How do I not be a cookie cutter

[Round786]

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My biggest pre-med fear is if the ECs I have been doing are viewed as nothing but “box-checking” by Adcoms.

I have been trying for 4 months now, but it is ridiculously hard to get a foot into things that both interest me and are viewed as interesting by Adcoms.

Labs that do interesting medical research only work with upper undergraduate students, Hurricane Ian volunteer relief group are a 2 hour drive from me, all my hobbies are unremarkable and not genuine talents

It’s all really demotivating. I look at my current activities and feel a great deal of anxiety that I could do so much more.

Does it just come when the time is right? Is it something that can’t be forced?

 

[GoSpursGo]

This is a source of significant anxiety for a lot of pre-meds, but ultimately I just wouldn't worry about it. In any given year there are over 20k people who enter US allopathic medical schools and over 50k applicants. Odds are, someone is going to being doing what you're doing.

You need to show that you can handle the academic rigor of medical school (GPA/MCAT), that you know what you're getting yourself into (clinical experience), and that you have some amount of altruism/caring for others (volunteering experience). Of course the ideal scenario is that you find something that you're passionate about and it is easy to motivate yourself to do those activities, but in case there isn't something amazing immediately available you should do your best with what you have available. Call it "box checking" if you want, but these are the expectations, and it sort of doesn't matter how you meet them as long as you do. And importantly, this is also how things work in the real world even outside of medicine--a lot of times you have to do things that aren't that interesting to gain the necessary experience to work on something meaningful.

 

[Goro]

Do what you love and love what you do.

Not all volunteering needs to be in a hospital. Think hospice, Planned Parenthood, nursing homes, rehab facilities, crisis hotlines, camps for sick children, or clinics.

Some types of volunteer activities are more appealing than others. Volunteering in a nice suburban hospital is all very well and good and all but doesn't show that you're willing to dig in and get your hands dirty in the same way that working with the developmentally disabled (or homeless, the dying, or Alzheimer’s or mentally ill or elderly or ESL or domestic, rural impoverished) does. The uncomfortable situations are the ones that really demonstrate your altruism and get you 'brownie points'. Plus, they frankly teach you more -- they develop your compassion and humanity in ways comfortable situations can't.


Service need not be "unique"; it can be anything that helps people unable to help themselves and that is outside of a patient-care setting. If you can alleviate suffering in your community through service to the poor, homeless, illiterate, fatherless, etc, you are meeting an otherwise unmet need and learning more about the lives of the people (or types of people) who will someday be your patients.

Check out your local houses of worship for volunteer opportunities. The key thing is service to others less fortunate than you. And get off campus and out of your comfort zone!

Examples include: Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, Humane Society, crisis hotlines, soup kitchen, food pantry, homeless or women’s shelter, after-school tutoring for students or coaching a sport in a poor school district, teaching literacy or ESL to adults at a community center, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Meals on Wheels, mentoring immigrant/refugee adults, being a friendly visitor to shut-ins, adaptive sports program coach or Special Olympics.

 

[LindaAccepted]

My biggest pre-med fear is if the ECs I have been doing are viewed as nothing but “box-checking” by Adcoms.

I have been trying for 4 months now, but it is ridiculously hard to get a foot into things that both interest me and are viewed as interesting by Adcoms.

Labs that do interesting medical research only work with upper undergraduate students, Hurricane Ian volunteer relief group are a 2 hour drive from me, all my hobbies are unremarkable and not genuine talents

It’s all really demotivating. I look at my current activities and feel a great deal of anxiety that I could do so much more.

Does it just come when the time is right? Is it something that can’t be forced?

I agree with what @Goro and @GoSpursGo wrote, but want to add that part of what will make your EC's distinctive is what you reflect on them and take away from them. Obviously many med school applicants do similar things because they have similar goals. Frequently what distinguishes the applications is the reflection the individual brings to those activities.

