Help with extracurricular/volunteer activities to engage in.

[DaliaK]

I'm in my first year of B.S chemistry and I wanted to get started on extracurricular and volunteer activities that will help get me accepted into medical school.
Will anyone please give me ideas on the types of things that med schools are on the lookout for? I do realize that shadowing a physician is something that is expected and I'm going to get started on that soon, but what else can I do?
I'm also currently volunteering for a hospital.

Also, if you guys could share what you have done, that would be swell!

Thank you in advance for your help!
Cheers

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[kyamh]

Find something you enjoy, your enthusiasm will be much higher valued than the specific thing you do. If you are already getting clinical exposure, then there is no specific thing you should be doing. Find a long term volunteering position, get good grades, and try to find leadership opportunities to engage in.

 

[gyngyn]

If your volunteer/community service/EC's are an organic outgrowth of your actual interests and community, you will develop both as a person and as an applicant.
"Trying on" the successful EC's of others looks like what it is: an awkward, spackled-on activity designed for the purpose of admission. The best applicants give us that feeling of genuine altruism in their EC's, not poorly fitting but standard activities.

 

[Goro]

Check with your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities.

I'm in my first year of B.S chemistry and I wanted to get started on extracurricular and volunteer activities that will help get me accepted into medical school.
Will anyone please give me ideas on the types of things that med schools are on the lookout for? I do realize that shadowing a physician is something that is expected and I'm going to get started on that soon, but what else can I do?
I'm also currently volunteering for a hospital.

Also, if you guys could share what you have done, that would be swell!

Thank you in advance for your help!
Cheers

 

[N. Marin]

If your volunteer/community service/EC's are an organic outgrowth of your actual interests and community, you will develop both as a person and as an applicant.
"Trying on" the successful EC's of others looks like what it is: an awkward, spackled-on activity designed for the purpose of admission. The best applicants give us that feeling of genuine altruism in their EC's, not poorly fitting but standard activities.

I cannot stress this enough. If you happen to impressive community service activities and it has little to no influence on your reason for wanting to become a physician, you can expect interview committees to but little to no influence on them either. Essentially, try not to think "what should I do for med school" and think "what am I interested in which strengthens my resolve to go to med school?"

 

[Planes2Doc]

If you haven't been heavily involved in ECs before becoming pre-med, then you're doing them for medical school admissions. There's nothing wrong with that...

In that case, I would go for the ECs that are most convenient and flexible for you. Climical volunterring in the hospital ED is your best bet since you get both clinical experience and also show that you can at least pretend to enjoy volinteerism. Unless you start a non-profit or do something out of the ordinary, most volunteer experiences will be the same generic crap for ADCOMs. So do what will allow you to get the highest grades and MCAT score, since that is what will matter most.