Boundaries of Volunteering, Making myself a "well rounded" applicant

[DoctorOrdinary]

Many medical schools love insane amounts of volunteering, whether clinical or non-clinical. I do the typical box-checking stuff to meet the 100-200 hour "requirement" to make myself a better applicant, but I've only recently started and I will be applying next cycle.

However, I also founded an off campus chapter for a nationally recognized organization over a year ago and I don't know how to distinguish it as volunteer work or as leadership work. I am the president of this organization with a board that works with me, and I do have many responsibilities to ensure the chapter runs smoothly. The organization's goal is to maintain and strengthen brotherhood in a community of people who have been negatively stereotyped throughout all kinds of media and can't always feel safe in their identity. I put in over six hours a week to ensure it runs smoothly and do it because I see the changes my board and I, as well as our constituents, have made among ourselves and our community. I always bring new people to our events and even pick and drop many of them with my car. As a pre-med, I sometimes feel as if I'm not doing myself justice because this is such a hefty commitment that is not medically related. But basically, I started this organization because I needed it for myself since i was new in the city (moved for college), not to fill a box for AMCAS. I keep doing it because our constituents have seen immense social and personal growth. I could say I have over 300 hours put into this over a course of one and a half years. This is pretty much the only "dedication" I've had over my two years in college so far. My other volunteer work was done within a summer or less.

My question is - how will Adcoms look at this? Will I stand out even with not that much clinical volunteering? I can get in over a year's worth clinical/nonclinical of volunteering from now and up to my time of submitting my app but I'm afraid that Adcoms will think I am simply cramming it in to check a box rather than showing dedication over a longer period of time.

Will appreciate any advice. Feel free to let me know if I need to add more info to get my question better answered.

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[LizzyM]

This is your call... if you are the "president" and running board meetings, etc, then that portion of your time is "leadership". If you are out in the community, helping people who can't help themselves, particularly the poor and marginalized, then that could be considered "non-clinical volunteering". You can split the work/time and use two labels and two descriptions. I am the president of a group that does community service and I have my leadership responsibilities (a few hours per month) and I have at least that many hours of community service. Those of us on the adcom know this sort ot thing happens.

You have leadership and you have non-clinical volunteering. Now you need clinical exposure. Get some shadowing. Decide whether you want to volunteer in a clinical setting (where patients are being cared for-- see my sig line) or if you can manage a job in a clinical setting. Volunteer or employment... it doesn't matter but you must have some clinical exposure on your application if you are to get any traction.

 

[Catalystik]

Many medical schools love insane amounts of volunteering, whether clinical or non-clinical. I do the typical box-checking stuff to meet the 100-200 hour "requirement" to make myself a better applicant, but I've only recently started and I will be applying next cycle.

However, I also founded an off campus chapter for a nationally recognized organization over a year ago and I don't know how to distinguish it as volunteer work or as leadership work. I am the president of this organization with a board that works with me, and I do have many responsibilities to ensure the chapter runs smoothly. The organization's goal is to maintain and strengthen brotherhood in a community of people who have been negatively stereotyped throughout all kinds of media and can't always feel safe in their identity. I put in over six hours a week to ensure it runs smoothly and do it because I see the changes my board and I, as well as our constituents, have made among ourselves and our community. I always bring new people to our events and even pick and drop many of them with my car. As a pre-med, I sometimes feel as if I'm not doing myself justice because this is such a hefty commitment that is not medically related. But basically, I started this organization because I needed it for myself since i was new in the city (moved for college), not to fill a box for AMCAS. I keep doing it because our constituents have seen immense social and personal growth. I could say I have over 300 hours put into this over a course of one and a half years. This is pretty much the only "dedication" I've had over my two years in college so far. My other volunteer work was done within a summer or less.

My question is - how will Adcoms look at this? Will I stand out even with not that much clinical volunteering? I can get in over a year's worth clinical/nonclinical of volunteering from now and up to my time of submitting my app but I'm afraid that Adcoms will think I am simply cramming it in to check a box rather than showing dedication over a longer period of time.

Will appreciate any advice. Feel free to let me know if I need to add more info to get my question better answered.

