- Joined
- Sep 18, 2013
- Messages
- 8,183
- Reaction score
- 11,626
Last edited:
Am I taking on too much?
- Thread starter ciestar
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2007
- Messages
- 6,874
- Reaction score
- 1,359
Well, I think it will be difficult for anyone to say whether or not you are taking on too much. Much of this depends on your academics and how much free time you would have. I definitely think if you have started all of these things shortly before applying that it will raise a few eyebrows. Even if the only ongoing volunteerism that you have is the dog rescue, if you've done different volunteer activities across your time in college I think that would still be fine. More importantly, do you have any ongoing EC (not necessarily volunteering)? Did you do any EC your first few years in college?
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2012
- Messages
- 9,248
- Reaction score
- 8,724
I know this is going to sound weird for SDN, but...you do know that you don't HAVE to put all of your volunteering on the app, right? I mean, personally I would (if asked about it I'd be real and say that once I looked into the opportunities I couldn't choose just one), but if you're really concerned that doing too many different ones will look bad, just...don't put them all down.
- Joined
- May 31, 2013
- Messages
- 292
- Reaction score
- 69
I am obviously no expert, but I think med schools really do prefer quality over quantity. Do something that you can really get into rather than spreading yourself thin and running the risk of only having superficial things to talk about/ superficial experiences period - you should aim to get more than resume padding out of it! Then be able to explain in an interview why you started these activities, and speak honestly to your genuine interest. Don't say "because I was about to apply to medical school..." I think they'll raise a brow if you can't show genuine learnings and growth that came from these experiences because they were on such a short timeline, so don't run the risk of making that be the reality.
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2009
- Messages
- 193
- Reaction score
- 90
Your history of tutoring and TA'ing will explain your interest in the YMCA, so it would be easy to say you shifted to the Y after those experiences. As for the VA, local hospital, and Cradles to Crayons, you'll have to be able to explain how each of these appealed to you and what you were hoping to get out of the experience, which doesn't sound too hard to do since you do have an interest. It'll look best if you stick with these for the duration until your application next year.
The big question to ask is would you really do all these things if you weren't applying? If you would, then go for it. If you're only doing it to pad your app, pick one or two and make waves at those places, something awesome to show the adcoms this is your heart's interest.
The big question to ask is would you really do all these things if you weren't applying? If you would, then go for it. If you're only doing it to pad your app, pick one or two and make waves at those places, something awesome to show the adcoms this is your heart's interest.
