Extracurricular Activity/ Community Service

[tesfawMD]

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Hello guys,

Right now I am finishing my last year at a California community college, and I have applied to about 6 UC's for this upcoming fall. I basically have no extracurricular/community service/volunteer experience except for the time I spent volunteering at a community services agency last summer (for about a month and a half). I know I behind in this area and wanted to know if I have enough time to build a substantial extracurricular/volunteering body of work, if so how early should I start. My question to you guys is what kind of stuff should I be looking for. I really want to get out there but don't know where to look except for the usual hospital volunteering. I am willing to look into all avenues preferably unique enough to stand out on an application.

Thank you in advance

 

[SparkleMotion]

Hello guys,

Right now I am finishing my last year at a California community college, and I have applied to about 6 UC's for this upcoming fall. I basically have no extracurricular/community service/volunteer experience except for the time I spent volunteering at a community services agency last summer (for about a month and a half). I know I behind in this area and wanted to know if I have enough time to build a substantial extracurricular/volunteering body of work, if so how early should I start. My question to you guys is what kind of stuff should I be looking for. I really want to get out there but don't know where to look except for the usual hospital volunteering. I am willing to look into all avenues preferably unique enough to stand out on an application.

Thank you in advance

Any kind of community service, any leadership experience, research, and clinical experience.

 

[alexlex143]

for clinical experience, you could try looking into volunteering at free clinics or in emergency rooms. If you plan on attending UC Berkeley, there's a free clinic in the city that's taking applications right now for volunteering as a medic or as a lab technician. The training is free, but they have some commitment requirements. The LA area has lots of programs to work as scribes. You just have to look for opportunities. They aren't going to throw themselves at you.

for volunteering, you could go pretty much anywhere or do anything. Pick something that interests you and something that you will find meaningful. I'm thinking the adcoms will appreciate volunteer experience that meant something to you, even if it was only for a short period of time, as opposed to volunteering that did nothing for you but help accumulate hours.

This summer's research programs are probably taking applications now, so you want to look for those. If you do a search here, you could find some good websites that'll give you more info.

You also should try to shadow some physicians to get a better idea of what you're getting yourself into.

If you start now and really commit, I'm sure you could build a strong background of ECs. You should definitely start now though.

 

[bravofleet4]

When you find out which UC you end up going to I would start investigating then. You can also post here and I'm sure someone from the area can give you a heads-up. Until then it's premature to consider any hospitals or clinics you especially want to work at as it just might be too far away. At any of the UC's, though, I think you should find many opportunities for research. That in itself can be a big thing if you're willing to put in the hard work and time. Not many pre-med's have a publication. If you're transferring, then I would imagine you're going to apply 2 years from now in your senior year? I would maybe wait a quarter or semester to adjust yourself to the setting of a 4-year university before getting heavily involved in EC's. For some people, the change is startling. In the meantime, why don't you just pick up a non-med EC like a hobby you've always wanted to explore. Med schools look for these as well b/c they tell them what kind of interests you have and how well-rounded you are.