i probably can find some other activities, it's just that i cant find any that is pharmacy related you know? i dont want them to see me as just another guy who has no pharm exp yet is still applying to pharm school.
"Extra-curricular," by definition, means "outside the curriculum." I know that the term has come to mean virtually anything that doesn't earn college-level credit, but from my perspective (I have sat on numerous boards over the past 15+ years), it's more important that the activity be
meaningful, rather than simply another way to check a box on an application.
With that in mind, do you have a particular passion about something? Maybe you coach wrestling at the local middle school, or you've been working with Habitat for Humanity for the past 5 years, or you're a local organizer of Relay for Life, or things like that. Do you tutor at school? Recently, there was an applicant who had no direct pharmacy EC's but was an avid horsewoman, and had been volunteering 8-10 hours a week for the past 5-6 years, teaching handicapped children to ride horses. She was concerned that this wasn't sufficient for an extra-curricular activity, but the general consensus here on the forum was that this activity not only contributed to others, but it gave her something remarkable to make her stand out from other applicants. Here on the mid-Atlantic coast area, there is a big push for the surfer-dudes (and dudettes, and surfer tykes) to work with autistic kids (for some reason, the motion of the board on the water is especially soothing to autistic children). Perhaps you're a skilled quiltmaker, and could work with the local Senior Center; or you are a whiz at repairing bicycles and could donate reconditioned bikes to youth shelters. To me, these are meaningful extra-curricular activities that demonstrate a commitment to helping others and serving the community, both of which are admirable attributes for a prospective pharmacist.
What I'm getting at here is that the work should be meaningful to someone other than yourself. If you're seeking "extra-curriculars" solely for the purpose of checking that box on the application, to me, that makes you a weaker candidate than someone who has a strong history of meaningful, community-related work. The idea is, volunteer work should be done with no real measure of direct gain for yourself, but more for the betterment of the community and those around you.
But again, that's just me. Others' mileage may vary.
