How do Medical Schools put a value on EC's

[JoyKim456]

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Is it through the effort that you put in and what you learn from it or the "societal" value that it has? Because people seem to think that D2 sports are worthless and a waste of time. But what if a person was really committed to it, eventually became the captain of it, has an emotional history with that sport, and didn't play D1 because it was not offered by their school? Would that person's experience be deemed less valuable than the typical D1 player?

 

[Time Table]

Connect it to medicine in your PS if you can, coupled with a good GPA and MCAT and you'll get an acceptance.

 

[mrh125]

they put a value to it after they see your mcat and gpa is comparable to everyone else's.

 

[GonnaBeADocOneDay]

Purely specualtion since I am not an adcom, but I would imagine if you can relate it back to the healthcare field, like how it has helped you learn to work in a team environment, etc. it could be valuable as an EC.

 

[tantacles]

Is it through the effort that you put in and what you learn from it or the "societal" value that it has? Because people seem to think that D2 sports are worthless and a waste of time. But what if a person was really committed to it, eventually became the captain of it, has an emotional history with that sport, and didn't play D1 because it was not offered by their school? Would that person's experience be deemed less valuable than the typical D1 player?

The leadership experience of being a captain of a D2 sports team has value from an admissions standpoint, but I don't care to compare its value to that of being a Division I player. Your longitudinal commitment to the sport as well as your leadership of your peers is far more important to me than the ability of your team to play at the highest possible level.

 

[Catalystik]

Each adcomm will have their own point of view about the value of sports involvement. Some will feel that the altruism involved is is equal that of community volunteering. For those who don't see the point at all, it's probably best if you connect the dots for them.

 

[Flashfan]

To paraphrase LizzyM (albeit poorly), non-clinical volunteering shows that you care about people, particularly poor people. Clinical volunteering shows you can be around sick people. If you have some altruistic ECs as well, then the athletics is a good EC to showcase leadership.

 

[el_duderino]

They use the ECs to see what kind of person you are and judge whether or not you are a good fit for their program.

That's it. You don't get points for ticking off checkboxes or having a cooler activity than someone else. Adcoms aren't stupid, they know we do many things to just look good for them. They get a good idea of what kind of person you are, and what sorts of things are important to you, and what kinds of values and qualities you have as a human being, from the ECs and PS.

You're not going to fool anyone with this or that EC. Try to paint as accurate a picture of yourself as possible. Be genuine and honest.

 

[NickNaylor]

They use the ECs to see what kind of person you are and judge whether or not you are a good fit for their program.

That's it. You don't get points for ticking off checkboxes or having a cooler activity than someone else. Adcoms aren't stupid, they know we do many things to just look good for them. They get a good idea of what kind of person you are, and what sorts of things are important to you, and what kinds of values and qualities you have as a human being, from the ECs and PS.

You're not going to fool anyone with this or that EC. Try to paint as accurate a picture of yourself as possible. Be genuine and honest.

Quoting for emphasis.

 

[ciestar]

I've said this on your threads before, stop doing things just to "impress" adcoms. Be genuine, not a robot.

 

[gyngyn]

I don't think most of the folks on my committee know that D1 or D2 exist as entities.

 

[Aerus]

If you're going to do D2 just for it to look good to med schools, you're going to have a horrible horrible time. Do it only if you really want to.

 

[JoyKim456]

Why do you assume I do it to look good? I was just asking cause I'm sick if people telling me D2 isn't valuable. And if I love doing something, wouldn't if be natural human nature that I WANT to make it look good in an application. You think I do it to make myself look good. In reality, I do it cause I love it and I want the advantage of it making me look good

 

[Goro]

In addition, the clinical volunteering lets us know that you understand what you're getting into. Clinician shadowing experiences let us know that you understand what a doctor's day is like.

So you played college sports. You're a leader? Big deal. Convince me that you'll be a good student and a good doctor.

To paraphrase LizzyM (albeit poorly), non-clinical volunteering shows that you care about people, particularly poor people. Clinical volunteering shows you can be around sick people. If you have some altruistic ECs as well, then the athletics is a good EC to showcase leadership.

 

[Aerus]

Why do you assume I do it to look good? I was just asking cause I'm sick if people telling me D2 isn't valuable. And if I love doing something, wouldn't if be natural human nature that I WANT to make it look good in an application. You think I do it to make myself look good. In reality, I do it cause I love it and I want the advantage of it making me look good

Why are you assuming that I'm assuming you're doing it to look good? I didn't say "Don't do D2. Doing it to look good is worthless." I said "Don't do it if you only want it to look good. Do it if you enjoy it." Simple as that. Your insecurity is showing. 😛

 

[el_duderino]

Why do you assume I do it to look good? I was just asking cause I'm sick if people telling me D2 isn't valuable. And if I love doing something, wouldn't if be natural human nature that I WANT to make it look good in an application. You think I do it to make myself look good. In reality, I do it cause I love it and I want the advantage of it making me look good

You keep asking about how awesome your D2 sports involvement is. Over and over. Find something else to think about.

 

[ciestar]

Why do you assume I do it to look good? I was just asking cause I'm sick if people telling me D2 isn't valuable. And if I love doing something, wouldn't if be natural human nature that I WANT to make it look good in an application. You think I do it to make myself look good. In reality, I do it cause I love it and I want the advantage of it making me look good

Your thread history is where I base my assumptions. You ask a lot of the same questions. Just do what you enjoy and what is important to YOU. In reality, just basic quoting @Goro, they've seen it all before. You're the one who needs to sell it and make it look good for you. The activity itself won't necessarily do that.

 

[Willy38]

D2 sports still require a significant time commitment. As you advance from D3 to D2 to D1 to the professional level, the time commitment does increase tremendously. But my advice echoes the previous comments, follow your passions and try to be insightful as to how your experiences connect to and prepare you for a medical career. If anything, competing at the D2 level could be advantageous because you are likely to have more time to explore other research/volunteer interests than a D1 athlete. Just keep working and best of luck!