Coaching as an EC?

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bigboi123

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Going into my second year at an Ontario University. Assuming a 3.9+ GPA and 125+ across all sections of the MCAT, what would my chances be like with the following ECs

-100 hrs (1 summer) hospital volunteering (leading patients through exercises primarily/helping them with whatever)
-3 years of coaching competitive youth volleyball (13U, 14U, 15U)
-Pre Medical Society: 1st year general member/2nd year VP communications/3rd year VP something else or President/ 4th year same as 3rd
-2 summers UofT Camp counsellor (paid)
-6 Summers as a Camp counsellor for a camp for underprivileged children, basically kids from the hood, it was a camp I once went to (volunteer)
-3 years as a Seasonal sales associate with Abercrombie & Fitch

What are my chances/should i try and get research in there somewhere?

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Your ECs are good (try to get shadowing for US schools), but you're way too early in the journey for anyone to say what your chances are. If you got a 3.9+ in 1st year that's great, now do it 3 more times and you'll have the GPA both for Canada and the US. You likely haven't even completed some of the classes the MCAT is based on, so any assumption about how you'd do on it isn't helpful.

You're on the right path though, just keep doing what you're doing. You have a lot of time to keep building on your ECs, all the coaching/counsellor/hospital stuff is great (keep in mind that the stuff that happened when you were in HS isn't that useful except to show long-term commitment). After another year or two, and with your actual MCAT score, that's when you should start thinking about your chances at different schools. Unless you really want to dump a huge amount of money, you may not even need to apply to the states.
 
I agree, those EC's look great. And with a GPA like that, and a good MCAT score, you would be competitive applicant. However, a lot can happen in 3 years, and everything is easier said than done.
Just keep aiming for those goals, keep working on the clinical volunteer work, add some research experience, shadow, and make sure you take the time to prepare for the MCAT when the time comes.
 
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Coaching is great. Why not try to continue the volunteering though? If you're only going into 2nd year, you have at least one more summer (if you're applying in Canada during 3rd year) and 2 if you apply in your 4th year.
 
Thanks for the feedback everyone, it really helps!

This was basically my projection of what I would have done going into my 3rd/4th year if I kept my commitments and didn't gain any new ones (research etc.)

I plan on writing my mcat next summer, so I'll have to iron out what I do and don't have time for! For perspective, I only do Pre-med VP and coaching during the year. My major long term commitment was the Camp for kids from government housing.

For those interested, here's what I actually have done thus far (hoping to add research before I apply, but if not I won't die)

-100 hrs (1 summer) hospital volunteering (leading patients through exercises primarily/helping them with whatever)
-Pre Medical Society: 1st year general member/2nd year VP communications (upcoming)
-1 Summer UofT Camp Counsellor (paid)
-4 summers as Camp Counsellor for underprivileged children (volunteer)
-2 years as a Sale Associate for Abercrombie & Fitch
-Upcoming 13U volleyball coach this september
 
If you plan on taking the MCAT next summer, then you should expect to begin studying as early as February. That gives you 4 months until the June MCAT.
MCAT prep requires A LOT of your time, so if you are going to prep during spring semester, make sure you have enough time to bed able to study AND maintain a high GPA.
If you want more advice on how many hours a day/week is best to prepare, just search it. There are plenty of threads on here that mention it.

As previously mentioned by @NotASerialKiller, what you have accomplished in high school is irrelevant unless you continued into college. So continue what you are doing and you should be fine in that department. If you want more clinical volunteer work, look for a volunteer gig at a local hospital that allows you to volunteer for 2-4 hours a week. Don't be afraid to look for shadowing opportunities early, because it can take some time to find a physician to shadow if you don't already have connections. Also, if you plan on doing research (which isn't required at all schools, but is highly recommended), talk to your professors and see if you can participate in the project during the year, since it looks like you are usually pretty busy during the summer.

Remember, you don't have to do all of this at once, you could spend this next year focusing on clinical volunteer work and studying for the MCAT, and maybe next year look for some research to do during junior and senior year. You have plenty of time, and you are already farther ahead in EC's than most people finishing their freshman year (You are much farther than I was my freshman year, that's for sure), so great job so far!

Just never forget that your GPA comes first. If you see that your grades are slipping, figure out what EC you can do without so that you can have more time for your studies. Don't bite more than you can chew.
 
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