How are my ECs?

[iggles]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Will be volunteering at a pharmacy in walgreens. In talks to volunteer in a pharmacy at a hospital as well.
An emergency dept. volunteer at my local hospital
Will be starting a Chess club at my school, active member of UC Haiti Initiave(helping raise supplies/awareness for Haiti earthquake victims), pre-pharm club

Is there anything else i could add to this or will this be good enough?

 

[R2pharmD2]

Will be volunteering at a pharmacy in walgreens. In talks to volunteer in a pharmacy at a hospital as well.
An emergency dept. volunteer at my local hospital
Will be starting a Chess club at my school, active member of UC Haiti Initiave(helping raise supplies/awareness for Haiti earthquake victims), pre-pharm club

Is there anything else i could add to this or will this be good enough?

Disclaimer: I am biased because I had zero ECs when I applied.

With that out of the way, I think everyone puts WAY too much emphasis on doing stuff just to have it to list on their application. Not saying that you are, but don't do more stuff just to say you did it. The pharmacy volunteering is great, and hopefully you'll be gaining experience that will give you a better understanding of what it's like to be a pharmacist. The other stuff is just fluff.

Now, some people would argue that if you're a "borderline" applicant (mediocre GPA, low PCAT, minimum pre-reqs, etc) that showing how well-rounded and involved you are might improve your chances of getting in, and that might be true. But I think that if your grades and test scores are mediocre, the last thing you should be doing is joining more clubs to improve your chances of getting in! You should buckle down and study more, not waste time attending meetings or whatever for things you could care less about or have, at best, only a minor interest in. This has become a little more rant-ish than I intended, so I think I'll stop now

 

[Jabberwocky12]

I only focused on a couple of ECs, something that shows either science mastery or leadership/interpersonal communications. So I only have 2-3 things but I do them all the time and I learned some interesting things from it.

Just do the ones that you think will be the most beneficial to you in your own personal development and maybe you will get more insight on what you really want to do. It also gives a lot of flavor and helps to flesh out your personal essay.

 

[iggles]

what do you guys recommend i drop?
I also plan on getting my pharm tech license
Should l just stick to strictly pharmacy ECs?

 

[iggles]

I only focused on a couple of ECs, something that shows either science mastery or leadership/interpersonal communications. So I only have 2-3 things but I do them all the time and I learned some interesting things from it.

Just do the ones that you think will be the most beneficial to you in your own personal development and maybe you will get more insight on what you really want to do. It also gives a lot of flavor and helps to flesh out your personal essay.

I was hoping that starting the chess club and becoming a high ranking member of the club would show my leadership. Am i correct in believing that or is it a stretch?

 

[R2pharmD2]

what do you guys recommend i drop?
I also plan on getting my pharm tech license
Should l just stick to strictly pharmacy ECs?

I don't think you necessarily need to drop any ECs. Having ECs doesn't hurt you at all. But if you aren't interested in the things you're involved in, I wouldn't bother doing them. Getting your pharm tech license would be more productive for sure.

 

[iggles]

I don't think you necessarily need to drop any ECs. Having ECs doesn't hurt you at all. But if you aren't interested in the things you're involved in, I wouldn't bother doing them. Getting your pharm tech license would be more productive for sure.

thanks for your advice. anyone else have anything to say? What other ECs are there that may help me get accepted?

 

[NaOH]

Volunteering at Walgreens? Were they not accepting apps for paid employees? Volunteering is fine, especially if that's the only feasible route to getting some real pharmacy experience... but I tend to feel that an actual job is preferable. Volunteering = showing up when you want, leaving when you want, etc. Being official means accountability. And getting paid, too. 😎

But yeah, I wouldn't stress ECs too much. I didn't list any when I applied (the caveat being that my app was fairly strong aside from that). It's much better to focus on a few ECs that you really care about, and that you can point to and talk about very well, than to scattershot your efforts across multiple projects and be little more than a 'showed up for free pizza' member.

My $0.02 anyway.

 

[1TB4RKSB4CK]

Ok since we are talking about EC's can someone give me an opinion on choosing which EC I should do?

It's either:
Volunteer at a Hospice
Volunteer by mentoring children of inmates
Volunteer at an Opthamology hospital (Bascom Palmer Medical Center)
Summer Research at University of Miami Hospital

I can only do 2 of these EC's for the summer since I am all filled up with other plans. Which has the be more rewarding and look better on my application?

 

[iggles]

ill bump for more advice

 

[NaOH]

Ok since we are talking about EC's can someone give me an opinion on choosing which EC I should do?

It's either:
Volunteer at a Hospice
Volunteer by mentoring children of inmates
Volunteer at an Opthamology hospital (Bascom Palmer Medical Center)
Summer Research at University of Miami Hospital

I can only do 2 of these EC's for the summer since I am all filled up with other plans. Which has the be more rewarding and look better on my application?

My picks would be the opthamology hospital and mentoring. Are the necessarily the best? I don't know. But it's what I'd choose.