How many extracurriculars do you need?

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[AllDaWEI]

I'm a freshman pre-med at UCLA. I'm currently in floor government and I'm in a volunteering program for blood pressure screening at health sites (I plan on being in this for all 4 years). Other than that I plan on starting research and joining a mobile clinic program soon.

If I do all these ^ for long-term, are they enough in respect to a high GPA / MCAT?

The admissions process is a crapshoot. There can never be too many activities. Then again, thats just SDN mentality.

 

[PMPMD]

I'm a freshman pre-med at UCLA. I'm currently in floor government and I'm in a volunteering program for blood pressure screening at health sites (I plan on being in this for all 4 years). Other than that I plan on starting research and joining a mobile clinic program soon.

If I do all these ^ for long-term, are they enough in respect to a high GPA / MCAT?

A few good ones with lots of hours and leadership roles are much better than a laundry list of clubs for which you just showed up.

 

[shoehornlettuce]

These forums are definitely a bit over the top when it comes to EC's. Don't get me wrong, it's important to demonstrate you know what you're getting yourself into through shadowing or hospital volunteering but it isn't the end of the world if you haven't been racking up clinical hours since high school. A buddy of mine got 5 MD acceptances and his only med related experience was 50 hours of shadowing at a walk in clinic. Granted the rest of his application (MCAT, GPA, rec letters, personal statement) was all solid, but I think med schools realize there is a point of diminishing returns on some of this crap.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

The SDN recommendation is probably something like:
100-150 clinical hours
10-20 shadowing
1+ semester of research
100+ hours of non-clinical volunteering
and if you're looking at top research schools you want to probably have a year of research.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

One solid volunteer commitment for four years is better than a bunch of scattered ones, IMO. And if you can turn floor government into a leadership position in greater student government, that'd be great. Other activities you should consider are shadowing (I'd say a necessity), research, or teaching. Just make sure you're only doing activities that you actually enjoy. If you try something out and don't like it, just be honest and find something else you like.

 

[circulus vitios]

These forums are definitely a bit over the top when it comes to EC's. Don't get me wrong, it's important to demonstrate you know what you're getting yourself into through shadowing or hospital volunteering but it isn't the end of the world if you haven't been racking up clinical hours since high school. A buddy of mine got 5 MD acceptances and his only med related experience was 50 hours of shadowing at a walk in clinic. Granted the rest of his application (MCAT, GPA, rec letters, personal statement) was all solid, but I think med schools realize there is a point of diminishing returns on some of this crap.

As someone who will only have non-medical work, shadowing, and volunteering, this is a relief.

 

[druggeek]

It's all about improving your odds. If you've done research, lots of clinical volunteering, shadowing, been a top athlete, done other volunteering activities, had a few leadership positions, and done several other things on the side... all while getting a 3.8 and a 35 MCAT and having great ref letters/essay etc etc..... you got pretty good odds.

vs. someone who's putting together a few crap things along with a mediocre academic record (3.6/29?).

 

[Thego2guy]

^ Exactly. Sometimes I wonder, what are the real norms of matriculates. Clearly the norm on SDN is inflated (for a good reason), but still, makes me wonder.