How important is Volunteering

[Certified Corsair]

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Hi all,

Just curious how important clinical/non-clinical volunteering is to admissions or if it would make or break someone. I have about 100 clinical and 60 non-clinical from when I was in school among other things, but it has definitely been harder trying to do it with any consistency while working.

Any thoughts?

 

[SLCpod]

Hi all,

Just curious how important clinical/non-clinical volunteering is to admissions or if it would make or break someone. I have about 100 clinical and 60 non-clinical from when I was in school among other things, but it has definitely been harder trying to do it with any consistency while working.

Any thoughts?

That should be enough.

 

[foot meister]

Hi all,

Just curious how important clinical/non-clinical volunteering is to admissions or if it would make or break someone. I have about 100 clinical and 60 non-clinical from when I was in school among other things, but it has definitely been harder trying to do it with any consistency while working.

Any thoughts?

The real important things are grades and MCAT. Having a fair amount of volunteer hours definitely can help you though. They want to see if you are dedicated to the field and if you are a well rounded person. When you do volunteer, try to be dedicated to that volunteer work, they do like consistency if possible. A large amount of volunteer work, patient care, and shadowing can help cushion your application if you have low GPA or MCAT but it is not required, just heavily encouraged.

 

[Weirdy]

Hi all,

Just curious how important clinical/non-clinical volunteering is to admissions or if it would make or break someone. I have about 100 clinical and 60 non-clinical from when I was in school among other things, but it has definitely been harder trying to do it with any consistency while working.

Any thoughts?

What SLC and Miester said.

If there wasn't volunteering they didn't ask.
If there was, they were more concerned with quality and consistency rather than stat padding.
If you're working it'll probably help your case because they know you've been put through the real world work force.

 

[Certified Corsair]

Okay thanks guys! I mainly ask because the occasional volunteering I do now is just little events I probably wouldn't even record or try putting in my application so I just wanted to make sure I wasn't hurting myself by not doing any consistently. At the moment I am just doing mentoring/tutoring for underserved kids down the road from my work because I enjoy it, but it's only about 2 hours a week or so.

 

[foot meister]

Okay thanks guys! I mainly ask because the occasional volunteering I do now is just little events I probably wouldn't even record or try putting in my application so I just wanted to make sure I wasn't hurting myself by not doing any consistently. At the moment I am just doing mentoring/tutoring for underserved kids down the road from my work because I enjoy it, but it's only about 2 hours a week or so.

Hey if you've done it consistently for at least a month it wont hurt you to put it on there. At least they'll have a good idea of what kind of person you are.

 

[Certified Corsair]

Hey if you've done it consistently for at least a month it wont hurt you to put it on there. At least they'll have a good idea of what kind of person you are.

Ya I work evenings so I've basically been doing it this semester so far since I can go at that time. I may be switching jobs into a molecular biology lab on day shift though in the coming weeks and I would definitely stop for that opportunity lol

 

[Nowehjose]

It came up in both my interviews. I was also an EMT for 3-4 years, so it was relevant. Major impact? I don't know, no acceptances yet(waiting for MCAT).

 

[Nowehjose]

It came up in both my interviews. I was also an EMT for 3-4 years, so it was relevant. Major impact? I don't know, no acceptances yet(waiting for MCAT).

 

[feetsreets]

i think it wont necessarily hinder anyone's chances by not having volunteer work but it definitely can help. I had my volunteer work come up in every interview I had, and I think it really helped me stand out. I had a few years worth of volunteer work. Like it was said before, admissions like to see that you were committed to something, rather than just see fluff in your application. pod school is a huge commitment and they love to see that you previously were able to commit to something at least for extended periods of time regardless if it was medical related or not.

 

[Certified Corsair]

It came up in both my interviews. I was also an EMT for 3-4 years, so it was relevant. Major impact? I don't know, no acceptances yet(waiting for MCAT).

I know you're not sure if it was a major impact, but during the interview at least, did they give you the impression it would determine anything or were they just curious? Also, were you on volunteer call EMS or actually have that as a job the whole time?

 

[Nowehjose]

I know you're not sure if it was a major impact, but during the interview at least, did they give you the impression it would determine anything or were they just curious? Also, were you on volunteer call EMS or actually have that as a job the whole time?

I did paid through private company and volunteer through firehouse(where I am from EMT's are volunteer 6pm-6am). I mean, in both interviews we discussed it for roughly 20% of the time. It also really depends on the interviewer. One did not mention my grades, while the other asked about a W I had. You know, it's not black and white. I do feel my experience should help me though.

 

[Racer543]

I think volunteering is very important. I was asked about my volunteering experience at all of my 4 interviews. Volunteering shows a sign of commitment and med schools looks for that. I don't know to what extent it can "make or break someone", but the more volunteering experience the better.

 

[Weirdy]

It came up in both my interviews. I was also an EMT for 3-4 years, so it was relevant. Major impact? I don't know, no acceptances yet(waiting for MCAT).

Hopefully you'll get interviews soon!

 

[AnkleGuy]

I decided to volunteer at a homeless shelter and food bank for about 100 hours instead of a clinic so I hope they'd find that okay. I was just more interested in actually helping people instead of doing things in a clinic that wouldn't actually matter that much like filing papers or "office" type stuff. I just hope 100 is enough because I spread it would slowly over the years in between other stuff I was busy with...

 

[GypsyHummus]

I can tell you as someone who got accepted to AZPOD with wayyyyyyy lower MCAT than should have been conceivable, my volenteer experiences took up prolly 40% of my interview. Come to find out, they are rediculoisly service oriented.

Never underestimate the power of this stuff.

 

[Weirdy]

I can tell you as someone who got accepted to AZPOD with wayyyyyyy lower MCAT than should have been conceivable, my volenteer experiences took up prolly 40% of my interview. Come to find out, they are rediculoisly service oriented.

Never underestimate the power of this stuff.

Had an interviewer ask me if my dedication to a certain youth group that spanned 15+ years was "mandatory" due to my ethnic background.
Was a bit annoyed but I could see how they were trying to see if I was doing it out of obligation or if I just liked being there. I think that's the only interview where they really dug into my volunteering.

 

[GypsyHummus]

Had an interviewer ask me if my dedication to a certain youth group that spanned 15+ years was "mandatory" due to my ethnic background.
Was a bit annoyed but I could see how they were trying to see if I was doing it out of obligation or if I just liked being there. I think that's the only interview where they really dug into my volunteering.

What's ur ethnic background? Jedi?

 

[Weirdy]

What's ur ethnic background? Jedi?

Yup. They questioned my light saber training. I questioned their resolve.