I can't tell you how many times I have interviewed admissions deans and directors and they have commented that they don't want to just know what you did -- they want to know what you thought about it. Why is it important enough to include in your med school application? What was the impact of your actions on others? What did you learn?

One critical way to make sure your app isn't cookie cutter or "just box checking."

 

[LizzyM]

Some of the most memorable applicants I recall years later did something out-of-the-ordinary that was unrelated to the usual checkboxes. They had the boxes checked but there was something more: repairing and selling mechanical items on Ebay, making jewelry using lost wax casting, being a contestant on a TV game show, being the official organizer of monthly movie events in the dorm. In other words, take time to do things for fun and/or profit whether or not they seem to have any relationship to being pre-med.

 

[gyngyn]

A good cookie still gets accepted.

 

[LizzyM]

Do keep in mind that the successful cookie cutter applicants are pretty fancy with lots of different elements.

Hausfreunde Cookies With Caramelised Cashews - Lavender & Macarons

Layers of crispy shortcrust pastry are slathered with apricot jam and covered with sweet almond paste. Dipped in rich dark chocolate and devoured in no time

www.lavenderandmacarons.com

 

[voxveritatisetlucis]

Fulbright scholar is probably easiest imo. People I know who got them weren’t overly impressive compared to the few at my undergrad who got Rhodes scholarships. But it has a similar impact on admissions

Not saying it’s easy by any stretch but easier than being an Olympic athlete or something

 

[Mr.Smile12]

As @LindaAccepted notes, it's how you made an impact on others, not what you specifically did. We bring up Peace Corps and AmeriCorps a lot here as great growth experiences.

Then as @Goro notes, you need to be cool to be with.

That's how you put icing and sprinkles on your cookie.

 

[LunaOri]

We like to hear about what your experiences taught you, as well as what you did. Why are your experiences meaningful to you? How did you make an impact on others, and how did the experiences change you? There isn’t anything wrong with activities that “check boxes” as long as you can truthfully explain why those activities have meaning for you.

 

[Doctor-S]

I've been intrigued by individuals who volunteered to serve at free pet food pantries to help pet owners who were in need. Through no fault of their own, these pet owners had lost their jobs, or their small businesses had to be closed, or they were indefinitely furloughed from work due to covid.

Many of the pet owners were dealing with significant issues of financial insecurity, pet food insecurity, emotional distress and marked anxiety, related to themselves, and to the well-being of their dependent pets. Quite a few of the people had lost their homes, and were living out of their cars, and many of them had lost their health insurance because their places of employment had gone out of business when covid shut everything done.

In every instance, the volunteers at the pet food pantry had multiple opportunities to offer kindness, aid and compassion to these struggling pet owners. More than a handful of the volunteers were pre-med students who wanted to participate in "non-clinical" ECs during covid. These volunteers were indispensable to the success of the free pet food pantry, and they were able to listen compassionately to others less fortunate than themselves, while providing immediate aid and hands-on assistance to those in need.

As far as I am concerned, the pet food pantry was not a cookie-cutter EC for the pre-med students.

The pre-med students have been able to enthusiastically explain what they did to help alleviate the distress of others in times of need, and their stories have been filled with meaningful anecdotes about compassion and empathy, and the importance of caring for others less fortunate than themselves.

 

[cj_cregg]

ridiculously hard to get a foot into things that both interest me and are viewed as interesting by Adcoms.

Then just do things that interest YOU. You having something you're passionate about will interest adcoms, whether it is a "typical" pre-med activity or not.

 

[deleted1139416]

Others will disagree with me on this, but I think that the only way to really stand out is to do something for several years after college whether that’s research, volunteering, military, etc. That’s why the average incoming MD student is several years out of college. When the average age of starting MDs becomes 26 I’m gonna laugh because the saying “4 years college, 4 years med school” will become “4 years college, 4 years getting into med school, 4 years med school”. We will live in a land where all interns are 30…….

