Extra Curriculars-Am I behind??

[Dr.JD.House]

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Hi guys,

So I am pretty new to the site, and before I discovered this site I was nervous for the MCAT but thought overall I was okay. But after reading some of these posts, by stress levels have increased significantly. I am curious what you guys think about my extra-curriculars....am I below average, at the norm...?

• Volunteered for the past year at two different hospitals and will continue to do so
• Student-Athlete at my school
• The president of SAAC (Student Athlete Advisory Committee) which is involved in community service
• On a board as athletic rep of Student Activity Fee Fund Review
• Work at a group home for mentally and physically challenged adults

Before coming to this page I thought that was pretty decent, but I feel like I may be a little behind other candidates, especially when the standard med application has a max of 15 Activities/Work/Experiences.
A little background: I am a third year biochemistry major. 4.0 GPA and plan on taking MCAT in July. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Kelevra]

Good, varied, and long-term ECs that both are and aren't related to medicine; shows commitment, leadership, interests and sacrifices towards your passions. That's good in my book. People have a ton of different ECs, and SDN is probably not the best place to compare (for your sanity).

Do you have any research? It's not mandatory, but if you do well on your MCAT (your GPA is kickass), you'd want to look into high tier schools as well, but remember that those schools are generally research-heavy, so having none won't be that great for you.

And not everybody uses all 15 slots. Doing so is impressive, but you can also use up a slot for awards and jobs as well, not only volunteering. Schools would rather that you have 5 or 6 meaningful, diverse, long-term, and interesting ECs, than 15 pieces of crap (eg joined a club for a month, or attended a single community service activity).

 

[Dr.JD.House]

Thanks for the advice! I am currently doing research, but this is my first semester. I have also reached out to one other organization about volunteering that would be different than the stuff at the hospitals.

 

[GodComplex]

I think your ECs look pretty decent. Not below average unless you are gunning for research heavy schools (since you didn't mention research). Use this site for guidance and try to remember that not everyone applying has the laundry list of incredible ECs that some of the applicants on here do.


Posted using SDN Mobile

 

[mr.mkitty]

I think research would be a great plus to your app! Good luck!

 

[markovchn123]

Dude, you're gonna be fine. Your ECs are pretty damn good, being an athlete is a great thing for your app. Your GPA is literally perfect. Just do good on the MCAT and you will have a great application cycle when you apply.