Can I quit my volunteering if I already have an A?

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magician7772222

magician7772222

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I have some projected hours but are there any real consequences to quitting if I already secured an A? I for sure won't be reapplying, therefore leaving on good terms with the volunteer coordinator shouldn't be an issue right?
 
If you enjoy it you could look into throttling down your work but still doing a little bit, and then using your remaining time to earn some side money or just relax before start of M1.
 
impetuskrampetus said:
That was my initial thought too, but there are probably more charitable and nuanced interpretations than "they're just volunteering to look good and they don't care at all about what they're doing"
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It was the implication that it was okay to leave on bad terms with the volunteer coordinator that left a bad taste for me.
 
In defense of OP, there's definitely been activities that I've done that I haven't enjoyed, and I only did them because I needed to check the box. In fact, one of my previous weaknesses was lack of non-clinical volunteering. One of the things I refused to do was volunteer at a soup kitchen even though that's what every single person said on here lol. I thought it was cliche, didn't seem like a meaningful activity to me (although I know that it's an amazing service, and it truly does help people), and knew that I wouldn't have enjoyed it. So had I done the soup kitchen, I probably would be in OP's position right now lol.

Thankfully, I found the Special Olympics which I LOVE. I will do it in med school no doubt, and I actually enjoy being there. Unfortunately, because there's SO much that applicants have to do, you're bound to do things you don't like.
 
MrTruck said:
You'll see these same types in medicine.

"You want to leave academia just to go into private practice and didn't really care about your research output? Ick."
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Yup--they're the ones who use the MD/PhD path to get the free tuition and stipend, then drop out of the PhD track and head straight to a high-paying specialty. Bottom line: If you're not honest and only care about yourself, please go away. There are plenty of deserving applicants who actually care about other people.
 
magician7772222 said:
I have some projected hours but are there any real consequences to quitting if I already secured an A? I for sure won't be reapplying, therefore leaving on good terms with the volunteer coordinator shouldn't be an issue right?
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It depends on what you consider to be consequences. Your acceptance will not be rescinded, if that's all your concerned about.

If you haven't made any sort of formal commitment to the volunteering activity, and you're just ghosting, then no, there aren't any real consequences for that, either. If it's not really your thing and they aren't expecting you, then by all means, drop out.

If you have made a commitment and you are considering not honoring it, then the consequences of that depend on you. I don't remember most of the countless hours I have spent in my life doing things I don't really enjoy. I do, however, remember many of the times when I have been a jagoff and let others down. In retrospect it would have been much easier to simply follow through on my responsibilities and saved myself decades of pondering my failures as a younger person.

But, you do you.
 
LunaOri said:
Yup--they're the ones who use the MD/PhD path to get the free tuition and stipend, then drop out of the PhD track and head straight to a high-paying specialty. Bottom line: If you're not honest and only care about yourself, please go away. There are plenty of deserving applicants who actually care about other people.
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Eh, as someone who's gotten accepted into med school I'll admit that money played a large factor in my decision making.

It's very rare for someone to find some career that they are super duper passionate about. I enjoyed my time working with patients, and I saw through shadowing that I could tolerate the work-life of a physician. Beyond that, I could easily see myself going into Engineering or Comp Sci but those job markets are simply volatile.

Pretending salary and job security aren't major factors most pre-meds are after is just a delusion.
 
MrTruck said:
Eh, as someone who's gotten accepted into med school I'll admit that money played a large factor in my decision making.

It's very rare for someone to find some career that they are super duper passionate about. I enjoyed my time working with patients, and I saw through shadowing that I could tolerate the work-life of a physician. Beyond that, I could easily see myself going into Engineering or Comp Sci but those job markets are simply volatile.

Pretending salary and job security aren't major factors most pre-meds are after is just a delusion.
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You are truly wise beyond your years. Please grace us with more of your wisdom.
 
magician7772222 said:
I have some projected hours but are there any real consequences to quitting if I already secured an A? I for sure won't be reapplying, therefore leaving on good terms with the volunteer coordinator shouldn't be an issue right?
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LunaOri said:
It was the implication that it was okay to leave on bad terms with the volunteer coordinator that left a bad taste for me.
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I choose to read the message charitably as "I will attempt to leave on good terms", not "I am okay with leaving on bad terms".

