How can I improve my EC's?

[Spider2YBanana]

Hello, first time posting here! I am just wondering what I can do to improve my EC's as I am planning on applying this upcoming cycle. I am a senior in undergrad, so I have one more semester (after this current one) before I apply and take my gap year. So far this is what I have:

RESEARCH
~3 years in a Neuroscience Lab in my school's College of Medicine
-0 pubs
-2 posters (local)
-1 undergraduate honors thesis

NON-CLINICAL VOLUNTEERING
-50 hours volunteering at a school/therapy center for kids with special needs
-20 hours mentoring/tutoring at local high school (this is an ongoing activity for 2 hours per week)

LEADERSHIP / TEACHING
-Lead/Teach a weekly colloquium for freshman students for 2 semesters (100 hours)

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
-150 hours in cancer center talking with patients awaiting their treatment, also got them blankets, water, etc.
-Currently volunteering in cardiology unit at hospital

WORK / OTHER:
-Summer job at restaurant, worked ~30 hours per week including 14 hour shifts on weekends
-Summer job at diff restaurant
-Worked full time at a summer camp for kids with special needs another summer (at same place as my volunteering) - did this while studying for the MCAT


SHADOWING
- 30 hours across different surgical specialties


I feel like I am pretty "cookie-cutter" and would like some advice for improving my resume.

I am thinking of becoming a chem lab TA, scribe, or CNA (if the latter 2 are possible to do during my final semester of undergrad)

Thank you!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Goro]

RESEARCH
~3 years in a Neuroscience Lab in my school's College of Medicine
-0 pubs
-2 posters (local)
-1 undergraduate honors thesis

Enough of this. You can stop


NON-CLINICAL VOLUNTEERING
-50 hours volunteering at a school/therapy center for kids with special needs
-20 hours mentoring/tutoring at local high school (this is an ongoing activity for 2 hours per week)

Triple this

LEADERSHIP / TEACHING
-Lead/Teach a weekly colloquium for freshman students for 2 semesters (100 hours)
Fine

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
-150 hours in cancer center talking with patients awaiting their treatment, also got them blankets, water, etc.
-Currently volunteering in cardiology unit at hospital

If you can double this, you'll be in the upper quartile of all applicants with this experience.

WORK / OTHER:
-Summer job at restaurant, worked ~30 hours per week including 14 hour shifts on weekends
-Summer job at diff restaurant
-Worked full time at a summer camp for kids with special needs another summer (at same place as my volunteering) - did this while studying for the MCAT
I have a high opinion of people who actually work for a living, especially in service work.

SHADOWING
- 30 hours across different surgical specialties
If you can get some shadowing with Primary Care, you'll be great.

I feel like I am pretty "cookie-cutter" and would like some advice for improving my resume.

Work on the self esteem.

 

[Planes2Doc]

Cookies are yummy.

 

[Catalystik]

Hello, first time posting here! I am just wondering what I can do to improve my EC's as I am planning on applying this upcoming cycle. I am a senior in undergrad, so I have one more semester (after this current one) before I apply and take my gap year. So far this is what I have:

RESEARCH
~3 years in a Neuroscience Lab in my school's College of Medicine
-0 pubs
-2 posters (local)
-1 undergraduate honors thesis

NON-CLINICAL VOLUNTEERING
-50 hours volunteering at a school/therapy center for kids with special needs
-20 hours mentoring/tutoring at local high school (this is an ongoing activity for 2 hours per week)

LEADERSHIP / TEACHING
-Lead/Teach a weekly colloquium for freshman students for 2 semesters (100 hours)

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE
-150 hours in cancer center talking with patients awaiting their treatment, also got them blankets, water, etc.
-Currently volunteering in cardiology unit at hospital

WORK / OTHER:
-Summer job at restaurant, worked ~30 hours per week including 14 hour shifts on weekends
-Summer job at diff restaurant
-Worked full time at a summer camp for kids with special needs another summer (at same place as my volunteering) - did this while studying for the MCAT


SHADOWING
- 30 hours across different surgical specialties


I feel like I am pretty "cookie-cutter" and would like some advice for improving my resume.

I am thinking of becoming a chem lab TA, scribe, or CNA (if the latter 2 are possible to do during my final semester of undergrad)

Thank you!

Leadership for application purposes refers to "peer" leadership. If you trained new restaurant workers, volunteers, or lab assistants, that would be the type of leadership we're looking for.

To be more specific about the shadowing, add a minimum of 10 more hours. With 20 more hours you'd be at the average for applicants. I agree they should be with primary care docs (pediatrics, internal medicine, family med, OBGYN).

Don't forget to include your hobbies or artistic endeavors.

 

[Spider2YBanana]

Thanks a lot on the response. I shall up my volunteering and clinical hours then! I appreciate it. I have my 2 volunteering activities (mentoring/tutoring and the hospital) going on now, but I think I will try to get some other community service activity going and then I plan on scribing or CNAing during my gap year, so do you think that will be good?

Sent from my SM-G920V using SDN mobile

 

[Spider2YBanana]

Oh okay, thanks. I have trained other undergrads in the lab. So I guess that works, but would I list that on my application?

Also, for hobbies, can I include flag football? I've played every semester but one, and we had practices and stuff. It was an organized thing.

I also play the violin and guitar, but not in a group or anything. Do i bother listing that on apps??

Thank you!

Sent from my SM-G920V using SDN mobile

 

[Catalystik]

1) Oh okay, thanks. I have trained other undergrads in the lab. So I guess that works, but would I list that on my application?

2) Also, for hobbies, can I include flag football? I've played every semester but one, and we had practices and stuff. It was an organized thing.

3) I also play the violin and guitar, but not in a group or anything. Do i bother listing that on apps??

For AMCAS:

1) You can include a description of it in your Research space (and in the name you give the research space) or (even better) you can split out the leadership component with its own dates and hours and list them in another space tagged "Leadership - Not listed elsewhere."

2) Yes.

3) Absolutely. You can group all your hobbies in one space. It does not require a Contact to be provided.

 

[infectiousdisease101]

Just an FYI, you can make an AAMC/AMCAS account to check out and play around with the application without submitting it.