Another stupid extracurricular question...

[mtg]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Greetings all,

I apologize in advance for the dumb question.. I did a search first, but didn't really find answers that were very similar to my situation. Any advice is appreciated. 🙂

First, some background information:

I am a non-traditional student. I went into the military immediately after high school (which I did not finish - got a GED in the service) and now, 10 years later I am starting my undergraduate work.

I am 28 years old, have been married almost 10 years and have a 4 year old daughter. After the military, I did some work in private security, then went to the police academy. I took a position as a 911 dispatcher because the local PD was not hiring officers at the time. I actually did not pursue being an officer after that because I discovered that I would not like the lifestyle (after hanging out with many cops over the course of my 6 years in 911/EMS dispatch).

I have always enjoyed the aviation field, and I am now working as an aircraft flight dispatcher for a US airline.

I work 10 hours a day, 4 days a week. I am taking 12 hours this semester on my off days. I plan to continue that pace because I am doing well grade-wise so far.

The combination of work, family obligations and school leave me with zero time for any sort of extracurricular activities. I did try to do some work with Habitat for Humanity last year (in computers) but found that I could not find the time to do anything meaningful for them.

About the only thing I have really been deeply involved in that would fit the profile is that I was on the varsity rifle marksmanship team in high school and was involved in ROTC at the battalion-level in a staff officer/leadership role.


Now, the question:

Do you think that my lack of extracurriculars will hurt my application, given my circumstances and obligations?


Many thanks!
Mike

 

[Hopkins2010]

Thats a tough question...

You would think that adcomms would understand that some people don't have the luxury of many premeds whose parents continuously give them money to live on.

I am tempted to say that the life experiences you have had should offset your lack of extracurriculars since really you tend to get the same things from both.

 

[jcw1]

On Columbia's application (just a random example) it specifically stated that if "you have had to take the best paying job available to stay in school, you will probably lack this asset (traditional extracurriculars)but have other attributes that demonstrate your ability to persist in the achievement of a goal" This is a very specific example but I would wager that many schools share the same mentality. I think that unique life experiences will help you more than a lack of traditional pre-med activities will hurt you. Best of luck!!!

 

[josejalapeno]

Hey MTG correct me if I am wrong but I think you are also ATC2MD right? I was wondering because ATC is the abbreviation for Air Traffic Control (Controller in your case), right? I remember that from playing my flight simulator game (2000 professional edition by microsoft of course).

 

[punkin2]

It seems like you absolutely have extra-curriculars, such as supporting and raising a family. Extra-curricular activities are more than athletics and clubs.

That said, it seems that you are lacking clinical experience. You may want to think about how you will answer concerns about your motivation and realistic expectations of the medical profession.

 

[Col_4:14]

The military is extracurricular activity. I was in a similiar boat. As far as volunteer experience, I would recommend that you find SOME time to do a little. Despite your varied background, some adcoms might still need some convincing. It is important for them to know that you know first hand what being a physician is actually like. Also, vol exp will aid you in writing essays and handling interviews. Believe me, with a schedule like yours, they will take your interest in medicine seriously if you also manage to throw in some vol exp. 😀

 

[snowballz]

I agree with someone above who said adcomms should understand your situation. I'm not experienced at giving stats regarding extracurrics, but those things should not hurt your application. Somen premeds, myself included, have to work a full time job just to make tuition for a state school. My parents can barely make ends meet themselves, let alone give me money to live on!
Good luck!

Alicia 😛

 

[snowballz]

I just wanted tell the original poster, that I too, am a GED recipient. Now I'm blowing away my high school diploma recieving peers in all that I've done. . We can say we did it our way when we get there. 😉

Alicia

 

[Stephen Ewen]

Well, lets kill two birds with one stone. Is there any way you can change jobs and use your present skills in some medical field?

 

[mtg]

Thanks everyone for the responses... I was almost cringing as I hit the submit button for fear of getting a bunch of "quit asking this question..." flames... 🙂

josejalapeno: To answer your question... no, I am not the atc guy. Air traffic control has nothing to do with aircraft dispatching at any rate. They are two completely different occupations. The atc handle you are asking about is, I believe, an athletic trainer (from his profile).

punkin2/col_4:14- I definitely agree with your input that I need to make some time for some sort of clinical experience. About the only exposure I have to that setting is that while working private security at Shriner's Burn Hospital in Galveston, part of my job was to drive a transport van between the hospital and airport. I got the chance to interact with some of the little burn patients. It's amazing how resilient kids are that they can take the time to smile at you even when they're covered with 3rd degree burns and you can't even see much of their face for all the bandages. That experience is a big part of why I want to do something in peds. I'm trying to find a pediatrician who will let me shadow. Oh yeah, I did also get to observe my wife's c-section. That was kinda' cool...

snowballz: Thank God I'm not the only one with a GED who's trying to be a doctor! I was sure sweating that. When I eventually go back there to pay off a couple of fines I think I still owe, maybe I'll have MD or DO after my name. 🙂

Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate the helpful replies.

Sincerely,
Mike

 

[mtg]

Originally posted by Stephen Ewen:
•Well, lets kill two birds with one stone. Is there any way you can change jobs and use your present skills in some medical field?•

Stephen:

I thought about that. I looked into Nuclear Medicine Technology but realized it would add almost a full 2 years to my undergraduate degree plan and still not contribute much in the way of required courses (premedical). Money-wise it would have been roughly equivalent to what I make now. Going to school for 2 years to get a job where I could get some clinical experience just seemed excessive to me. So I chose not to.

I am currently considering Clinical Lab Science because it will lead to a B.S. and all the prereq's for it are basically identical to premedical requirements. I'm still undecided about it though. I have another academic year before I need to actually make a firm decision whether to do the CLS track or a B.S. in Biology, or perhaps Biochem. The prerequisites are the same for all 3, give or take.

If my family could afford the salary reduction, I'd probably go try and land some sort of job in a hospital (orderly, etc) but I just have too many financial obligations for that to be a sensible thing to do.

Without going through additional schooling, the only thing in the medical field I am currently qualified to do is emergency medical dispatch (which I did for 6 years). I don't suppose adcoms would give that any weight since it's really not clinical... just giving medical instructions by telephone.


Thanks!
Mike