As long as you haven't made an explicit commitment that you're bailing out on, you're fine in my book. Ensure you have something you're passionate about in your life.

Black and white, either "you're here to serve others" or "you're in it for the money" false dichotomies irk me to no end. It's almost as if you're supposed to endure BS treatment because "you love the job". Speaking as a charity director, aka from the most exploitative industry sector in existence.
 
anon2 said:
I choose to read the message charitably as "I will attempt to leave on good terms", not "I am okay with leaving on bad terms".

As long as you haven't made an explicit commitment that you're bailing out on, you're fine in my book. Ensure you have something you're passionate about in your life.

Black and white, either "you're here to serve others" or "you're in it for the money" false dichotomies irk me to no end. It's almost as if you're supposed to endure BS treatment because "you love the job". Speaking as a charity director, aka from the most exploitative industry sector in existence.
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Making bank is the baseline. But there have to be things on top tof that, lest people simply get burnt out/drop out.

This pathway is one of delayed gratification, after all. Note that loose cannons always accuse everyone of "just being in it for the money." The sin of solipsism is strong in those.
 
magician7772222 said:
how do you even type this with a straight face lool
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I’ve interacted with enough dishonest medical students, residents, and attendings that I’m a little jaded.

I’m not the person who typed this out but I had the same thought unfortunately. But maybe OP is a decent human and just had some extraneous circumstances
 
How can anyone be shocked when just wanting to be a doctor, and working really hard to get to the point of even applying, is not good enough anymore. Not only do we have to be great at math and science, but nowadays we also have to write essays like Steinbeck novels too. AdComms want lyrical waxing, in endless essays with personal hard luck tales of woe and struggle because "wanting to help people" isn't good enough even though it was for decades and decades. Can't even imagine how many applicants are embellishing or simply fabricating as all heck. Many use AI and many hire ghostwriters too. Then there are the interviews (which many people practice for and even get trained and coached for so how genuine are interviews really?!) for those AdComms have deemed worthy for them to bestow one upon. Most of the time, there's no option to interview in person at all and half the time, interviews are just talking to a computer program. Even when there are some humans, it's usually a whole group thing and useless for a meaningful exchange of any kind really. Many schools ghost us completely after the fees are paid, some with the primary and some even after secondaries. There are even a few schools out there where you have no idea, or way to check, if they even got your file materials and secondary except for the fact your credit card payment to them went through so it is possible your file is complete. I have seen some weasle bags, phonies, tankers and cheaters being rewarded by AdComms all over the place, for months now too. The profession already has faced some credibility hits in society in general, and knowing how this admissions process is, plus the fact that there are not even sufficient residencies after all this hoop jumping and heartache, I can't even imagine what the future holds for the profession.
 
Don’t forget how this process is made for the upper middle - upper class. Not everyone has the luxury of working for free and it not affecting them negatively. The hidden requirement of volunteering can exclude those that we need most in medicine. If you’re on this forum and older, I can assume it’s been a long time since you’ve been close with someone who’s low-income and relies on Medicaid. Virtue signaling to the max. I’d love to hear about all the altruism and volunteering you do. Is it really about helping people to you? Or is about tearing people down and bullying them? That’s what I’d really like to know. Your lack of charitability makes me assume it’s the latter.
 
