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I graduated from college this year and am planning to apply to medical school in the next cycle for matriculation in 2018. I was applying and interviewing for positions to take after I take the MCAT late August this year, and I recently got an invitation to serve with AmeriCorps NCCC (Traditional Corps) for the Fall 2016 cycle, which starts mid-October 2016 and lasts until the end of July 2017.
It seems like a really great opportunity because it's highly structured, housing is provided, and participants get to engage in a wide variety of community service projects. Also, getting to bond with your team over the course of ten months sounds pretty nice too. I've also heard it looks great on medical school applications. The only aspect that is making me hesitant to accept the invitation is that, according to the AmeriCorps NCCC informational packet, there may be certain projects in which participants are sent to areas with little to no Internet access, which could become disastrous for me if I am sent to such areas during the months of May-July, as I may not be able to send the AMCAS and secondary applications in a timely manner. I have heard of other teams that, when sent to an area with poor Internet access, would drive to town two or three times a week to use the Internet, which I would be fine with doing, as I could write down the prompts for the secondaries, write my responses when I did not have Internet access, and send them off the next time we drove back to town for Internet access. Even if there is no Wi-Fi network available, if there is at least some LTE penetration, I could send documents to my cell phone and send applications that way. If there is limited access to electricity, I could write my responses on paper and type them out afterward. However, I'm not sure if driving back to town a few times a week when sent to an area with no Internet access is something most teams do, or if my team leader would be open to the idea if I explained the situation to him or her.
As I am sure that I am not the only AmeriCorps participant who is applying to medical school or graduate school during this time, I sent a email to AmeriCorps NCCC asking if they accommodated participants who had a legitimate need to use the Internet at least periodically during certain periods of time, or if they simply discouraged these participants from accepting the invitation to serve. I also asked if they could put me in contact with past AmeriCorps participants who also applied to medical school during the final months of their terms of service. I am aware that this concern could become a non-issue if by chance, I am sent to areas with Internet access during the months of May-July, and as illogical a choice as it seems, I feel that AmeriCorps NCCC is such a unique opportunity that, admittedly, I am actually strongly considering simply taking the risk of delaying my medical school application. However, as I am already taking two gap years before matriculating into medical school, I fear that, if I am unlucky with site placement, I might have to take a third, which I definitely want to avoid. One of my pre-med advisors also reminded me that, if I did have to take that third year, I'd have to make sure I got in that cycle or else I might have to retake the MCAT, as most schools don't accept them when they're over 2-3 years old.
I was wondering if anyone had experience serving in AmeriCorps NCCC as a medical school applicant that has any insight or information that would be helpful for someone in this situation.
Also, since the format of the AMCAS application is already known, would it be acceptable to type out my responses beforehand and have a friend or family member copy/paste and submit the primary application on my behalf?
Alternatively, if worse comes to worst, is there another way to send applications without Internet (I doubt it...)? Or, as unpleasant and ridiculous an idea as it sounds, would it be acceptable to type out my responses to each part of the application and secondaries and then dictate them by phone to a friend or family member to type out and send the application and secondaries on my behalf? I would really hate to do that (and even then I'm assuming the phone signal would work), but I sent an email to AMCAS yesterday asking if it was acceptable; they haven't gotten back to me yet.
I also applied to a several AmeriCorps State/National programs, many of which I've gotten interviews from, and I wouldn't have to worry about Internet access for those, but AmeriCorps NCCC sounds like a much more meaningful experience overall. I'm trying to make my decision soon so that if I decide to do AmeriCorps NCCC, I can stop interviewing for State/National programs and focus completely on studying for the MCAT.
Thanks for your help and insights!
It seems like a really great opportunity because it's highly structured, housing is provided, and participants get to engage in a wide variety of community service projects. Also, getting to bond with your team over the course of ten months sounds pretty nice too. I've also heard it looks great on medical school applications. The only aspect that is making me hesitant to accept the invitation is that, according to the AmeriCorps NCCC informational packet, there may be certain projects in which participants are sent to areas with little to no Internet access, which could become disastrous for me if I am sent to such areas during the months of May-July, as I may not be able to send the AMCAS and secondary applications in a timely manner. I have heard of other teams that, when sent to an area with poor Internet access, would drive to town two or three times a week to use the Internet, which I would be fine with doing, as I could write down the prompts for the secondaries, write my responses when I did not have Internet access, and send them off the next time we drove back to town for Internet access. Even if there is no Wi-Fi network available, if there is at least some LTE penetration, I could send documents to my cell phone and send applications that way. If there is limited access to electricity, I could write my responses on paper and type them out afterward. However, I'm not sure if driving back to town a few times a week when sent to an area with no Internet access is something most teams do, or if my team leader would be open to the idea if I explained the situation to him or her.
As I am sure that I am not the only AmeriCorps participant who is applying to medical school or graduate school during this time, I sent a email to AmeriCorps NCCC asking if they accommodated participants who had a legitimate need to use the Internet at least periodically during certain periods of time, or if they simply discouraged these participants from accepting the invitation to serve. I also asked if they could put me in contact with past AmeriCorps participants who also applied to medical school during the final months of their terms of service. I am aware that this concern could become a non-issue if by chance, I am sent to areas with Internet access during the months of May-July, and as illogical a choice as it seems, I feel that AmeriCorps NCCC is such a unique opportunity that, admittedly, I am actually strongly considering simply taking the risk of delaying my medical school application. However, as I am already taking two gap years before matriculating into medical school, I fear that, if I am unlucky with site placement, I might have to take a third, which I definitely want to avoid. One of my pre-med advisors also reminded me that, if I did have to take that third year, I'd have to make sure I got in that cycle or else I might have to retake the MCAT, as most schools don't accept them when they're over 2-3 years old.
I was wondering if anyone had experience serving in AmeriCorps NCCC as a medical school applicant that has any insight or information that would be helpful for someone in this situation.
Also, since the format of the AMCAS application is already known, would it be acceptable to type out my responses beforehand and have a friend or family member copy/paste and submit the primary application on my behalf?
Alternatively, if worse comes to worst, is there another way to send applications without Internet (I doubt it...)? Or, as unpleasant and ridiculous an idea as it sounds, would it be acceptable to type out my responses to each part of the application and secondaries and then dictate them by phone to a friend or family member to type out and send the application and secondaries on my behalf? I would really hate to do that (and even then I'm assuming the phone signal would work), but I sent an email to AMCAS yesterday asking if it was acceptable; they haven't gotten back to me yet.
I also applied to a several AmeriCorps State/National programs, many of which I've gotten interviews from, and I wouldn't have to worry about Internet access for those, but AmeriCorps NCCC sounds like a much more meaningful experience overall. I'm trying to make my decision soon so that if I decide to do AmeriCorps NCCC, I can stop interviewing for State/National programs and focus completely on studying for the MCAT.
Thanks for your help and insights!
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