Extracurriculars & Summer Activities

[Masha]

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What kind of extra curricular activities are the best for a pre-med applicant?
Obviously, some sort of clinical experience- volunteering in a hospital, research- that sorta thing. But how do med schools feel about applicants who are involved in sports or music? I'm in high school now (will be entering college in fall 2006) and I'm heavily into music and musical thearter. I play piano, sing and act and I'm not about to give those up. They're my love's and they keep me sane! lol. In addition, I'll most likely be doing crew in college. These sorts of activities are very time consuming and important to me.. how do med schools look upon such activities? Do u think they'd make me stand out as an applicant?

Also, obviously summer's should be spent doing something worthwhile. What specifically could pre-med students do during their summer? Research, internship, volunteering? But what kind of stuff? does it necessarily have to be science related? Can it be just volunteering to help people in general? It seems that just as long as you're doing an activity involved in helping the welfare of others it should qualify as something med schools would like .. seeing as doctors do the exact same thing (in a sense).

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know what i should expect and what i should strive for in terms of out of class and summer activities!!! You might think these questions are all premature but I want to be READY from the very first day of college.. knowing what to expect, what to do and what not to do.. so i dont waste time and don't mess up and ruin my chances.

 

[doctigger]

What kind of extra curricular activities are the best for a pre-med applicant?
Obviously, some sort of clinical experience- volunteering in a hospital, research- that sorta thing. But how do med schools feel about applicants who are involved in sports or music? I'm in high school now (will be entering college in fall 2006) and I'm heavily into music and musical thearter. I play piano, sing and act and I'm not about to give those up. They're my love's and they keep me sane! lol. In addition, I'll most likely be doing crew in college. These sorts of activities are very time consuming and important to me.. how do med schools look upon such activities? Do u think they'd make me stand out as an applicant?

Also, obviously summer's should be spent doing something worthwhile. What specifically could pre-med students do during their summer? Research, internship, volunteering? But what kind of stuff? does it necessarily have to be science related? Can it be just volunteering to help people in general? It seems that just as long as you're doing an activity involved in helping the welfare of others it should qualify as something med schools would like .. seeing as doctors do the exact same thing (in a sense).

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know what i should expect and what i should strive for in terms of out of class and summer activities!!! You might think these questions are all premature but I want to be READY from the very first day of college.. knowing what to expect, what to do and what not to do.. so i dont waste time and don't mess up and ruin my chances.

Very ambitions to be so forward thinking. 👍
I think med schools are looking for students with strong academic backgrounds that are involved in their community and have alot of exposure to medicine. You're still dealing with high school, so volunteer and be involved with whatever you enjoy. If you find a health related volunteer position that interests you, go for it! If not, feel free to wait a year or two. You also might want to find some doctors and health care workers to shadow. Some hospitals in cities have summer workshop opportunities for pre-meds. You can call the volunteer services office at a local hospital to ask what volunteer opportunities are avialable. But, you've got time. Plenty of people don't start hospital volunteering till half way through college.

 

[shiraz84]

What kind of extra curricular activities are the best for a pre-med applicant?
Obviously, some sort of clinical experience- volunteering in a hospital, research- that sorta thing. But how do med schools feel about applicants who are involved in sports or music? I'm in high school now (will be entering college in fall 2006) and I'm heavily into music and musical thearter. I play piano, sing and act and I'm not about to give those up. They're my love's and they keep me sane! lol. In addition, I'll most likely be doing crew in college. These sorts of activities are very time consuming and important to me.. how do med schools look upon such activities? Do u think they'd make me stand out as an applicant?

Also, obviously summer's should be spent doing something worthwhile. What specifically could pre-med students do during their summer? Research, internship, volunteering? But what kind of stuff? does it necessarily have to be science related? Can it be just volunteering to help people in general? It seems that just as long as you're doing an activity involved in helping the welfare of others it should qualify as something med schools would like .. seeing as doctors do the exact same thing (in a sense).

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know what i should expect and what i should strive for in terms of out of class and summer activities!!! You might think these questions are all premature but I want to be READY from the very first day of college.. knowing what to expect, what to do and what not to do.. so i dont waste time and don't mess up and ruin my chances.

Med schools look for well-rounded applicants, and I think that involvement in musical theater will definitely help you stand out.

During the summer, any kind of volunteering is good.

Like doctigger said, it is very ambitious to be so forward thinking; however, be careful not to take this too far. Don't set your mind on one-track and forget about everything else. Stay focused on pre-med, but remember to reach out and try other things as well; by "other things," I don't necessarily mean classes...I just want to say that one can get too absorbed in the whole application process by constantly thinking, "How is this activity going to help me get into med school?", "Should I take Anatomy, Bio, Physics, and Orgo in the same semester to show that I can handle a lot of sciences?", "How is this dinner going to affect my performance on the practice MCAT next week?", etc. Relax, enjoy your time in college, and don't worry too much about "ruining your chances."

 

[nebrfan]

Relax, enjoy your time in college...

I don't think this can be emphasized enough. The last 4 years of my life were amazing...I can't believe how quickly they went by. Enjoy college - take some different (non-premed/science) classes, meet new people, hell - meet new drinks. It WILL go fast.

 

[epitomedoc]

Your life will be so much more fulfilling if you are doing things that you enjoy. The medical admissions people will see a well-rounded, passionate person instead of a person who obsessed about "what i need to do to get into medical school". You live life once, don't look back at it and see things done just to please others. Obviously, you should volunteer at some hospitals and shadow some doctors, but don't let that be all you do. If you like kids, volunteer/work at a daycare, or be a mentor/tutor once you get to college. If you like animals, do something with them. All of your experiences are important. When asked what your interests are, you don't want to have to say that you dropped all interesting things about you in order to become the perfect med school candidate. Just relax a little bit, and things will work out the say they should. 😉

 

[LizzyM]

Musical talent and the sciences often go together and many medical students (and physicians) also play an instrument (or more than one). Some medical schools put on an annual show spoofing medical school (sometimes this is called "The Christmas Show", something of a British tradition), or the sophmore show or some other name. Your talents in musical theatre could certainly be welcome at medical school. Don't give up music & theatre if you love it.

Likewise, some schools do like to see varisity athletes. There is something about dedication to be able to get up and out on the water on those mornings when it is dark and cold that shows that maybe you have what it takes to sacrifice comfort for duty to patients. Don't give up crew, if you love it.

While you are in collge, find a way to interact with patients or sick people. It could be through employment, volunteering or shadowing. Hospitals are just one place to get this experience. Nursing homes, rehab facilities, and hospices are others as well as training to be an EMT or a college first responder (someone who can provide first aid in the dorm or at a school event until the ambulance arrives).

Helping others is always a plus on a medical school application. However, if most of the helping is non-medical, then one begins to wonder "why does this applicant want to go to medical school and not become... a teacher (if they do mostly tutoring)... or a social worker (mostly working with the homeless), etc.

If you want to go to a top ranked medical school, then some research experience is important. Students often do this during a summer and stay on a few hours per week during the academic year (if they are working in a lab on campus). There are also some opportunities to go elsewhere to do research for a summer.