How do my extracurricular's look?

[SpeedaBoY]

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Hey guys. I haven't taken the MCAT yet and my GPA is decent (I'm a junior and taking a gap year so I have time to get it up.) But I was wondering how my resume/extracurriculars looked to you guys.

September 2014 - May 2015: President of a pre-med club that went on a service trip to a foreign country (providing basic health care needs etc.)

October 2015-January 2016: Volunteered with a doctor at a nursing home

November 2015 -February 2016: Shadowed researchers at a DNA Lab

Summer 2016: SMDEP/SHPEP

September 2016 - present: volunteering at a hospital where we basically do what social workers do.

(These aren't certain yet) I'm hoping to be a bio/chemistry TA this fall. Also I might write medical articles over the summer as well. Thoughts?

I know I was vague but I just wanted a general idea of how it sounds, thanks.

 

[prehealthadvisor55]

Physician shadowing

 

[Catalystik]

Hey guys. I haven't taken the MCAT yet and my GPA is decent (I'm a junior and taking a gap year so I have time to get it up.) But I was wondering how my resume/extracurriculars looked to you guys.

September 2014 - May 2015: President of a pre-med club that went on a service trip to a foreign country (providing basic health care needs etc.)

October 2015-January 2016: Volunteered with a doctor at a nursing home

November 2015 -February 2016: Shadowed researchers at a DNA Lab

Summer 2016: SMDEP/SHPEP

September 2016 - present: volunteering at a hospital where we basically do what social workers do.

(These aren't certain yet) I'm hoping to be a bio/chemistry TA this fall. Also I might write medical articles over the summer as well. Thoughts?

I know I was vague but I just wanted a general idea of how it sounds, thanks.

Any non-medical community service?

And I agree about the physician shadowing comment, as even if you shadowed docs in the foreign country, you still need US physician shadowing, ideally, including a primary care doc. Or does the nursing home gig cover that?

 

[mwsapphire]

How many hours of volunteering did you accumulate? Dropping it may look a bit off putting ( as in, you lost interest), unless you picked up several other EC's and then just didn't have time for it .

 

[SpeedaBoY]

Do you have any activities that involve the strange phenomenon called personal enjoyment?

Yeah, I actually enjoyed everything on that list (although the first thing I mentioned became VERY stressful which is why I dropped it. Plus it was my freshman year of college and my grades were slipping because of all the time I dedicated to it. My grades have gone up since because I now know how to juggle school with internships but I clearly didn't back then.) As for hobbies I like writing and art a lot but am not a part of any official clubs or anything for that, I just do it whenever I have the time.

 

[SpeedaBoY]

Any non-medical community service?

And I agree about the physician shadowing comment, as even if you shadowed docs in the foreign country, you still need US physician shadowing, ideally, including a primary care doc. Or does the nursing home gig cover that?

Yes, the nursing home gig covers shadowing a primary care physician, and the SMDEP/SHPEP offers 12 hours of primary care physician shadowing, and 3 hours of dentist shadowing. The nursing home was...roughly....64 hours of shadowing I think.

 

[Catalystik]

As for hobbies I like writing and art a lot but am not a part of any official clubs or anything for that, I just do it whenever I have the time.

Be sure to list them so adcomms can see you have some stress reducing activities. For Hobbies, you don't need to list a Contact with AMCAS, so it doesn't matter if you can legitimize them with an organizational affiliation.

 

[Catalystik]

Yes, the nursing home gig covers shadowing a primary care physician, and the SMDEP/SHPEP offers 12 hours of primary care physician shadowing, and 3 hours of dentist shadowing. The nursing home was...roughly....64 hours of shadowing I think.

For AMCAS, keep in mind that you can't double list an activity in two categories (tho for TMDSAS you can). Shadowing is entered on its own and isn't considered a volunteer activity, since it only helps you. It might take some strategizing to be sure both elements are apparent on the application.