If you have not yet started getting clinical experience (both passive observational shadowing and active patient interaction are desirable) you will have less than a year's worth of the latter by the time next year's application season opens (it takes awhile to get one's training, titers, & TB test done). Adding all this activity to your schedule would imperil your GPA (which breaks the First Rule of PreMeds). Don't feel compelled to apply in a year. It's more and more common for applicants to take a gap year or two to round out their Experiences. And you haven't even mentioned a plan to get in some research.

NB: One thing that leaders do is delegate tasks. See if you can't ease your personal load by doing more of that.

 

[DoctorOrdinary]

@Catalystik @LizzyM Thank you both for your answers,

I have accumulated over 80 hours of shadowing with two physicians over my two years (with one case study publication) but that's just shadowing, not clinical volunteering. I will be shadowing up until the end of summer and will be starting ER volunteering this week. What I'm hearing is that I pretty much only need decent exposure to patients and it could be either volunteering or just observing? My main concern was pretty much getting in a sufficient amount of clinical volunteering hours without adcoms thinking I'm "doing it all in the last minute."

And @LizzyM can I really mark an activity as covering two things? Like my position in the organization to be both non clinical volunteering and leadership? Would this take up more than 1 of the 15 activities boxes on the AMCAS?

 

[Catalystik]

@Catalystik @LizzyM Thank you both for your answers,

I have accumulated over 80 hours of shadowing with two physicians over my two years (with one case study publication) but that's just shadowing, not clinical volunteering. I will be shadowing up until the end of summer and will be starting ER volunteering this week. What I'm hearing is that I pretty much only need decent exposure to patients and it could be either volunteering or just observing? My main concern was pretty much getting in a sufficient amount of clinical volunteering hours without adcoms thinking I'm "doing it all in the last minute."

And @LizzyM can I really mark an activity as covering two things? Like my position in the organization to be both non clinical volunteering and leadership? Would this take up more than 1 of the 15 activities boxes on the AMCAS?

Fifty hours of shadowing (which is not considered volunteering) is the average listed on applications. If you have already shadowed a primary care doctor, you have more than enough.

To have the greatest appeal to the largest number of schools, you need both shadowing and active clinical experience.

If you want to separate out leadership and volunteering with a single organization, you'd use two spaces, each with their own dates and hours (you would not double count the hours for AMCAS).

 

[Goro]

Many medical schools love insane amounts of volunteering, whether clinical or non-clinical. I do the typical box-checking stuff to meet the 100-200 hour "requirement" to make myself a better applicant, but I've only recently started and I will be applying next cycle.

Having a box checking attitude will get you rejected. Most of the successful SDNers do what they love and love what they do.

You have plenty of time between now and next app cycle to beef up your app.

 

[DoctorOrdinary]

If you have not yet started getting clinical experience (both passive observational shadowing and active patient interaction are desirable) you will have less than a year's worth of the latter by the time next year's application season opens (it takes awhile to get one's training, titers, & TB test done). Adding all this activity to your schedule would imperil your GPA (which breaks the First Rule of PreMeds). Don't feel compelled to apply in a year. It's more and more common for applicants to take a gap year or two to round out their Experiences. And you haven't even mentioned a plan to get in some research.

NB: One thing that leaders do is delegate tasks. See if you can't ease your personal load by doing more of that.

@Catalystik I have landed a position in a lab for next semester (organic chemistry research) and will be doing that for a whole year. I feel like I pretty much have the basic things for a good app except for the clinical volunteering part which will end up making it a not so good app. However, if you're a physician, you'll know best. If you don't mind, can you determine whether or not it will be needed for me to take another year to round up a better application for increased chances at a good medical school? It will help me plan my junior year better. This is not exactly a WAMC post, but more of something to see if I'm in good shape or not.