L-Tex-Oma said:
How can anyone be shocked when just wanting to be a doctor, and working really hard to get to the point of even applying, is not good enough anymore. Not only do we have to be great at math and science, but nowadays we also have to write essays like Steinbeck novels too. AdComms want lyrical waxing, in endless essays with personal hard luck tales of woe and struggle because "wanting to help people" isn't good enough even though it was for decades and decades. Can't even imagine how many applicants are embellishing or simply fabricating as all heck. Many use AI and many hire ghostwriters too. Then there are the interviews (which many people practice for and even get trained and coached for so how genuine are interviews really?!) for those AdComms have deemed worthy for them to bestow one upon. Most of the time, there's no option to interview in person at all and half the time, interviews are just talking to a computer program. Even when there are some humans, it's usually a whole group thing and useless for a meaningful exchange of any kind really. Many schools ghost us completely after the fees are paid, some with the primary and some even after secondaries. There are even a few schools out there where you have no idea, or way to check, if they even got your file materials and secondary except for the fact your credit card payment to them went through so it is possible your file is complete. I have seen some weasle bags, phonies, tankers and cheaters being rewarded by AdComms all over the place, for months now too. The profession already has faced some credibility hits in society in general, and knowing how this admissions process is, plus the fact that there are not even sufficient residencies after all this hoop jumping and heartache, I can't even imagine what the future holds for the profession.
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What do you expect us to do when there are literally hundreds, if not even thousands of applicants for each med school seat?
 
I agree with the wise learned admins here. Character matters. If you made a commitment, honor it.

But if you don’t, it probably won’t impact your application. It may impact the organization you volunteered for however, so if you are going to stop short of your original commitment, have the courtesy to discuss it with the organization you’re volunteering for.

I volunteered for a free clinic as a pre-med. It was a pretty competitive clinic to volunteer at—you had to apply and maybe 5% or so of applicants were accepted into the training program. Because of how much time/effort the training took (it was a good 6-12 months depending on what section of the clinic you were working with), the clinic required a minimum commitment of 1 or 2 years, again depending on the clinic section.

A few folks dropped out towards the end of training, or short of their commitment. It was a huge deal because it left us short to staff the clinic, and and took so long to train replacements.

This volunteer organization took a chance on you to train you and give you experience. Have the heart to be respectful of them as well. And if they say it’s no big deal for you to leave early, then you can do so with huge care-free smile on your face.
 
One of the reasons I got involved with application reviews and interviews is so mysterious (confused when I applied and even more so when my daughter applied). It is still a puzzle since I am not in the final decisions making, but I do decide on who to interview and conduct interviews, so here is my take:
The whole application matters. It's not just what type of volunteering or research you have done but what you learned and your reflections on that experience that really matters. It's easy to tell whether the activity was just box checking or a true passion to help. If you have a lot of paid employment but limited volunteer work, I look for the reason and find that these applicants are working to support their families. The letters of recommendations also provide a lot of background information on the applicant, if the applicant had built a relationship with the LOR writer and the letter is not a generic letter (there are lots of these generic letters that people think are strong LORs but are not).
Finally, the journey the applicant took as reflected in the personal statement, secondary essays, most meaningful experiences statements and LORs is what makes the applicant a good candidate or just average candidate. It literally takes me an hour to review an application.
Yes, the medical school rat race is an onerous, soul consuming ordeal, an arms race, and seemingly unfair. But to those of you who view us as out of touch and hypocritical (@L-Tex-Oma, @hotsaucemuffin, @pdidd3), it's also unfair for you to lump all of us who are admissions faculty to the Dark Side. There are lots of us fighting for you.
My school has a large number of first generation college grads who come from very disadvantaged backgrounds (can't give you numbers, trying to stay anonymous).
 
