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Started by aodnejoch
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One lab +5 to 10 hours of volunteering a week doesn’t take up that much time. Unless you are working full-time, I would recommend you do them both. Adcom is well love to see long term simultaneous commitment
 
aodnejoch said:
I am hoping to get some advice on what I should do over this summer: volunteering vs research.

Volunteering: I currently have ~225 hours of clinical volunteering, ~ 220 hours of nonclinical volunteering, ~200 hours as a teaching assistant (unpaid, but not sure if this counts as nonclinical volunteering).

Research: I currently have ~300 hours wet lab experience from high school (over 2 academic years + 3 summers, including the summer after I graduated HS), **but I do not know if I can put this on my application???**. Other than that, by the start of this summer I will have around 100 hours of research in a lab I am starting in this semester. By the time I apply (after staying in the lab for 3 semesters) I will likely have around 300 hours from this lab.

My two options for this summer are:
A) continue in the lab in which I am starting this semester over the summer as well (PI has given me this option)
B) volunteer: I did the majority of my clinical + nonclinical volunteering over the summers, and would much prefer to return to the same institutions again this summer as well since I have really enjoyed it.

I am currently a junior but I plan on taking a gap year and applying after I graduate (unsure about what I will be doing during this gap year). cGPA/sGPA 3.90/3.92, but I have not yet taken the MCAT (will do this early summer) so I am hoping to be competitive for a top school. However, I have heard top schools place more emphasis on research, which I might need more experience in if I do not include my HS experience, hence my current indecision. If anyone has any input I would much appreciate it. Thank you 🙂
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Also, unless you won some sort of super prestigious award for the high school research it means nothing for your application
 
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Don’t put highschool stuff. If you want “top” then do a lot of research and try to get publications. They rank medical schools predominately on research. So top schools will want you to have a lot of research. That’s why I chose to attend mid tier over T20 because research isn’t my thing and I didn’t like the “prestigious” vibe I got at interviews.
 
I second working in the lab and find a volunteering opportunity that you can do part time. HS experience won’t be useful in applications, but hopefully the experience you gained will make you more productive in your current research.
 
aodnejoch said:
Hm, it makes sense that I would need a lot more research for 'top'. But would the number of hours mean much if I didn't end up publishing or presenting anything?

Also the reason I have to "choose" between the two is because the volunteering I've done is at home, whereas if I chose research I'd have to stay at school. So I could still volunteer a bit if I chose research but it wouldn't be at the same places, and it'd be nice to go back for that continuity.
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Then bruh, it’s up to you. We said do both, you can’t do both and you sound like you want to do the volunteering - so do that. The research project can be after the summer.

Good piece of advice for choosing between two things: flip a coin. Don’t pick the one that the coin lands on, pick the one you wanted it to be when th coin was in the air.
 
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