-finished all my med prereqs and at a 3.94 GPA as of now, Deans list every semester
- Using BR for MCAT and planning on taking it during Spring semester
-80 hours and counting of shadowing stretched out over all two years so far with one case study publication
-300+ hours and counting of dedicated leadership for a non profit I founded stretched out over all two years
- 100+ hours of tutoring kids at a summer camp last year, awarded for best volunteer (1 month, 7 days a week)
- 24 hours at Special Olympics in freshman year, might do some more this year (Once a month, 12 hour days)
- University org. leadership position, was a team captain for the annual sporting event between 7 other universities, and led a team of 20. I will be the team captain again this year and have more resources to bring a bigger team since I am now on the board.
- ER volunteering over summer (will have at least 50 by the end of summer), and will start again at a hospital near my school throughout the year. Hoping for at least 120
- Lab assistant at my university, will be conducting bioassays of chemical compounds secreted by marine organisms ( I really like marine life and got in the lab because of my fishkeeping hobby)
- One of my professors will be writing a "very strong letter of rec" for me, as stated by him. Will be getting another one from a Bio professor who I took two semesters of coursework with and attended office hours regularly with. Hopefully will get one from my lab PI, the doctor I shadowed, and hopefully another science professor


With this being said, I'll appreciate any advice geared towards making my application experience as successful as possible. Thank you

 

[DoctorOrdinary]

Having a box checking attitude will get you rejected. Most of the successful SDNers do what they love and love what they do.

You have plenty of time between now and next app cycle to beef up your app.

Thank you for your response, Goro

That's true. My goal is to not give that impression to adcoms, but the time commitment alone is what I'm scared will give that impression. Like getting it all in during a short period of time, even with a sufficient amount of hours. I hope that one year will be enough to show some dedication. But don't get me wrong, even though I and many other people will do these things with the intention to check the box, the experiences alone make me forget that I started it initially for just an application. I've made countless friends and felt like I made a difference by helping others through these "box-checkers." There's clearly a reason why med schools want these things. In the end, I just hope my overall application will be good in the end, of course with the right MCAT score.

 

[Catalystik]

@Catalystik I have landed a position in a lab for next semester (organic chemistry research) and will be doing that for a whole year. I feel like I pretty much have the basic things for a good app except for the clinical volunteering part which will end up making it a not so good app. However, if you're a physician, you'll know best. If you don't mind, can you determine whether or not it will be needed for me to take another year to round up a better application for increased chances at a good medical school? It will help me plan my junior year better. This is not exactly a WAMC post, but more of something to see if I'm in good shape or not.

-finished all my med prereqs and at a 3.94 GPA as of now, Deans list every semester
- Using BR for MCAT and planning on taking it during Spring semester
-80 hours and counting of shadowing stretched out over all two years so far with one case study publication
-300+ hours and counting of dedicated leadership for a non profit I founded stretched out over all two years
- 100+ hours of tutoring kids at a summer camp last year, awarded for best volunteer (1 month, 7 days a week)
- 24 hours at Special Olympics in freshman year, might do some more this year (Once a month, 12 hour days)
- University org. leadership position, was a team captain for the annual sporting event between 7 other universities, and led a team of 20. I will be the team captain again this year and have more resources to bring a bigger team since I am now on the board.
- ER volunteering over summer (will have at least 50 by the end of summer), and will start again at a hospital near my school throughout the year. Hoping for at least 120
- Lab assistant at my university, will be conducting bioassays of chemical compounds secreted by marine organisms ( I really like marine life and got in the lab because of my fishkeeping hobby)
- One of my professors will be writing a "very strong letter of rec" for me, as stated by him. Will be getting another one from a Bio professor who I took two semesters of coursework with and attended office hours regularly with. Hopefully will get one from my lab PI, the doctor I shadowed, and hopefully another science professor


With this being said, I'll appreciate any advice geared towards making my application experience as successful as possible. Thank you

Considering you've been shadowing a physician for two years, you'll probably get by with just one year of active clinical experience, as you've demonstrated that medicine as a career isn't an impulsive decision. Are you certain of starting at a second facility as soon as you return to campus? A prolonged gap is not in your best interests. Can you volunteer again at home over school breaks?

A year of research is about average. If your MCAT is particularly strong and you want to aim at highly-selective, research-oriented schools, I'd recommend a second year of research before applying.

Love the fish hobby. Be sure to list it.