HuskyMD Emeritus said:
One of the reasons I got involved with application reviews and interviews is so mysterious (confused when I applied and even more so when my daughter applied). It is still a puzzle since I am not in the final decisions making, but I do decide on who to interview and conduct interviews, so here is my take:
The whole application matters. It's not just what type of volunteering or research you have done but what you learned and your reflections on that experience that really matters. It's easy to tell whether the activity was just box checking or a true passion to help. If you have a lot of paid employment but limited volunteer work, I look for the reason and find that these applicants are working to support their families. The letters of recommendations also provide a lot of background information on the applicant, if the applicant had built a relationship with the LOR writer and the letter is not a generic letter (there are lots of these generic letters that people think are strong LORs but are not).
Finally, the journey the applicant took as reflected in the personal statement, secondary essays, most meaningful experiences statements and LORs is what makes the applicant a good candidate or just average candidate. It literally takes me an hour to review an application.
Yes, the medical school rat race is an onerous, soul consuming ordeal, an arms race, and seemingly unfair. But to those of you who view us as out of touch and hypocritical (@L-Tex-Oma, @hotsaucemuffin, @pdidd3), it's also unfair for you to lump all of us who are admissions faculty to the Dark Side. There are lots of us fighting for you.
My school has a large number of first generation college grads who come from very disadvantaged backgrounds (can't give you numbers, trying to stay anonymous).
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Appreciated. It also shouldn't be considered negatively by Adcomms when applicants have been blessed/lucky to have come from hard working middle class homes where they will also need to take some loans and don't just get to shadow parents' friends or whatever everyone assumes. We're not any less worthy because we have had basically good health and lack scintillating tales for Adcomms on why we choose this path instead of law or business or graduate programs or anything else. Sometimes, a person just knows what they want to do. Instead, we get emoji eye rolls rather than "good point to think about." I know great, smart people who have just tossed in the towel because two wrongs do not make a right and they want to be applicants and not supplicants. The virtue signaling stinks and helps no one, except maybe the med malpractice lawyers down the road... many of whom probably once were thinking about med school only to realize they are not really wanted and it's all pretty dysfunctional anyway. Even in the application phase, there are literally med schools that send out A emails to people and then follow up the same day (or even down the road) that it was in error, with zero consequences to the schools but emotional toll, or detrimental reliance, for the poor applicants. It's disgraceful how lives are played with.
 
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I don't know how this thread got derailed, but I can say this:

1) let the volunteer coordinator know with enough time to adjust if needed

2) leaving your volunteer position should not impact your acceptance

3) there is enough concern about quiet quitting and genZ lack of professionalism that what you are hearing from faculty has gravitas

4) medical school admissions involves game play and unfortunately if you don't like the inconsistency and hypocrites you see in the process, just wait until they grade your preclinical or clinical performance or have your career in their hands or pens. It's not an excuse to perpetuate systemic barriers, and many people are working to break them down behind the scenes (including giving some help or mentoring, see SDN Scholarship). It is different in degrees in other admissions processes (dental, vetmed, pod, opt, etc.), but it is to easy to be distracted by other premeds who think they know the process after one acceptance.

Those of us in admissions should and do root for every applicant, especially if they have shown themselves to be prepared and ready for the next phase of their lives.
 
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L-Tex-Oma said:
Appreciated. It also shouldn't be considered negatively by Adcomms when applicants have been blessed/lucky to have come from hard working middle class homes where they will also need to take some loans and don't just get to shadow parents' friends or whatever everyone assumes. We're not any less worthy because we have had basically good health and lack scintillating tales for Adcomms on why we choose this path instead of law or business or graduate programs or anything else.
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At my school, the students often have better cars than we faculty.

We don't hold it against them and frankly, we like having our students here, no matter what economic strata they come from!

It's well known that many doctor's kids become doctor's themselves.
 
Um but don’t you like serving the community? I’m sorry if your circumstances limit you to continue service work at this time. Either way, congratulations on your acceptance!
 
hotsaucemuffin said:
Don’t forget how this process is made for the upper middle - upper class. Not everyone has the luxury of working for free and it not affecting them negatively. The hidden requirement of volunteering can exclude those that we need most in medicine. If you’re on this forum and older, I can assume it’s been a long time since you’ve been close with someone who’s low-income and relies on Medicaid. Virtue signaling to the max. I’d love to hear about all the altruism and volunteering you do. Is it really about helping people to you? Or is about tearing people down and bullying them? That’s what I’d really like to know. Your lack of charitability makes me assume it’s the latter.
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Who do you think is bullying you? And why do you think older physicians and adcoms don’t volunteer?
 
LunaOri said:
Who do you think is bullying you? And why do you think older physicians and adcoms don’t volunteer?
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There are plenty of admissions committee members, if not actual admissions Deans who are volunteering their time here on student doctor, trying to help pre-meds become meds.

We're definitely not administrators! We work for a living! We teach medical students
 
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