Enough ECs/what to do with extra year?

[mdmdt]

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So, my ECs (including some paid work) to date...

Long-term stuff:
-Freelance web designer (10 years)
-Regional/community theatre performer (13 years)
-Flutist (9 years)

Freshman year:
-Member of student resident association, hall government (1 year)
-Tutor in psychology, English comp (1 year)
-Intern at America Online (summer)

Sophomore year:
-Performer in peer health advocacy group (1 year)
-RA in clinical psych lab (6 months)
-Notetaker for students w/ hearing impairments (1 year)
-Web designer for university international programs dep't (1 year)

Junior year (abroad):
-Secretary of international student coalition (1 year)
-Volunteer in student health center (1 year)



And plans for the future...

Senior/super senior years:
-As much shadowing as possible, hopefully w/ an obstetrician, pediatrician and/or a neonatologist (200 hours?)
-4 hrs/wk volunteer in ER (1 year? 2 years? dunno)
-RA in brain electrophysiology lab (2 years)
-Notetaker for students w/ hearing impairments (2 more years)


Is this going to be enough? Does it look like I'm jumping around and therefore immature and noncommital?

Also, I think it's in my best interest to take a year off so that I can take the MCAT once I've finished all my science pre-reqs and have enough BCPM grades to show the adcoms. I'm planning on using this time to fill in the holes in my ECs (and make some money). Any suggestions on an activity that would be interesting, look good on an app, and pay?

 

[cgscribe]

So, my ECs (including some paid work) to date...

Long-term stuff:
-Freelance web designer (10 years)
-Regional/community theatre performer (13 years)
-Flutist (9 years)

Hopefully you have something worthwhile here and some sort of accomplishments, otherwise, these won't really mean anything for your app. I'm assuming since you've been doing it so long you can express the passion in your PS or interviews.


Freshman year:
-Member of student resident association, hall government (1 year)
-Tutor in psychology, English comp (1 year)
-Intern at America Online (summer)

Not to be mean, but these are all pretty meaningless.

Sophomore year:
-Performer in peer health advocacy group (1 year)
-RA in clinical psych lab (6 months)
-Notetaker for students w/ hearing impairments (1 year)
-Web designer for university international programs dep't (1 year)

Research is good, but 6 months, I'm guessing not much was done during that time. Long term research is good, and can be productive as well. Not sure about the peer health thing, sounds interesting.

Junior year (abroad)
-Secretary of international student coalition (1 year)
-Volunteer in student health center (1 year)

Abroad is cool, but the secretary position means little. Not sure what you did as a volunteer, but if you were actually involved in healthcare, that's a nice little EC.

And plans for the future...

Senior/super senior years:
-As much shadowing as possible, hopefully w/ an obstetrician, pediatrician and/or a neonatologist (200 hours?)
-4 hrs/wk volunteer in ER (1 year? 2 years? dunno)
-RA in brain electrophysiology lab (2 years)
-Notetaker for students w/ hearing impairments (2 more years)

Shadowing is meaningless unless you take something worthwhile from it (strong affirmation of pursuing medicine, good clinical experience, good connections, etc.). Not sure what the volunteer work in ER is spent doing, but if it's just stocking robes and towels, means very little. Research is good like I said, and if you stick with it 2 years and publish that's your best EC by far.

Is this going to be enough? Does it look like I'm jumping around and therefore immature and noncommital?

I've got to admit when I looked through this list, I thought, you should nail down a couple hardcore commitments and stick with them. Right now, it feels like you're just resume padding, and most of the stuff isn't that impressive to begin with. I'd stick with the research, pick a couple of the activities you're most passionate about and just stick with them.

Also, I think it's in my best interest to take a year off so that I can take the MCAT once I've finished all my science pre-reqs and have enough BCPM grades to show the adcoms. I'm planning on using this time to fill in the holes in my ECs (and make some money). Any suggestions on an activity that would be interesting, look good on an app, and pay?

That's a personal decision, plenty of people take MCAT while taking classes, but whatever you feel wil benefit you most is good. You don't need more EC's, you just need to stick with some and show commitment and long-term passion. Paid research is an option if you're at a school that has those opportunities.

 

[mdmdt]

Yeah, I can see how they might look like resume padding. The truth is that for most of my college career I've just doing been whatever sounded interesting to me, I wasn't really thinking about medical school or anything else, and the reason that I couldn't do them longer was that I've been at a different school for each year of my undergraduate career (originally went to a school across the country on a scholarship, then transferred to a public school near home because my mom got sick, then went abroad).

The shadowing will all be in areas that I'm really interested in pursuing and with doctors I want to see in action. I'm not 100% sure what the ER volunteering will entail because it's a program set up through my school's pre-med society so hopefully it will be relevant in some way.

 

[mdmdt]

any other thoughts...? 🙁