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High School shadowing on Med School App
Started by Solomon
mmmcdowe
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^I'd disagree with the above. If it's part of what got you interested in medicine, include it.
My father is on a pre-med committee and he recommends putting all of the following on an application regardless of when it was performed:
-Clinical Experience
-Research
-Shadowing
That being said, a general rule is:
If you put it on you undergraduate application, don't put it on your medical school application.
My father is on a pre-med committee and he recommends putting all of the following on an application regardless of when it was performed:
-Clinical Experience
-Research
-Shadowing
That being said, a general rule is:
If you put it on you undergraduate application, don't put it on your medical school application.
This question pops up from time to time. I would say that if it is especially pertinent or unique you should include it (you were teen jeopardy champion) but if it is something like shadowing in which you have more experience throughout undergrad I wouldn't feel obligated. Honestly, it probably won't matter either way as long as you have continued clinical experience.
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mmmcdowe
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Because it says fairly clearly (or at least it use to) somewhere on AMCAS that high school activities should only be listed if the scope of your involvement has grown since high school. From just a more practical note, schools aren't that interested in what you did 4+ years ago compared to your more recent involvements. If you did shadowing in college, adding your HS doesn't really add anything. If you didn't shadow or obtain other forms of clinical experience in college, HS shadowing does not make up for that. Definitely don't waste a separate space on your application for it, you'll have better things than that to use them on.
The other generally accepted exception is research publications from high school.
Exactly, if you shadow in college (which hopefully any premed would), it's just a continuation of what was done in High School. I would put it down if you consistently shadowed throughout high school and college as long as there are no major chunks of time where you didn't shadow. For instance, if you shadowed as a freshman in high school but no again until college, don't include it. If you started shadowing as a junior or senior and continued all the way through college, just consider it "part of the package".
So in other words you could lump it in with a general statement of "hours shadowing doctor specialty X"?
mmmcdowe
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Please reread what I wrote, it is kind of hard to have a greater scope of involvement with shadowing.... Also, it would have to be the same activity (meaning same shadowing experience in this case) not type of activity. I assure you that if you shadow 4 years in college they are not going to be any more impressed if you also shadowed in high school.
I'm not hating on adding high school stuff. I volunteered at the same hospital for 6 years and I certainly listed the start date as high school, but the point is that my role as a volunteer expanded as I did it year after year.
