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joe32 said:
I feel like tutoring has been by far my most meaningful activity yet when looking over the AAMC guidelines it appears that they are pretty much dead last in regards to extracurricular value to adcoms. 90% of my non-clinical hours will be tutoring/mentoring refugees and low-income + EEL students around south Chicago and the other 10% are just boring Red Cross volunteering hours where I sit around and pretty much do nothing.

Is it worth picking up another EC before the next cycle that is not tutoring or is this pointless to worry about? Also, why is "tutoring" listed in a different tab than "non-clinical volunteering" on the AAMC booklet? Is this assuming you are getting paid for tutoring or something?
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Some of what you are listing sounds more like non clinical volunteering that tutoring. Tutoring a first year is totally different than tutoring a refugee. Highlight those differences in your essays and what you learned.
 
gonnif said:
1) tutoring or TA is a different skillset and function.
2) any competent premedical student should be able to tutor or TA for introductory courses
3) it is staying within the academic sphere and therefore not out of your comfort zone.
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This^^^^. Basically, it is easy and common, so it's of little relative value.
 
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With any premedical school ezperi nxe, I have found, the important part is to differentiate it. There is probably something unique and special about each of your experiences. But you need to show it off.

If you wrote and published a paper be sure to set that apart from someone who showed up and squirted some agar in Petri dishes once a week.
 
yokiguz said:
Some of what you are listing sounds more like non clinical volunteering that tutoring. Tutoring a first year is totally different than tutoring a refugee. Highlight those differences in your essays and what you learned.
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Facts. I have experience with both, and I find that tutoring the underserved is more difficult but more rewarding than teaching college freshmen.
 
joe32 said:
Maybe I guess. I do completely independently create my own lessons and plans for each kid which takes a lot of time especially the ones where I have to make them in Spanish. I also made an afterschool science program where we do experiments because the Chicago public school group that I tutored said they literally have zero exposure to 'science.' I would consider myself a mentor more than a tutor especially for the immigrant kids I teach since they often just want a friend as opposed to pure actual academic help. I don't tutor any college or high school students except for my TA job but that is more for a rec letter rather than a volunteering experience.

Ultimately I just don't want to get looked down upon because all of my ECs are pretty much education/tutoring/mentoring. I suppose it is valid that I have not left my comfort zone so maybe it would be worth exploring a more hands on or direct volunteer experience?
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These sound unique. Make sure you get it across in your essays.
 
Tutoring is the bread and butter for not only pre-meds, but of mostly any student who wishes to list "significant experiences" on a CV/resume. Did you do well in calculus and biology? Well, now you may tutor in those classes! It's just so common in academia, that admissions get real bored of seeing it.
 
gonnif said:
1) tutoring or TA is a different skillset and function.
2) any competent premedical student should be able to tutor or TA for introductory courses
3) it is staying within the academic sphere and therefore not out of your comfort zone.
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It's this one that resonates. Tutoring immigrants in English or poor kids is very different from tutoring your peers for Orgo or Physics.
 
I think it's amazing that you have been tutoring and mentoring refugees and low-income/EEL students!! That is just incredible. Like others have mentioned below, it is very different from being an ordinary TA or tutoring your peers for cash on the side. The best way to show that this meaningful work is by including it in your personal statement and highlighting it during interviews. Ultimately, if it is something you are passionate about, has helped you learn and grow as an individual, and is something you'd enjoy talking about during interviews then you should absolutely continue to do it and highlight it on your application. Best of luck!!
- Annette G, MD, MPH - USMLE Tutor and Residency Advisor at Med School Tutors
 
Depends on the tutoring in my opinion.

Being a tutor for people in college-level intro bio while getting paid/class credit isn't the same as volunteering to tutor for teens in poverty who are trying to get their GED.
 
The general issue with tutoring is that anyone can claim to have tutored.
 
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I think tutoring underserved communities is just as valuable as any other non-clinical community volunteering, and I don't care what AdComs think.

Tutoring someone from a low-income/disadvantaged background requires MUCH GREATER of a skillset and DIRECT interaction than packaging boxes in a food bank or making food at a homeless shelter.

