Any Unique ECs?

[thehappydoctor]

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Hey all,

any unique extracurriculars you can do summer before freshman year of undergrad? please no answers telling me to enjoy my summer because I'm not interested in that..

also preferably ECs should be medical based..please share your own extracurricular experiences

 

[gumbyj]

any unique extracurriculars you can do summer before freshman year of undergrad? please no answers telling me to enjoy my summer because I'm not interested in that..

🙄

 

[Ironmandoc]

Enjoy your summer. Seriously I don't care if that's not what you want to hear. It's the best thing you can do

 

[mcm628]

🙄

I am having trouble thinking of any off the top of my head that are medically based. Most research and mission type trips prefer summer after sophomore and junior year. I really think the best thing you could do an commit to logging some solid hours would be volunteering at a hospital or shadowing a doctor. Also, by now, a big chunk of your summer is already gone, so for someone that appears to be interested in a quick start out of the gate, you kinda already missed the boat, assuming you just graduated from high school and are looking for things to do right now.

Good luck!

 

[thehappydoctor]

Just to clarify-- I am already doing research/hospital volunteering/ other cookie cutter type ECs this summer.. I was just interested in something unique and maybe more refreshing if someone has had some past experiences and would like to share it

 

[HopefulNodakMD]

Hey all,

any unique extracurriculars you can do summer before freshman year of undergrad? please no answers telling me to enjoy my summer because I'm not interested in that..

also preferably ECs should be medical based..please share your own extracurricular experiences

Your name is going to change to "theunhappydoctor" if you put this much into your vocation before you even enter school. You need to chill out, or you will burn out quickly. ECs are important, but it's also pretty obvious when someone is just filling in slots in their application. Shadowing/Volunteering is generally just filling in slots and everyone has them, but it becomes more important that you're a human being around application time, and you sound... not very humanly. Have some fun.

 

[theseeker4]

Just to clarify-- I am already doing research/hospital volunteering/ other cookie cutter type ECs this summer.. I was just interested in something unique and maybe more refreshing if someone has had some past experiences and would like to share it

Hand-build a hospital for an under-served community.
Personally create a non-profit that raises a substantial amount of money to help treat people without insurance.
Discover a new drug that treats some medical condition more effectively and safely than anything on the market currently.
Come up with a scientific break-through that changes the course of that particular scientific discipline.

These are the type of things that are truly non-cookie cutter, AMAZING EC's that you seem to be looking for. As you might be able to tell, none of them are they type of thing you can just add on to your resume the summer of your freshman year.

Either take the advice to stop gunning and enjoy your summer, or start trying to do something that is truly unique and meaningful.

Or add on more cookie cutter EC's.

Either way, posting multiple threads on SDN about it isn't going to give you the answer you are looking for. There is nothing you can simply "sign up for the summer before your freshman year" that will provide what you are looking for.

 

[CoolWhipp]

There are medical programs that require to travel out of country, those seem like the may provide a great experience as well as be fun.

 

[HopefulNodakMD]

Hand-build a hospital for an under-served community.
Personally create a non-profit that raises a substantial amount of money to help treat people without insurance.
Discover a new drug that treats some medical condition more effectively and safely than anything on the market currently.
Come up with a scientific break-through that changes the course of that particular scientific discipline.

These are the type of things that are truly non-cookie cutter, AMAZING EC's that you seem to be looking for. As you might be able to tell, none of them are they type of thing you can just add on to your resume the summer of your freshman year.

Either take the advice to stop gunning and enjoy your summer, or start trying to do something that is truly unique and meaningful.

Or add on more cookie cutter EC's.

Either way, posting multiple threads on SDN about it isn't going to give you the answer you are looking for. There is nothing you can simply "sign up for the summer before your freshman year" that will provide what you are looking for.

Well, technically he could enroll in an AA support group.

Not meaning I see him eventually being an alcoholic, getting a DWI and making a new thread in the future asking why his life is ruined.

 

[mcm628]

Your name is going to change to "theunhappydoctor" if you put this much into your vocation before you even enter school. You need to chill out, or you will burn out quickly. ECs are important, but it's also pretty obvious when someone is just filling in slots in their application. Shadowing/Volunteering is generally just filling in slots and everyone has them, but it becomes more important that you're a human being around application time, and you sound... not very humanly. Have some fun.

Not true bud...you definitely want to have volunteering (both medical and non-medical).

OP, I did just remember something I did during that time. Have you heard of Best Buddies? It is a program that pairs college students with men and women of a similar age with mental disabilities (like Down and Williams Syndrome). You mentor, plan parties and fundraisers. It is a lot of fun and you really do make a great life long connection with the individuals you work with. Worth a look.

 

[thehappydoctor]

Hand-build a hospital for an under-served community.
Personally create a non-profit that raises a substantial amount of money to help treat people without insurance.
Discover a new drug that treats some medical condition more effectively and safely than anything on the market currently.
Come up with a scientific break-through that changes the course of that particular scientific discipline.

These are the type of things that are truly non-cookie cutter, AMAZING EC's that you seem to be looking for. As you might be able to tell, none of them are they type of thing you can just add on to your resume the summer of your freshman year.

