Which EC should I focus on? Acapella or Volunteer/Tutor

[ProfessrAronnax]

I have a lot of ECs lined up next semester - acapella, school paper, research, volunteering and tutoring (if I leave acapella).

Is it worth staying in my acapella group and sacrificing volunteering and tutoring time?

What would help my application more - 3 years of acapella and less time volunteering and tutoring with an emphasis on acapella as a unique EC (or could med schools care less about how long I do it) or 1 year of acapella, leaving having had the experience (must I specify how long I was in the group for) and spending more time volunteering and tutoring over the school year?

ooooooh thank you

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[LizzyM]

I have a lot of ECs lined up next semester - acapella, school paper, research, volunteering and tutoring (if I leave acapella).

Is it worth staying in my acapella group and sacrificing volunteering and tutoring time?

What would help my application more - 3 years of acapella and less time volunteering and tutoring with an emphasis on acapella as a unique EC (or could med schools care less about how long I do it) or 1 year of acapella, leaving having had the experience (must I specify how long I was in the group for) and spending more time volunteering and tutoring over the school year?

ooooooh thank you

Some schools will want to see that you have done some volunteering and over the last couple years I've seen at least some adcom members put more emphasis on non-clinical volunteering (such as tutoring people who are too poor to pay for tutoring).

You do have to list how long (start date/end date) you engaged in an activity and how many hours.

Adcoms do like to see people who are multi-faceted and who have interests outside of school/pre-med activities. There are even med schools with music performance groups on campus and being a vocalist might give someone the idea that you'd be a good fit with their school in that regard, as well as for your research experience, interest in clinical care, etc.

Keep in mind, too, that demonstrating your time management skills is important.

 

[tantacles]

Some schools will want to see that you have done some volunteering and over the last couple years I've seen at least some adcom members put more emphasis on non-clinical volunteering (such as tutoring people who are too poor to pay for tutoring).

You do have to list how long (start date/end date) you engaged in an activity and how many hours.

Adcoms do like to see people who are multi-faceted and who have interests outside of school/pre-med activities. There are even med schools with music performance groups on campus and being a vocalist might give someone the idea that you'd be a good fit with their school in that regard, as well as for your research experience, interest in clinical care, etc.

Keep in mind, too, that demonstrating your time management skills is important.

Sound advice.

My suggestion, having been in a similar position, is that if you enjoy your a cappella group, you should keep doing it. I was asked about my music experience at many of my interviews.

That being said, is it possible to volunteer just 3-4 hours each week and continue doing a cappella? It's not a huge commitment, and volunteering has become an important part of the medical school application.