high school ecs and ecs without contacts

[sylus]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Okay, 2 EC related Qs:

1) Are high school EC/volunteer activities considered less valuable than those you do while in undergrad (or above)?

2) If you no longer know how to contact someone who can vouch for your ECs, should you still include them? 😱

Grazie!

 

[Dendrite]

Okay, 2 EC related Qs:

1) Are high school EC/volunteer activities considered less valuable than those you do while in undergrad (or above)?

2) If you no longer know how to contact someone who can vouch for your ECs, should you still include them? 😱

Grazie!

I believe in general, it is not a smart idea to include high school activities on your med school applications, unless they specifically and profoundly impacted your personal development. For example, saying you were in the tennis club in high school isn't that relevant. However, if you were participating in a summer program where you went to Africa to help rebuild communities, then that is something to include (this is just an example, but I hope the same point is understood). It is important that your EC's exhibit a certain amount of maturity, and typically, high school activities do not.

If you aren't able to contact someone who can vouch for your EC, then I would not include it, because med schools may also want to contact them (very rarely do they do this, but they always have the opportunity). It is always better to be safe.

I hope this clears up some confusion.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

Dont include stuff from hs unless you continued it in College, ie volunteering in a hospital, music, etc.

 

[Nataliemay24]

Okay, 2 EC related Qs:

1) Are high school EC/volunteer activities considered less valuable than those you do while in undergrad (or above)?

2) If you no longer know how to contact someone who can vouch for your ECs, should you still include them? 😱

Grazie!

1) yes, to the point of being completely not valuable, unless maybe if it's a very long term thing that you started in high school and kept it up through college.

2) i would go ahead and include it. i couldn't remember the name of a work supervisor i had. i called the nursing home and got the name of the current supervisor and included that. i figured that on the off-chance that they would call (and trust me, even hiring managers at job interviews rarely call references; they're busy and sometimes all they want is a phone number "just in case"), the current supervisor would be able to look up my name and see that i had worked there a few years ago.

 

[sylus]

I volunteered with the theatre program for all of high school and learned a variety of skills and a surprising amount about cooperation and interpersonal communication, so I think it significantly impacted me and raised my maturity level a great deal.

I believe in general, it is not a smart idea to include high school activities on your med school applications, unless they specifically and profoundly impacted your personal development. For example, saying you were in the tennis club in high school isn't that relevant. However, if you were participating in a summer program where you went to Africa to help rebuild communities, then that is something to include (this is just an example, but I hope the same point is understood). It is important that your EC's exhibit a certain amount of maturity, and typically, high school activities do not.

If you aren't able to contact someone who can vouch for your EC, then I would not include it, because med schools may also want to contact them (very rarely do they do this, but they always have the opportunity). It is always better to be safe.

I hope this clears up some confusion.

 

[Bacchus]

I volunteered with the theatre program for all of high school and learned a variety of skills and a surprising amount about cooperation and interpersonal communication, so I think it significantly impacted me and raised my maturity level a great deal.

This may be better placed into your personal statement, somehow.

 

[alwaysaangel]

I volunteered with the theatre program for all of high school and learned a variety of skills and a surprising amount about cooperation and interpersonal communication, so I think it significantly impacted me and raised my maturity level a great deal.

Yeah, not a good idea. AMCAS specifically says POST-secondary education only. So no high school stuff.

If you really feel its effected you as a person you put it in your personal statement. But don't put it on your AMCAS ECs it would only hurt you, because adcomms will see it as either not being able to read directions or illegitimately trying to pad your resume.

As far as the contact person, anything you do should keep basic records that you worked/volunteered there. Put the name of the person who replaced your supervisor. They should be able to at least vouch that yes according to the records there was someone volunteering there from x date to y date.

 

[LizzyM]

I don't like to see anything that has an end date that is before your college matricuation. If something was very significant prior to college, manage to work it into your essay.

You should keep a list of activities and the person who supervised you, the name of the agency and the phone number.
You can get away with not having a contact person for things that really don't require one such as studio and performing arts or physical activity (e.g. running or weightlifting). On the other hand, lab experiences and employment should have a "contact"

 

[BluePhoenix]

I don't like to see anything that has an end date that is before your college matricuation. If something was very significant prior to college, manage to work it into your essay.

What if your high school and college years overlap by a few years? Would you include any volunteering/ECs done then, if they weren't high school activities? (Technically I was a high school student, but I was attending college full time)

 

[Drogba]

I don't like to see anything that has an end date that is before your college matricuation. If something was very significant prior to college, manage to work it into your essay.

You should keep a list of activities and the person who supervised you, the name of the agency and the phone number.
You can get away with not having a contact person for things that really don't require one such as studio and performing arts or physical activity (e.g. running or weightlifting). On the other hand, lab experiences and employment should have a "contact"

People list weightlifting in their activities?

 

[LizzyM]

People list weightlifting in their activities?

Yes. I've seen that a couple times.😎

 

[LizzyM]

What if your high school and college years overlap by a few years? Would you include any volunteering/ECs done then, if they weren't high school activities? (Technically I was a high school student, but I was attending college full time)

OK, let me say, if you have not yet 1) graduated from HS or 2) turned 18.

In other words, if you were <18 and had not yet graduated from HS when you finished the activity then it doesn't belong in the experience section.

This is Lizzy's rule. You may do as you please. Just know that we (adcom members) sometimes see it as padding or as having done things to "check the box" and move on rather than as valuable, meaningful experiences.