Either take the advice to stop gunning and enjoy your summer, or start trying to do something that is truly unique and meaningful.

Or add on more cookie cutter EC's.

Either way, posting multiple threads on SDN about it isn't going to give you the answer you are looking for. There is nothing you can simply "sign up for the summer before your freshman year" that will provide what you are looking for.

theseeker4 brings up a good side-point, i have heard of many people starting non-profits or charities, is this a good idea? of course, this is not JUST for my medical school app but just in general..Anyone have any success with this idea (as in, did your charity actually operate?)

Sorry for multiple volunteer posts on sdn ( i think a total of 2 posts)

 

[thehappydoctor]

Your name is going to change to "theunhappydoctor" if you put this much into your vocation before you even enter school. You need to chill out, or you will burn out quickly. ECs are important, but it's also pretty obvious when someone is just filling in slots in their application. Shadowing/Volunteering is generally just filling in slots and everyone has them, but it becomes more important that you're a human being around application time, and you sound... not very humanly. Have some fun.

What do you mean by you need to sound human? Are you speaking about being well-rounded? What else goes into this besides your extracurriculars/various scores that I can work on?

 

[HopefulNodakMD]

Not true bud...you definitely want to have volunteering (both medical and non-medical).

I am not insinuating that volunteering and shadowing are not good, in fact, I'd say they're required in most circumstances. But it's not a necessity to start before you're even in college. Can you even put pre-college on your AMCAS? As far as I know, they usually don't like that.

What do you mean by you need to sound human? Are you speaking about being well-rounded? What else goes into this besides your extracurriculars/various scores that I can work on?

Life experiences are huge and will come up in things like Personal Statements, LoR's and general interview talk. If all you do is cookie-cutter and medical school related activities, you might still get in, but you'll likely hate your life.

Do you play sports? Have any fun activities? Get involved in those, hang out with friends, meet new people. Enjoy life, yes, become a well-rounded person. Life isn't only about your career, and I would be hesitant to accept someone that doesn't realize that, if I was on an ADCOM.

 

[mcm628]

I am not insinuating that volunteering and shadowing are not good, in fact, I'd say they're required in most circumstances. But it's not a necessity to start before you're even in college. Can you even put pre-college on your AMCAS? As far as I know, they usually don't like that.



Life experiences are huge and will come up in things like Personal Statements, LoR's and general interview talk. If all you do is cookie-cutter and medical school related activities, you might still get in, but you'll likely hate your life.

Do you play sports? Have any fun activities? Get involved in those, hang out with friends, meet new people. Enjoy life, yes, become a well-rounded person. Life isn't only about your career, and I would be hesitant to accept someone that doesn't realize that, if I was on an ADCOM.

Yes you can, providing you continue it in college. I was just trying to provide the OP with some age appropriate activities.

 

[lobo.solo]

Enjoy your summer. Seriously I don't care if that's not what you want to hear. It's the best thing you can do

+1
What's up with these kids nowadays. A well rounded person, acknowledges that there is more to it than med school...

 

[kalbrecht17]

Hey all,

any unique extracurriculars you can do summer before freshman year of undergrad? please no answers telling me to enjoy my summer because I'm not interested in that..

also preferably ECs should be medical based..please share your own extracurricular experiences

This is an odd way to phrase it. Don't you find any medically based work to be enjoyable???😛

 

[thehappydoctor]

Not true bud...you definitely want to have volunteering (both medical and non-medical).

OP, I did just remember something I did during that time. Have you heard of Best Buddies? It is a program that pairs college students with men and women of a similar age with mental disabilities (like Down and Williams Syndrome). You mentor, plan parties and fundraisers. It is a lot of fun and you really do make a great life long connection with the individuals you work with. Worth a look.

Thank you! Exactly the sort of answer I was looking for! 🙂 I will definitely look into this Best Buddies Program!

 

[listentoadvice]

One of my friends was a watermelon farm tour guide for the summer. Sounds crazy? It is but the key for an extracurricular is to frame it in a way that you can relate it back to your goals. In his case, it was an opportunity to teach about healthy nutrition habits to young and impressionable kids; this aligned with his goal of influencing health policy to get rid of fast food chains in inner citys.

So go do something stupid and crazy but make sure to learn a lesson from it.

 

[mcm628]

Thank you! Exactly the sort of answer I was looking for! 🙂 I will definitely look into this Best Buddies Program!

This is also able to be done throughout college, which is great because you will probably have a really positive experience. I did best buddies for all 4 years, and still keep in contact with the two young men I mentored.

 

[red7]

Hey all,

any unique extracurriculars you can do summer before freshman year of undergrad? please no answers telling me to enjoy my summer because I'm not interested in that..

also preferably ECs should be medical based..please share your own extracurricular experiences

At my undergraduate university, there was a student-run first aid service that staffed campus events (e.g. Frosh Week, sports games, etc.) and also gave first aid courses once a semester. Don't know if there will be a similar school/community program where you're going, but there can be a lot of doors opened for you if you take a first aid/first responder course. It's also easy to sign up for a first aid course on short notice. Just a thought ..

However, I agree with the above posts that you should probably just relax.

 

[red7]

And if there isn't already a first aid service on campus, then you could start one hahaha