Do I need more substantial EC's

[duhyesorduhno]

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Recently, I've been thinking about my EC's and I think they're kinda lackluster:

Honors Program Member; was instrumental in winning our school a trophy at a national event-throughout undergrad

A little clinical volunteering (I need more)- less than a few months

Chemistry Club- throughout undergrad

A service organization at my school which mentors kids- a few months

Youth Center Volunteer- a few years

No research (don't know if its necessary as I intend to apply to state schools?)

Should I beef up my EC's or am I okay?

 

[sunflower18]

Recently, I've been thinking about my EC's and I think they're kinda lackluster:

Honors Program Member; was instrumental in winning our school a trophy at a national event-throughout undergrad

A little clinical volunteering (I need more)- less than a few months

Chemistry Club- throughout undergrad

A service organization at my school which mentors kids- a few months

Youth Center Volunteer- a few years

No research (don't know if its necessary as I intend to apply to state schools?)

Should I beef up my EC's or am I okay?

Research wouldn't hurt, but it's not for everyone. You definitely need more clinical exposure I would say, including shadowing. How do you know that you want to be a doctor if you haven't observed any physician interactions with patients? I know some schools basically require shadowing -- University of Washington comes to mind, requiring at least 40 hours. I would make sure to include these before applying. And I would try to get involved with more hospital or clinic volunteering, too. However, it's not all about quantity, a lot is about quality. Do you feel like you have a really strong sense of what being in the medical field is all about, and have you been around sick patients enough?

Mentoring is good, and it's great that you have a few extracurriculars that span multiple years. What did you do with Chemistry Club? Was that an involved organization, or just a group of people who like the same subject?

 

[Planes2Doc]

You forgot the shadowing. People get in to medical school with solely hospital volunteering and shadowing. You already have more than that, so you should be good. Just focus on grades and MCAT, and enjoy your life as well!

 

[BeancheBlanco]

If I were you I would not apply until I got at least another full year of research, hospital volunteering, and physician shadowing. Even if you have crazy high stats, it's foolish to have something as easy as a little volunteering be the bottleneck for the medical school options you will have.

 

[Planes2Doc]

If I were you I would not apply until I got at least another full year of research, hospital volunteering, and physician shadowing. Even if you have crazy high stats, it's foolish to have something as easy as a little volunteering be the bottleneck for the medical school options you will have.

Welcome to the twisted world of medical school admissions. 🙄