be beneficial, especially if it is something you are genuinely and honestly interested in?

 

[Stubbornly Pre-Med]

I think that is a unique EC that could possibly garner some positive feedback. Helping to facilitate a therapeutic activity for physically/mentally disabled people, how can that not be beneficial, especially if it is something you are genuinely and honestly interested in?

I am very happy to hear you say that. I agree with you! Since it was not complete direct contact with the kids themselves, I started to think I may be wasting my time. Hearing someone else say it helps me see it better myself, as odd as that may sound.

 

[Stubbornly Pre-Med]

Question 10. Are low income clinics as lenient as free clinics when volunteering?