Tutoring rich kids at your college for extra bucks is a different story.
 
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I also tutored/mentored refugees and disadvantaged children. These were some of my most meaningful experiences ever. I deeply reflected on the experiences in my primary app and secondaries.

I also counted it as non-clinical volunteering, because I was under the impression that the TA/Teaching/Tutor category was for paid academic opportunities.
 
Why is tutoring viewed so low on the totem pole?
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Who says it is? Tutoring college students (peers) is seen as teaching/tutoring which has its own category on the AMCAS work & activities section. It is valued, particularly at schools that do PBL or other small group learning where you teach your peers in a small group setting.

Teaching or tutoring ESL, adult literacy, or little kids can be paid employment or vollunteerism and I'd classify it as whichever of those fits over tagging it "teaching/tutoring" but that's just me. It is also valued as it indicates that you can take a topic and break it down and explain it in a way that is understandable to someone unfamiliar with the material and then assess whether they get it and take a different approach if needed. That's also a valuable skill when speaking to patient and families.
 
brainscience2 said:
i wouldnt necessarily say its viewed "low" on the totem poll, probably just not super unique
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And your experience with medical school admissions is exactly, what?

I'll repeat that unless it's done altruistically for people less fortunate than yourself, I don't give any credence to it an an EC.

srstudent said:
I think tutoring underserved communities is just as valuable as any other non-clinical community volunteering, and I don't care what AdComs think.

Tutoring someone from a low-income/disadvantaged background requires MUCH GREATER of a skillset and DIRECT interaction than packaging boxes in a food bank or making food at a homeless shelter.

Tutoring rich kids at your college for extra bucks is a different story.
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This is what we've been trying to say.
 
Goro said:
And your experience with medical school admissions is exactly, what?

I'll repeat that unless it's done altruistically for people less fortunate than yourself, I don't give any credence to it an an EC.


This is what we've been trying to say.
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Does it ever become a concern if there seems to be a huge commitment to tutoring (say 700hrs of tutoring/teaching), but direct patient clinical experiences do not compare?
 
lull said:
Does it ever become a concern if there seems to be a huge commitment to tutoring (say 700hrs of tutoring/teaching), but direct patient clinical experiences do not compare?
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Meaning like 150 hrs in the clinic and > 700 hrs tutoring? It's something I'd ask about in interviews.

MD schools screeners may view this differently, but my school doesn't pre-screen like MD school schools do.
 
Goro said:
Meaning like 150 hrs in the clinic and > 700 hrs tutoring? It's something I'd ask about in interviews.

MD schools screeners may view this differently, but my school doesn't pre-screen like MD school schools do.
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Yes, the extent of my clinical experiences has been 500hrs of scribing (very little patient interaction), 100hrs of hospital volunteering with direct patient interaction. My tutoring experiences have weighed the heaviest in my ECs, and it was something I wanted to talk about in my personal statement, but I'm not so sure anymore.
 
lull said:
Yes, the extent of my clinical experiences has been 500hrs of scribing (very little patient interaction), 100hrs of hospital volunteering with direct patient interaction. My tutoring experiences have weighed the heaviest in my ECs, and it was something I wanted to talk about in my personal statement, but I'm not so sure anymore.
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Even though I consider scribing to be glorified shadowing, it IS a bona fide clinical experience, and as employment, a positive.
 
joe32 said:
I do completely independently create my own lessons and plans for each kid which takes a lot of time especially the ones where I have to make them in Spanish. I also made an afterschool science program where we do experiments because the Chicago public school group that I tutored said they literally have zero exposure to 'science.' I would consider myself a mentor more than a tutor especially for the immigrant kids I teach since they often just want a friend as opposed to pure actual academic help.
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I think this is exactly how you should communicate the experience in your apps/essays!!! "Tutoring" = boring/generic but ^THIS sounds really interesting in my opinion.
- Independently create lessons = shows responsibility/higher-level thinking required. And sometimes you deliver them in Spanish?? Great!
- Spanish = multilingual skills, serving diverse populations
- 'No exposure to science' - educational outreach/engaging low-income students in STEM = 👍
- Personal relationship that goes beyond job description of teaching - also something to talk about in your essays
 
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