Advice for an undergrad: what are some relevant extra-curriculars?

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charlotter

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I'm a sophomore and I want to start strengthening my resume outside of GPA, test scores, etc. Currently I'm on the executive board of the LGBT organization on campus (director of queer women's advocacy) and I also nanny + run a small photography business outside of class. Obviously these aren't enough and I really want something more relevant to medicine or health. I know some people train to be part-time EMTs, research with professors, etc. but I'm wondering if there is anything less "professional" but more relevant to the field (besides observation hours). I live in D.C. so there are obviously a lot of opportunities but I'm just lost on where to start. Suggestions would be awesome.

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As long as you have adequate observation hours, there is no need to have "PT related" extra curriculars. Enjoy your time in undergrad and join clubs that give you unique opportunities! Don't say no to the rock climbing club or your love of foreign policy just because you feel they aren't "relevant" to your PT application. I think your extra's are great!

That being said, if you are looking for something easy, I constantly volunteer at local running and cycling races. 5ks, marathons, criteriums, etc are always looking for willing volunteers! Work the registration booth, or volunteer to staff the medical tent. Most of the race websites will have a link to sign up as a volunteer. It's sort of sports mediciney, if that's what you're looking for.
 
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As long as you have adequate observation hours, there is no need to have "PT related" extra curriculars. Enjoy your time in undergrad and join clubs that give you unique opportunities! Don't say no to the rock climbing club or your love of foreign policy just because you feel they aren't "relevant" to your PT application. I think your extra's are great!

That being said, if you are looking for something easy, I constantly volunteer at local running and cycling races. 5ks, marathons, criteriums, etc are always looking for willing volunteers! Work the registration booth, or volunteer to staff the medical tent. Most of the race websites will have a link to sign up as a volunteer. It's sort of sports mediciney, if that's what you're looking for.

Thanks! I really appreciate this. I want more "relevant" extra-curriculars because I want to be more involved in medicine + health. I feel like my classes aren't fulfilling me enough in that field. Not just to be more impressive on an application but to get my fill of what I'm actually passionate about! Thanks for your suggestions, I'll keep them in mind!
 
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I tend to agree with what Watson recommended above, that it is more important to enjoy what your doing when it comes to extra-curricular activities. Admissions committees aren't going to knock you for not having medically relevant extra curriculars, besides your observation hours of course. However, my undergrad hosted a special Olympics event for 2 weekends each year, which I volunteered at. Also, relay for life is another possibility for you to get involved with if your school hosts that event as well. Whatever you choose to get involved with be sure you'll be able to speak passionately about it during the interview process.
 
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Focus you biggest efforts on getting straight A's, scoring high on the GRE, and observing physical therapists in as wide of a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings as possible. Also keep in mind getting to know a couple of PTs and at least one professor well so you can get some strong LORs. Participating in any extracurriculars or volunteer activities at the expense of these things will actually hurt you not help you.

If you can dedicate your time to any "resume builders" without any of the above slipping, I would consider picking one thing and sticking with it. Devoting a good amount of effort to one thing over a long period of time looks better in my mind than dabbling in several things. Lots of little things just look like fluff on an application, and you've already got a few fluffy things to throw on there for filler. PTCAS only gives you like 1 sentence to describe each activity anyway, so the length of time commitment and number of hours have to kind of speak for themselves. At least that's my theory. I don't have any specific evidence or data to back that up.

However, in my (relatively) extensive study of the PT application process, I have not seen strong evidence for Extras/Volunteering/Awards/Honors/etc being a large factor in the PT admissions process. In other fields, such as med school admissions, these things seem to matter more (thought strong GPA/MCAT is obviously still the biggest factor). With PT, it is a lot easier to make up for lame extras with a killer GPA or GRE than it is to make up for a lame GPA or GRE (or observation hours) with awesome extras. The extras aren't really quantifiable and since a lot of schools decide which students to admit largely based off of numerical rankings, the only way I can see them contributing is if they are somehow externally scored, or if they contribute to your interview score in some way. Again, this is just my theory based on what I've observed. Hypothetically I would think that extras are going to matter less at schools that get >1000 applications, because they just don't have the manpower to qualitatively analyze everyone's app; perhaps at less "popular" schools that only get a few hundred applications they could matter more? Who knows.

These are just a few things to bear in mind as you decide what to get involved in. And as @Watson27 said, if it is something that you would do anyway, even if you weren't applying to PT school, then by all means have a blast. If it's something you are going to dedicate 5 hours a week to for 1 semester just to "boost your application", it's probably higher yield to spend those hours observing an additional PT setting, studying for the GRE or studying for your classes (or getting a job and making some $$).

And of the things you have mentioned, getting involved in some kind of academic research is probably going to the be the biggest application strengthener. And I totally agree with @futuredpt01 that the biggest impact you extras will have is if they happen to come up during an interview and you are able to expound on them beyond the lame description that you are constrained to on PTCAS.

Hope that helps. Let us know if you have other questions. :)
 
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I know for sure that some schools like to see community service that you have done and even ask about it during interviews sometimes. I know it was something I lacked and wish I had done more of! You can volunteer time doing something awesome! I agree with all the other posters before me. I worked a lot, did research, and was apart of 2 orgs during school. I just didn't have the time for more - and thats okay.
 
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