 

[deleted1144871]

There is no need to not be cookie cutter. I am cookie cutter. I have received 9 interview invites this cycle.

What matters is that you did not do the bare minimum and that you did the activities most meaninful to you for a long time (i.e. don't volunteer 100 hours in one month then quit and never volunteer again).

In fact, I think being cookie cutter is sometimes a good thing. If you have at least some experience in research, clinical settings, volunteering, and good stats, that's really all you need. There are enough things to worry about when applying. Being cookie cutter (in a good way) is not something to worry about.

 

[SahilMehtaMD]

Getting into medical school requires more than just getting stellar grades and good MCAT scores. Many students perform hours of volunteer work or scientific research in the hopes of convincing the admissions committee of their commitment to helping others. However, there exist many other avenues which demonstrate your work ethic and personality to the admissions committee. I will discuss three examples of how you can stand out from the crowd by combining your hobby with medicine:

Combine Art and Medicine.​

Are you blessed with artistic ability? Great! Use your gift to help others while improving your application. If you have an interest in painting, photograph or drawing, contact the local hospital or clinic and volunteer to donate your art. Hospitals and clinics would love to decorate their bare walls with uplifting work. Studies have even found artwork in the hospital has “positive effects not only on patient well being but also on health outcome such as length of stay in hospital and pain tolerance.” To the admissions committee, this demonstrates creativity, leadership and altruism – all great qualities in a future doctor.

Use Technology to help others.​

Maybe your strong suit involves technology. Put your love of the computer to good use by starting a blog. Find a small medical niche that you are interested in and update the blog with links and summaries of the links related to that particular medical issue. For example, you can choose to follow juvenile diabetes and can start by linking articles related to treatment, experiences and recent breakthroughs. Not only will you be helping individuals and their families suffering from that disease, you will learn as well. In one year, you will have read 365 articles related to that disease, making you quite an expert. Medical school admissions committee will be impressed with your creativity, dedication and passion.

Travel and medicine.​

If traveling is your passion, use your time while traveling to spend some time in the local clinic or hospital. Do your due diligence before traveling and find a clinic which will let you shadow while you are there. Talk to their patients and health care staff. Document your experience by keeping a diary and by taking pictures. Remember to respect patient and employee privacy. Often times, your help will be much appreciated and you will get to experience healthcare in other countries. Talking about your experience during medical school interviews will set you apart from the rest of the applicants.

 

[LizzyM]

Travel and medicine.
If traveling is your passion, use your time while traveling to spend some time in the local clinic or hospital. Do your due diligence before traveling and find a clinic which will let you shadow while you are there. Talk to their patients and health care staff. Document your experience by keeping a diary and by taking pictures. Remember to respect patient and employee privacy. Often times, your help will be much appreciated and you will get to experience healthcare in other countries. Talking about your experience during medical school interviews will set you apart from the rest of the applicants.

Be very careful about this. Medical tourism is harmful to communities that are "served" and not highly regarded by adcoms.

 

[Mr.Smile12]

Getting into medical school requires more than just getting stellar grades and good MCAT scores. Many students perform hours of volunteer work or scientific research in the hopes of convincing the admissions committee of their commitment to helping others. However, there exist many other avenues which demonstrate your work ethic and personality to the admissions committee. I will discuss three examples of how you can stand out from the crowd by combining your hobby with medicine...

I'll also add my perspective. I like the suggestions, but my experience with admissions committees shows these suggestions may not have a favorable impact, which I infer from the OP's question when it comes to application review.

1) Combining art and medicine.
It's very challenging to get your work posted in hospitals. I would say get involved with your hospital's office that works with art therapy for patients and caregivers. It can be non-clinical volunteering though it can be clinic-adjacent. (If you have another gallery on campus that would show your work, that's great and is distinguishing.) If you have an online portfolio/gallery of your work, that can be shared in an application, though I assure you most of us won't look at it.

