ECs-why pick the ones you did?

[cotinara]

Honestly now, when you went about going to clubs, groups, and whatnots were you going just to fill in that EC requirement void for med school or were you joining clubs that you absolutely loved and truly had nothing to do with anything remotely scientific or the med school minded route?

Just want to hear what you all have to say and see if there is any strange groups you belong to.

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[erahimy]

Honestly now, when you went about going to clubs, groups, and whatnots were you going just to fill in that EC requirement void for med school or were you joining clubs that you absolutely loved and truly had nothing to do with anything remotely scientific or the med school minded route?

Just want to hear what you all have to say and see if there is any strange groups you belong to.

I never did anything in my undergrad career with the intention of it "being good for med school." I think part of this reason was I had no clue early on how the AMCAS really looked and how it had the slot for 15 ECs or what not.

I think some of my favorites would have had to been:

Volunteering at the Soup Kitchen - I strongly advise everyone on this site to do this at least once, if you haven't done so before. You will be surprised at how fun this actually is.

VA Hospital - There is something about working with the elderly that you just don't get with all other ages of patients in this society. They are very kind, patient, grateful and forgiving people. Never before have I been thanked so much for such small gestures. Definitely somethign I never experience while working at the Bronson Methodist Hospital in the ER where you were expected to do things.

Habitat for Humanity - You can actually learn some very valuable skills that you can put to use later on in life (repair, refurnishing of your house).

 

[pratik7]

If you are looking to be well rounded for application time I would suggest having good clinical experience(not just shadowing) and try to be involved in volunteer activities that you feel is important.

For me it was working in the hospital as an anesthesia tech and volunteering at the boys and girls club in a afterschool program to keep kids off the streets. Regardless, just make sure you feel that your time/cause is worthwhile.

 

[myodana]

my EC's were all over the place. i was in the oberlin student co-operative association (osca!), hillel, the photography co-op, student theater, choir, harp lessons, journal club, and all kinds of other random stuff. i did it all because i loved it. hell, i didn't even decide to apply to med school until 4 years out of school. enjoy your time in undergrad. and if shadowing makes you happy, do it. but don't just do activities that you think will get you into med school for the hell of it, because adcoms will see right through that.

 

[cotinara]

[QUOTE erahimy ]I think part of this reason was I had no clue early on how the AMCAS really looked and how it had the slot for 15 ECs or what not. [/QUOTE]


i agree with you on this one...I was just looking at AMCAS and didn't realize the extent of ECs i needed. And while i have no clinical experience, which hopefully i wil look in to, I am having a blast doing my regular ECs at the moment.

Its just frustrating thinking now that the things i thought were fun and worth my interest are going to be scrutinized by a bunch of ppl who don't know me , may view them as silly, and play a part in my future. urg

 

[NiteOwl]

I haven't done anything yet, and I am almost a junior
I am going volunteer to tutor students who are studying for the GED this summer though. I chose it because I think that I will enjoy doing it. That and I finally get to do something where I can actually use what I have learned.

 

[eralza]

By all means, do what you find interesting!
When I was an undergrad (13 yrs ago), I spent my time with the obligatory EC's like holding an office in AED, and volunteering with the Special Olympics. However, the hobbies that I pursued after were really what set me apart. For example, I volunteered as a leader with my son's cub scout group for three years, because I was arrogant enough to think I could do it better than the other leaders (wrong, but it was a good experience anyway). I started running ultra-marathons because I was too slow to ever place in a 10K. Rather than volunteer at a hospital, I worked in pathology for 4 years. One of my interviewers asked me about my volunteer medical experience. We chuckeled a bit when I told him that I had over a decade of medical experience, but none of it was as a volunteer.
I'm convinced that the adcoms just want to see that you have taken the time to become a human being, rather than a collection of numbers, unable to relate to a patient.

 

[jeg5q]

Honestly now, when you went about going to clubs, groups, and whatnots were you going just to fill in that EC requirement void for med school or were you joining clubs that you absolutely loved and truly had nothing to do with anything remotely scientific or the med school minded route?

Just want to hear what you all have to say and see if there is any strange groups you belong to.

they were the only ones I had.