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Extracurricular hours
- Thread starter freezingsneezing
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While the numbers are always intriguing, you probably should do some deep introspection about these 2 questions first:
1) Why do I want to become a doctor?
2) What is the best version of a doctor I envision?
Your responses to these questions will build a foundation where you can then build your extracurriculars around it, and hours are something that follow along as a result.
The reason why I say this is because having genuine, personal answers to the above questions really helps you to do extracurriculars in a way that demonstrates a cohesive narrative about who you are and what you value, instead of having your application look like you were just crossing off a pre-med checklist. Writing a compelling application that shows who you are and clearly expresses your interests and motivations is far more important than simply having X hours in research, Y hours in volunteering and Z hours in shadowing. If you truly are a hard-working, resilient student driven to become a doctor, you will definitely have a lot of hours in every category by the time you are ready to apply.
Of course, extracurriculars are important but don't forget to also establish a study habit that works for you so you can balance your extracurriculars while maintaining high GPA, which will open many doors for you in the future.
In terms of the actual numbers, the hours you wrote in your post seem a bit ambitious but not impossible. As long as all the other components of your application is good, those numbers will definitely allow you to be competitive for even Top 20 schools. Keep in mind if you have a lot of hours, it probably makes sense to show high impact in whatever activity you did, such as publications or presentations in research, and some story about what you learned or how you closely impacted somebody else during volunteering. In fact, I would say showing impact in your activities is more important than the absolute number of hours spent in the activities.
1) Why do I want to become a doctor?
2) What is the best version of a doctor I envision?
Your responses to these questions will build a foundation where you can then build your extracurriculars around it, and hours are something that follow along as a result.
The reason why I say this is because having genuine, personal answers to the above questions really helps you to do extracurriculars in a way that demonstrates a cohesive narrative about who you are and what you value, instead of having your application look like you were just crossing off a pre-med checklist. Writing a compelling application that shows who you are and clearly expresses your interests and motivations is far more important than simply having X hours in research, Y hours in volunteering and Z hours in shadowing. If you truly are a hard-working, resilient student driven to become a doctor, you will definitely have a lot of hours in every category by the time you are ready to apply.
Of course, extracurriculars are important but don't forget to also establish a study habit that works for you so you can balance your extracurriculars while maintaining high GPA, which will open many doors for you in the future.
In terms of the actual numbers, the hours you wrote in your post seem a bit ambitious but not impossible. As long as all the other components of your application is good, those numbers will definitely allow you to be competitive for even Top 20 schools. Keep in mind if you have a lot of hours, it probably makes sense to show high impact in whatever activity you did, such as publications or presentations in research, and some story about what you learned or how you closely impacted somebody else during volunteering. In fact, I would say showing impact in your activities is more important than the absolute number of hours spent in the activities.
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Here's what the wise LizzyM had to say, and she's at a school in the stratosphere:
If you have more than 300 hours of non-clinical volunteering by the time you apply you will be in the top 25% of applicants with regard to community service (based on what I see). The tip top of the pyramid are those who do a full-time volunteerism during a gap year or two (Peace Corps, City Year, etc).
Clinical... top 25% of the pool have employment in a clinical setting: EMT, scribe, patient care technician (aide). The hours don't matter... it is going to be hundreds of hours if you even work full-time for a few weeks.
The proportion of top applicants who have a publication or a thesis is relatively low -- maybe <20% if you include undergrad thesis. Publications? Less than 5% have anything in a reputable peer reviewed journal.
Most applicants have neither a thesis or a publication after 2 years of lab work during undergrad.
To stand out in the top tier, seriously, you need to be in the top 2% in terms of MCAT and have an excellent GPA. Beyond that, if you have the minimum in all areas and stand out in one or two areas (research, clinical, service, leadership, life experience) you'll be fine.
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I have top tier ECs (>300 hrs non-clinical volunteering, 250 hrs of clinical volunteering, 5100 hrs research, a publication, 5 posters). However, my GPA / MCAT is mediocre (Lizzy M: 67). ORM / disadvantaged.
Should I bother applying to T-20 schools?
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Nope. You will be crowded out by much stronger candidates
D
deleted1064759
They want stats + ECs, with emphasis on stats.
