How good does TAing look to adcoms?

[plaz]

I have the opportunity to TA for decent pay in a prerequisite class for medical school. I'm sure it would help me with the MCAT. It would get me a good letter of recommendation. It would be leadership experience.

BUT

It would require a lot of time. Probably 20-25 hours/week...

So, the determining factor for me on whether to do it or not is going to be how it look in the eyes of the adcoms. So how good does it look?

Extremely good?
Really good?
Okay?​

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Ignition]

Average

 

[BlueElmo]

Just okay. It's not a huge deal.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Ok, but it would be more helpful if you intend to press that you want to go into teaching/health education/academic medicine.

 

[plaz]

Ok, but it would be more helpful if you intend to press that you want to go into teaching/health education/academic medicine.

You're talking MD/PhD, right? How does TAing in a simple prerequisite class that just requires more time practicing than brains show an affinity toward the academic route? I mean, I just think it might be fun to teach, but I don't know if it would be worth my time. Moreover, I don't really know whether I would like it or not since I have no experience TAing.

 

[zayka]

I think that it would look good/average. It sure pays well though! But TAing is not available to undergrads at all colleges (most TA's at mine are PhD students) so I don't think it would be fair to really expect something like that form everyone to show initiative in medicine

 

[CCLCMer]

I have the opportunity to TA for decent pay in a prerequisite class for medical school. I'm sure it would help me with the MCAT. It would get me a good letter of recommendation. It would be leadership experience.

BUT

It would require a lot of time. Probably 20-25 hours/week...

So, the determining factor for me on whether to do it or not is going to be how it look in the eyes of the adcoms. So how good does it look?

Extremely good?
Really good?
Okay?​

This is like asking if women will like you better if you TA. Some might like it, some won't care, and others will think you're a dork. From reading your post, it doesn't sound like you really want to TA. So then, don't. Do something else you like better instead. There's no point in trying to second-guess adcomms, man.

 

[GoSpursGo]

You're talking MD/PhD, right? How does TAing in a simple prerequisite class that just requires more time practicing than brains show an affinity toward the academic route? I mean, I just think it might be fun to teach, but I don't know if it would be worth my time. Moreover, I don't really know whether I would like it or not since I have no experience TAing.

I actually had one school specifically ask me on one of their secondaries what aspects of medicine I saw being a part of my future career, and teaching was one of the choices. So some schools are interested in it.

That said, it's fairly pedestrian. All it really requires is being able to remember the information you learned a year ago and giving some of your time--anyone can do that, so it's really "just ok." There are plenty of reasons to still do it--the pay, the prep for the MCAT, the potential to get a good letter, and if teaching is something you enjoy, some personal satisfaction. But looking super-impressive as an EC is not one of the reasons you should do it; I'd say it's maybe on par with being an officer of a club.

 

[rockaction]

I'm a firm believer in having all your ECs be things you would feel motivated to do anyway, even if you weren't applying to medical school (except clinical stuff, for obvious reasons.) I found TAing to be a very rewarding experience for me. I did it for a lab and it was fun to teach and help underclassmen. If that's rewarding for you, go for it. If not, don't do it. It probably doesn't look super spectacular to adcoms, but it looks good.

 

[trueBelief]

I'm a firm believer in having all your ECs be things you would feel motivated to do anyway, even if you weren't applying to medical school (except clinical stuff, for obvious reasons.) I found TAing to be a very rewarding experience for me. I did it for a lab and it was fun to teach and help underclassmen. If that's rewarding for you, go for it. If not, don't do it. It probably doesn't look super spectacular to adcoms, but it looks good.

I agree with this advice. I have a tonne of teaching experience because that is something I really enjoy doing. I have TA'ed several courses for 3 different departments at different points in my undergrad and grad career. It is one of the most satisfying experiences I have had. If you feel like you will be enthusiastic to mentor underclassmen and do a good job then go for it otherwise don't because you will be hurting their growth.

 

[plaz]

Well, I really would enjoy the experience, I think. I have always wanted to be a TA, but I am concerned with the amount of time it requires. One is required to grade tests, hold office hours, conduct classes multiple times during the week, and hold reviews for tests. That requires a lot of time!

 

[mirrorpair]

I've been a TA for four years (I'm a grad student so it's required work). Personally I've found that being a TA has been a valuable experience; I've learned to communicate better with people and I've gotten experience as someone with authority (which was a little tough getting used to for me).

I've had to deal from the mundane such as explaining a concept in a different light for someone or doing a regrade to something tough like confronting someone with cheating. It was initially hard because I wanted to please everyone but at some point you have to knuckle down and do what is fair--for instance, telling someone that they didn't deserve extra points on the exam. Or, if a student asks if they should drop the class, being honest and saying that they aren't ready and explaining how they can prepare themselves the next time around. For me, this experience was new and I learned a lot from it. You may not get so much either because you have this experience already or because the school won't give you much power so you can't be put into these tough positions.

I probably sound power-hungry with what I've said but let me give an analogy: do you think your experience as a volunteer at a hospital was worthwhile? I volunteered at an emergency room about 5 years ago and they had me change trashcans and file paperwork--it was worthless. But if they let me do things that carried some risk/authority to it (like drawing blood, explaining results, etc.) I would get more from it. But for obvious reasons, they don't want unqualified people making important decisions in a medical field.

But being a TA is pretty low-risk so they'll give you more power and you can learn how to deal with authority in that position. And I think that would translate well into medicine (especially if you know how to explain it in your AMCAS).

As for time--it depends on your school. I have to do 20 hours a week so it's a lot of work. If your job is mostly grading stuff then it'll probably be useless. But if you have to interact with people a lot then it would be a valuable experience.

 

[AlanAlanine]

how about you spend less time thinking about whether or not you want to be a TA, and more time deciding if you want to be a doctor or a dentist?

 

[Van Chowder]

like cheese

 

[schrizto]

This is like asking if women will like you better if you TA. Some might like it, some won't care, and others will think you're a dork.

good analogy

 

[dmblue]

generally when you make a poll it's good to have a variety of options.

on a scale from 1-10

extremely good=~10
really good ~9
okay=~5


I personally was looking for above average, which would be like a 6

 

[shiftingmirage]

I was a TA in UG and enjoyed it. It provided a nice break from the books and was still informative. Also allowed me to be friends with some of the faculty, a definite plus for LORs.
I agree with the above post. I wish the poll had a 'good' option. A decent number of applicants have TA on their resume, so it's not earth shattering.