 

[DoctorOrdinary]

Considering you've been shadowing a physician for two years, you'll probably get by with just one year of active clinical experience, as you've demonstrated that medicine as a career isn't an impulsive decision. Are you certain of starting at a second facility as soon as you return to campus? A prolonged gap is not in your best interests. Can you volunteer again at home over school breaks?

A year of research is about average. If your MCAT is particularly strong and you want to aim at highly-selective, research-oriented schools, I'd recommend a second year of research before applying.

Love the fish hobby. Be sure to list it.

Thank you Catalystik, this advice will definitely help. I will be sure to apply to a few hospitals near my school to guarantee myself a volunteering position, and I can probably volunteer at my home hospital during winter break since I would have a month off. Also, are top schools typically all research-heavy? I think that may be the case since that's why they're ranked so high. Will definitely consider getting more research experience, thank you for response.

 

[wdk935gsx]

Many medical schools love insane amounts of volunteering, whether clinical or non-clinical. I do the typical box-checking stuff to meet the 100-200 hour "requirement" to make myself a better applicant, but I've only recently started and I will be applying next cycle.

However, I also founded an off campus chapter for a nationally recognized organization over a year ago and I don't know how to distinguish it as volunteer work or as leadership work. I am the president of this organization with a board that works with me, and I do have many responsibilities to ensure the chapter runs smoothly. The organization's goal is to maintain and strengthen brotherhood in a community of people who have been negatively stereotyped throughout all kinds of media and can't always feel safe in their identity. I put in over six hours a week to ensure it runs smoothly and do it because I see the changes my board and I, as well as our constituents, have made among ourselves and our community. I always bring new people to our events and even pick and drop many of them with my car. As a pre-med, I sometimes feel as if I'm not doing myself justice because this is such a hefty commitment that is not medically related. But basically, I started this organization because I needed it for myself since i was new in the city (moved for college), not to fill a box for AMCAS. I keep doing it because our constituents have seen immense social and personal growth. I could say I have over 300 hours put into this over a course of one and a half years. This is pretty much the only "dedication" I've had over my two years in college so far. My other volunteer work was done within a summer or less.

My question is - how will Adcoms look at this? Will I stand out even with not that much clinical volunteering? I can get in over a year's worth clinical/nonclinical of volunteering from now and up to my time of submitting my app but I'm afraid that Adcoms will think I am simply cramming it in to check a box rather than showing dedication over a longer period of time.

Will appreciate any advice. Feel free to let me know if I need to add more info to get my question better answered.

Having a box checking attitude will get you rejected. Most of the successful SDNers do what they love and love what they do.

You have plenty of time between now and next app cycle to beef up your app.

I totally agree with this comment! Everyone checks boxes... that doesn't certify you as an applicant. Id probably argue that in order to stand out as an applicant you may want to think more about things that are NOT on the MED SCHOOL check list that everyone believes in. The org or Adcom is a great example. Another thing to think about is your "brand" meaning what is it you are presenting to applicant reviewers or rather WHO are you presenting to them? Who are you? What do you represent? If you spread yourself around and do A,B,C,D,- X,Y,Z and then talk about each one of these things in your PS or your 15 accomplishments what is it you are truly showing about yourself and what you stand for or represent? Focusing on being well-rounded can really fail to portray who you are if you are not careful. Diversifying yourself is important, but it would be in your best interest to make sure and present a clear picture of who YOU are as an applicant. Your scores so far put you in the applicant review pile, but you need to give them a reason to bring you to an interview so they can determine if you fit the criteria they are looking for in filling out a diverse class. Just my 2 cents....

 

[Catalystik]

Thank you Catalystik, this advice will definitely help. I will be sure to apply to a few hospitals near my school to guarantee myself a volunteering position, and I can probably volunteer at my home hospital during winter break since I would have a month off. Also, are top schools typically all research-heavy? I think that may be the case since that's why they're ranked so high. Will definitely consider getting more research experience, thank you for response.

Top schools are rated highly (by USNews, eg) in part because of research dollars they attract.

Top schools also like to train future leaders in medicine, and I think you've demonstrated that potential.