Extracurricular activity suggestions?

[jbkyoon]

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I'm currently a 4th year undergrad, and I'll probably be graduating this fall.

But I've been really concerned with my lack of EC's throughout my undergrad career, because I've always been preoccupied with keeping my GPA up (currently a 3.92 overall, 3.97 science). Recently I got kicked out of a hospital volunteer program after doing about 30 hours since I skipped too many days, and now I'm really worried about how this is going to affect me.

I've only done research for about a year or so, but then I quit because it genuinely did not interest me. I've done some club activities here and there, but my hours probably barely amount to anything. The most meaningful volunteer experience I've had thus far was going overseas to Malawi for one summer and shadowing the doctors there. It was actually quite enriching and interesting, especially because I was already very interested in AIDS/global health. I'll probably be going there again this summer.

I'm at least planning on TA-ing during my last 3 quarters, and I've signed up to volunteer at a Planned Parenthood clinic to see if that's any more interesting than sitting around at a hospital checking the expiration dates on items. I'll probably take a year or two off after graduating so that I can take the MCAT and find something else that will help my resume. Any ideas on what I should do? Medical scribe? EMT? Tutoring kids? Find another hospital and rack up 500 hours of doing nothing?

I'm not sure what to do about my lack of research hours either at this point, since none of the professors I asked at the beginning of the year wanted some crusty, old 4th year.

 

[rilte4]

I'm currently a 4th year undergrad, and I'll probably be graduating this fall.

But I've been really concerned with my lack of EC's throughout my undergrad career, because I've always been preoccupied with keeping my GPA up (currently a 3.92 overall, 3.97 science). Recently I got kicked out of a hospital volunteer program after doing about 30 hours since I skipped too many days, and now I'm really worried about how this is going to affect me.

I've only done research for about a year or so, but then I quit because it genuinely did not interest me. I've done some club activities here and there, but my hours probably barely amount to anything. The most meaningful volunteer experience I've had thus far was going overseas to Malawi for one summer and shadowing the doctors there. It was actually quite enriching and interesting, especially because I was already very interested in AIDS/global health. I'll probably be going there again this summer.

I'm at least planning on TA-ing during my last 3 quarters, and I've signed up to volunteer at a Planned Parenthood clinic to see if that's any more interesting than sitting around at a hospital checking the expiration dates on items. I'll probably take a year or two off after graduating so that I can take the MCAT and find something else that will help my resume. Any ideas on what I should do? Medical scribe? EMT? Tutoring kids? Find another hospital and rack up 500 hours of doing nothing?

I'm not sure what to do about my lack of research hours either at this point, since none of the professors I asked at the beginning of the year wanted some crusty, old 4th year.

Commitment issues?

The premed life isn't glamorous. Many volunteer/research gigs involve doing things you find uninteresting. But they're the hoops we have to jump through.

 

[jbkyoon]

Commitment issues?

The premed life isn't glamorous. Many volunteer/research gigs involve doing things you find uninteresting. But they're the hoops we have to jump through.

I guess you could say that? I usually prioritized studying over wasting 4 hours of doing literally nothing at a hospital that was a 13 mile drive away.

It's pretty ironic how med schools want to see applicants with meaningful experiences but you also have to do mundane tasks x, y, and z regardless of how useless they are to one's personal growth, just because everyone else does them to pad their resumes. I guess I'll look for a more local hospital and pray they don't have the same stupid "Walk around and look for stuff to do" volunteer regime.

 

[Premedgirl27]

I guess you could say that? I usually prioritized studying over wasting 4 hours of doing literally nothing at a hospital that was a 13 mile drive away.

It's pretty ironic how med schools want to see applicants with meaningful experiences but you also have to do mundane tasks x, y, and z regardless of how useless they are to one's personal growth, just because everyone else does them to pad their resumes. I guess I'll look for a more local hospital and pray they don't have the same stupid "Walk around and look for stuff to do" volunteer regime.

Just keep looking until you find something that interests you! I quit two volunteer positions in the past after about 20 hours because I found it uninteresting and unfulfilling and I wasn't happy there.

I looked harder and became more picky with the places I applied to. I asked them questions during the interview instead of just trying to suck up to get the position. I found a volunteer position that is aligned with my interests as well as the population I would like to work with in the future.

I am not the type to do something to "check boxes". You need to find a good fit, and a place you enjoy. I have now been at the same place for two years and look forward to my shifts instead of dreading it like I did previous places.

Nobody cares that you got kicked out of the volunteer program- look elsewhere. But first examine your own interests. Do you want to work with children, patients with certain diseases, homeless, etc? Are you interested in EM, patient advocacy, critical care, etc? Figure that out and run with it and you will be happy while fulfilling the med school requirements.

If you have an attitude and are straight up not interested in volunteering however, nobody can help you.

Ps- obviously don't include that place on your resume...

 

[Rainbow Zebra]

I guess you could say that? I usually prioritized studying over wasting 4 hours of doing literally nothing at a hospital that was a 13 mile drive away.

It's pretty ironic how med schools want to see applicants with meaningful experiences but you also have to do mundane tasks x, y, and z regardless of how useless they are to one's personal growth, just because everyone else does them to pad their resumes. I guess I'll look for a more local hospital and pray they don't have the same stupid "Walk around and look for stuff to do" volunteer regime.

I basically only did TA and research during undergrad, and like you, wasted time "volunteering" at a local ED. I kept my grades up (GPA 3.95). During gap year, I volunteered at Habitat for Humanity, which is great fun, and you actually do something for your local community. I also worked for 2 years in the ED as a scribe, which I have learned a lot, and I am now a chief scribe. I was able to study for MCAT after undergrad, continue my research for another year, and get my ECs up which were more than competitive. I've been very pleased with the final outcome, though there were times of stress during this cycle. No one says you need to do it all concurrently. Spread it out, but it will mean taking a gap year or 2. Best wishes to you.