Does the summer before college count?

[BeastfromthEast]

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so if i do volunteer work the summer before college, does it count towards volunteer hours towards med school admissions?

 

[Winged Scapula]

AFAIK, medical schools don't require volunteer work, so any hours that you put in can safely be put on your application. I think the summer before undergrad is fine.

 

[swamprat]

I'd honestly wait, you got 4 years of college, 3 of which can be devoted to volunteering/shadowing/research/good grades/drinking ... I know its exciting to start out, but its a long process and I would strongly suggest you enjoy your last real summer of freedom. I'll be honest with you, although summer break in college is good, my summers pre-college were 200x better - no one worked any serious jobs and there was no responsibility, so people would hang out all week long, graduation parties that lasted almost until the start of freshmen year etc. Once you start freshmen year, try and pull A's obviously and then once you have a handle on the change of life style college brings, start volunteering. I didn't start until after freshmen year, and I got in straight outta college.

edit: to add, you probably could throw it on your AMCAS application, but a lot of people including my college advisors said that anything you did before college is nice, but should not really be emphasized in a personal statement, activities etc.

 

[docB]

edit: to add, you probably could throw it on your AMCAS application, but a lot of people including my college advisors said that anything you did before college is nice, but should not really be emphasized in a personal statement, activities etc.

Did they say why? Why would activities in August matter less that the same activity in September?

 

[MilkmanAl]

AFAIK, medical schools don't require volunteer work

They also don't require clinical experience, good grades, a strong MCAT score, rec letters from people who don't want you to to die as soon as possible, a personal statement that says more than "Let me in!" or any of the other fun hoops schools throw at you, either. However, I think it's fair to say that unless you have an exceptionally strong reason for not accumulating any volunteerism, that omission will be a gigantic strike against you.

OP, go ahead and do your volunteering whenever. As long as you're done with high school, slap that stuff on your app.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

OP, i basically did the same thing right after i graduated. I went into volunteering for a hospital. Yes it should count but you should make the effort to continue. For example, i started volunteering right after HS but as i continued it led to better opportunities (like research).

Also it will help to think about it in terms of experience rather than hours. No point in volunteering for X hours if you really don't enjoy it as much as you would enjoy doing something else.

 

[swamprat]

Did they say why? Why would activities in August matter less that the same activity in September?

I'm honestly not really sure, but I got that from multiple advisers when I was filling out my amcas about including activities I had done (but not continued with which could be the key point) the summer before freshmen year of college.

 

[Vicviper]

As long as it's something meaningful, and something you'll hopefully continue doing, go for it. If it's just going to be you doing a one day beach cleanup, not so much.

 

[ItzYaYa]

Aside from resume building, it really doesn't matter when it comes to applying for med school.

 

[GoronMD]

Milkman said it.

They don't care to hear about anything in high school. The summer after is not part of high school.

I would highly recommend doing something medical related during this summer. Don't go overboard to the point to where it turns you off to medicine. I asked a surgeon in my town if i could be a part of his team, his son was my best friend, and he let me. I didn't get paid, but that was what helped me to nail my interview.

So yea, check out the medical field. Get a little job at a clinic or something to see if it is what you want to do. If it is, it'll motivate you to start off your freshman year making A's. I started off making D's and F's because I had absolutely no motivation.

Good luck