I have had many applicants give small concerts or be part of ensembles performing in hospital settings. You need to connect with the hospital's office that works with the community when it comes to this. Just because there's a piano in the lobby does not mean anyone can just go over and start playing. Not too many will stop you, but I have known a few people get into trouble for doing just this. I'm sure you have videos of your performances that you can easily share when requested.

So to get to the point: not all admissions committees value these activities to the same extent as my colleague suggests. They are more impressed with the depth of accomplishment in that area, such as participating at a competitive level in art or music competitions. If you have sold your art or have performed in the amateur Van Cliburn (which I think just happened a couple of weeks ago), that would move the needle more. Yeah, the altruism element is very helpful, but unless you do this semi-professionally while as a student, the number of hours you can compile will not be enough to overshadow the usual expectations of bread-and-butter community service and altruism.

I agree there is a value in having a sense of aesthetic appreciation and highly tuned observational skills that art/medicine offers. One should seek medical schools that value medical humanism (through collaborations with local museums). I definitely consider having these talents a "plus", and you will have many opportunities as a professional student to showcase them.

2) Technology to help others
In the current era of Tiktok/IG takeovers/monetization as an influencer, I would be very careful with this. If you are a bonafide reporter for your local/campus newspaper looking at medical issues, having such a blog (can I also say "podcast"?) is good to have. It is something to put into an application. Still, despite any arguments I have brought to the table, this does not move the needle for screening or post-interview deliberations in my experience. If anything, being a regular contributor to your campus newspaper or publication would make you stand out IMO.

Now, many current medical students run their own blogs, Tiktoks, IG's, etc., to monetize their position as medical students helping other medical students with the application process. I'm sure there are a few that also do the same to raise awareness and help with health education to the public. With this in mind, there is a reason why there are social media policies at most schools and universities... you may be disappointed that admissions committees really have a wary view of this.

If you do this, scrub your online profile regularly.

3) Travel and medicine.
I absolutely concur with @LizzyM. Alternate spring break is very helpful, but going abroad is not favorably looked upon among many in admissions. The system outside the US is too different. I will agree with documenting and keeping diaries, but unless portfolios become a requirement for admissions, this is of limited value. You can share with your prehealth committee or postbac advisors who help you, but I would be very wary about its value. If you do go abroad, NEVER directly participate in any patient procedures, even if the supervising doctor allows you to.

 

[LizzyM]

Let me add that some adcom members like to see that the applicant enjoys activities that are not tied to medicine. Play in a garage band or tell me that after a frustrating day at the bench you like nothing better than to sit at your piano bench and pound out your frustrations playing Chopin.
Write a blog about baking or biking.

Travel for the joy of seeing new places and experiencing new things. If you end up with a story about how you survived a night in the Paris subway after losing your wallet, that's a story that might show us your ingenuity and calm in the face of difficulty but if you don't have an unfortunate experience, you can still have something interesting to say about the experience if you keep your eyes and ears open.

 

[Ad2b]

My biggest pre-med fear is if the ECs I have been doing are viewed as nothing but “box-checking” by Adcoms.

Hurricane Ian volunteer relief group are a 2 hour drive from me

Volunteering should be a thing you do because YOU feel better about YOU and in the meantime, helps others (people, animals, etc.). When I first started volunteering (voluntold by my parents), I was 15 and delivering meals-on-wheels to elderly shut-ins. By the time I was 17, I was doing that plus helping in an animal shelter. Over the life of my career, I just hopped in to help when others needed it.

JUST LIKE YOU DID with Hurricane Ian.

If you join the ARC which will take what you did for Ian and parlay that into helping at shelters for people's whose houses have burned down, they'll also sign you up for blood donation times (people give blood, you give them oranges and whatever else while keeping an eye on the person).

One thing I heard often from my much younger pre-med peers is the # of hours required. If you volunteer in chunks of 2 - 3 - 4 hour stints, it adds up really quickly.