I am fairly new to SDN & have been wondering what EC's are abbreviated for since I have seen it one many threads. What do medical schools like to see with EC's and how closely do they look at them?
EC's
- Thread starter sfinne3
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EC=extracurricular activities. These are looked at very closely, and would be the non-classroom experiences you have while in college: work, volunteering, shadowing doctors, clinical experience, research, teaching, leadership, Arts involvement, sports, and hobbies are examples.
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They're used by the adcoms to tell what kind of person you are pre-interview. Grades and scores don't convey if you're sympathetic to people's plight, that you're a leader, or that you have the stuff to get the job down when the pressure is on. Everyone has good grades and high MCAT scores. It's the EC's that make you stand apart but keep in mind you first need the good grade and high MCAT scores haha.
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I like to refer to ECs as the heart of the application while MCAT and GPA are the brain.
You should try to get patient contact experiences that can contribute to your overall knowledge of what being a healthcare professional is. You need to see how to help others and try and give as much help as you can.
Clinical volunteering where you get actual patient contact is the most important to me unless you have a job where you get patient contact.
Shadowing is important...research, tutoring, leadership, etc. are also things to think about.
Non-med volunteering is also very good....like feeding the poor.
You should try to get patient contact experiences that can contribute to your overall knowledge of what being a healthcare professional is. You need to see how to help others and try and give as much help as you can.
Clinical volunteering where you get actual patient contact is the most important to me unless you have a job where you get patient contact.
Shadowing is important...research, tutoring, leadership, etc. are also things to think about.
Non-med volunteering is also very good....like feeding the poor.
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I would not put that on a resume but I would put it on AMCAS....
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by AMCAS they mean the primary application you send in when you apply to medical school. Yes, shadowing is considered a valuable clinical experience but it cannot replace regular volunteering where you've made a commitment of a certain number of hours per week for a year or more which shows commitment and dedication.
