Do ECs matter?

[acretinmelon]

Lately I have been throwing my heart and soul into starting an independent newspaper on campus. I am heavily involved in a couple of groups, and I have been offered (not accepted) executive positions in all of them.

Am I screwing myself? I am not really prepared to sacrifice my ECs in favor of grades even though I'm sure if I dropped some things my grades would improve. I'm not in horrible shape but I'm definitely not doing my future applications any favors. I can probably pull off a 3.5, give or take a tenth this semester.

Basically--I know grades are TOP PRIORITY, but will the ECs help me at all? Or are they just destroying any chance I ever had by dragging down my GPA?

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[tBw]

GPA is key. You need ECs but they are things you do on top of your academic work, they will rarely compensate significantly, and med schools want to see that you can do *both*. If your ECs are so significant they affect your GPA you are over-committing yourself and that is not something med schools will necessarily look favorably on. Do not over-reach your time and abilities.

 

[Desdemona]

EC's DEFINITELY help a lot!!!

 

[djwdv]

grades are a priority.. don't overdo the ec's at the sacrifice of your grades. if you're pretty sure you can drop a few ec's and bring the B's up to A's, then do so. but also pick a couple ec's and leadership positions you really have a passion and drive for. that will look terrific on an app with the better grades. ec's definitely helped my app - overall science gpa only 3.49 or so.. undergrad science 3.0 and post-bac 3.97 w/ definite upward trend in undergrad for all grades (not just science); had 8 out of 10 schools i applied to request secondaries definitely not from my overall science gpa!

 

[UCLAstudent]

Grades are more important. Good ECs can help, but think about it. Almost anyone can spend time doing lots of ECs, even people with poor GPAs. Not everyone can get good grades. Even fewer people are able to do both. I would focus more on your GPA. Good luck!

 

[heelshmeel]

my $0.02 -

I would say that if you want to go to a top 10 school, then both GPA and EC's matter....

however, if you want to go to schools that fall below the top 10, your grades are most important... EC's are important because they add to the character of your application (but the grades are most important)

 

[Bob Dole]

If you don't have a decent gpa and mcat score, your EC's won't do much for you no matter how amazing they are. But if you and another applicant have similar gpa/mcat and your EC's are better, you're gonna get in. That's about it.

 

[medicine2006]

Originally posted by heelshmeel
my $0.02 -

I would say that if you want to go to a top 10 school, then both GPA and EC's matter....

however, if you want to go to schools that fall below the top 10, your grades are most important... EC's are important because they add to the character of your application (but the grades are most important)

I'll say top 20 because I know UCLA maybe ranked 13th or 14th but ECs mean a lot to them because there are just too many Cali kids with great GPA's.

 

[nero]

Originally posted by medicine2006
I'll say top 20 because I know UCLA maybe ranked 13th or 14th but ECs mean a lot to them because there are just too many Cali kids with great GPA's.

exactly, they want people with great ECs and great GPAs

nero

 

[Lactic Folly]

thought from premed101.com that I thought made sense:

It's easier to add EC's onto your application than pull up a low GPA.