What other ECs should I do?

[SettyN]

I'm currently a first year student in a 7 year BS-MD program but I plan on applying out to cheaper/subsidized medical schools with lower costs like Weill Cornel Medical School and Kaiser Permanente school of medicine. Currently, I have completed all my required courses and only have major electives left, and given that I currently have a 4.0 GPA and plan on taking easy electives the rest of my time, I plan on graduating with a high GPA (4.0 if I don't mess up on any electives).

Aside from my GPA and MCAT, which I am currently studying for, I am most concerned about extracurriculars. I already have a research position with a professor, and I should have a fairly high amount of research hours by the time I graduate. I am also already in an arrangement that guarantees I get around 60 hours of shadowing by the beginning of my sophomore year. What other extracurriculars can I do to maximize my chances of getting into one of these competitive low cost/subsidized med schools?

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[Mr.Smile12]

With your BS/MD program, you should have a dedicated advisor or mentor who should spell out your expectations for clinical experience and community service. Keep your nose clean and at least fulfill those activities. You will still need letters to support you so don't burn your bridges too early or quickly.

Also there is always needing sustained leadership experience. What clubs are you involved with?

 

[SettyN]

With your BS/MD program, you should have a dedicated advisor or mentor who should spell out your expectations for clinical experience and community service. Keep your nose clean and at least fulfill those activities. You will still need letters to support you so don't burn your bridges too early or quickly.

Also there is always needing sustained leadership experience. What clubs are you involved with?

Pretty much the only valuable leadership position I have is that I'm a member of the e-board for my schools chapter of an honors fraternity and that I'm almost certain to rise in ranks. I'm not too involved with many clubs, I'm part of the pre-medical society and pre-dental society at my school, but for the most part, they're inactive. For LORs, I should be fine, as I have an excellent relationship with all my science professors and I make sure to speak with them regularly.

For clinical volunteering and experience, I unfortunately don't have a method of fulfilling it through my school or my program, as these activities have been temporarily put on hiatus due to covid.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Pretty much the only valuable leadership position I have is that I'm a member of the e-board for my schools chapter of an honors fraternity and that I'm almost certain to rise in ranks. I'm not too involved with many clubs, I'm part of the pre-medical society and pre-dental society at my school, but for the most part, they're inactive. For LORs, I should be fine, as I have an excellent relationship with all my science professors and I make sure to speak with them regularly.

For clinical volunteering and experience, I unfortunately don't have a method of fulfilling it through my school or my program, as these activities have been temporarily put on hiatus due to covid.

I presume that your program is doing whatever possible to keep you and your peers notified when those clinical experiences become available. Obviously there's not much you can do, but you can still read up on careers in medicine through all the articles and interviews compiled (not just by SDN but by other national student organizations). There are virtual shadowing opportunities available as well, including recorded sessions you can find on YouTube or Vimeo (I think). Hopefully this gives you a better baseline so that you have a better focus when it comes to in-person clinical experiences.

Regardless, you must get your non-clinical community service experience up. Soup kitchens/food banks, habitat for humanity/similar, and meals on wheels are among the opportunities you can probably seek and take advantage of now.