I am not in any clubs - am I in trouble?

[ATX00]

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I started back at school taking prereqs last fall. I've been taking pretty heavy courseloads (17-18 hours, almost all science classes), and I commute an hour each way to/from school. I'm also working 12-20 hours per week at a SA clinic.

My school only has two animal-related clubs -- prevet and wildlife. Joining either will mean I have to significantly cut back my work hours, and I'm not sure my job will want to keep me around for less than 8 hours a week. This seems like a big sacrifice to make to be able to list 1.5 months membership to some campus clubs when I submit my application.

On top of this, I have been to a couple prevet meetings, and I wasn't thrilled about it. The group is extremely small (~12 people), they don't do much service work at all, and mostly they seem to sit around and chat. Once they had a guest speaker from Ross admissions, where I'm not applying. (I hope it doesn't sound like I'm bashing these other prevets -- I think it's just that the school is small and most students that are serious about applying are too busy with their own apps/experience to organize a bunch of activities/speakers for such a small group.) I know I'm learning more by working at a great clinic than by eating pizza with other prevets, but the "Extracurriculars" section of my TMDSAS app is completely blank. I have lots of animal/vet volunteer/work experience.

I wish I had just paid dues to these clubs when I started back at school so I could put them on my app now, which is stupid. 🙁 Will adcoms think I'm boring and antisocial because I'm not in any clubs? Should I quit working and join some clubs while I still have the chance?

 

[168135]

I'm not sure how clubs work at your university. At mine, I'm a member of the biology society. Meetings are held once a week during lunch time and are generally only 20 minutes long. We plan a hike, which takes up a Saturday afternoon, have a couple of bakesales, and attend a weekend-long conference in February. I'm already at the school for the meetings, so it's not like I have to go out of my way to attend meeting. Also, I'm thinking of volunteering for the Women's Centre in the fall. You volunteer there whenever you want for however long you want. I'm thinking of doing it whenever I have hour-long gaps in between classes.

I don't know how it works for you guys in the states, but at the school I'm applying to (AVC), extracurriculars make up 5% of your application. I know someone who was rejected because their extracurriculars weren't up to par.

 

[nyanko]

It's probably too late and pretty transparent to start going to some club's meetings now, like a month before the deadline, but in case you have to apply again (and I hope you don't!!) I think the adcoms just want to see you're involved in something outside of school. Like, you have SOME other interests and take SOME initiative to learn more/participate in these interests. To that end, they don't necessarily need to be animal related things.

My extracurriculars were pretty much all sports, aside from the veterinary and animal experience I listed under the appropriate vet/animal experience sections. I didn't belong to any real relevant school sponsored clubs except our chapter of American Society for Microbiology which I just remembered right now and didn't put on my application anyway. So I'm sure it depends some on the school - since you said TMDSAS I think it's a safe assumption that you mean TAMU. Hopefully someone can offer more of an insight as to how they weight involvement in extracurriculars...

 

[lmm2014]

I agree with Nyanko, it is a little late to join clubs now, but I don't think it will hurt you much. Assuming your grades are ok, it sounds to me like you are a good applicant. Taking a heavy load of classes while working indicates to the adcoms that you can handle heavy courseloads and do well.

Do you have any extracurriculars in high school that you did? If so, you could list those.

 

[dyachei]

I think the general idea behind schools and them caring about extra-curriculars is to make sure you have balance in your life. They really don't want students to burn out because they do nothing outside of vet school. They also like to see leadership positions and community involvement. I'm not sure how much they weigh it though. Best guess is that it is different for each school.

 

[WhtsThFrequency]

Unless you're the president of a club and/or organize tons of activities...no one cares. Seriously. Its ok 🙂 I was never in a single club in college.

They reason they don't care is because they know a lot of people will just pay dues for a ton of stuff to buff up their resume, but never go or contribute. Don't cut back on your work hours for that. Extracurriculars can be hobbies as well. One of mine was hiking, for example.

 

[deleted266066]

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[sumstorm]

If you do something else that is extra curricular (ie play tennis, play an instrument, SCUBA dive, etc) that can be listed as well....it isn't just formal clubs. The schools that are looking at that are looking for diversity of interests and pressure release valves.

 

[lei325]

Unless you're the president of a club and/or organize tons of activities...no one cares. Seriously. Its ok 🙂 I was never in a single club in college.

Me neither. I still got into veterinary school. I didn't have time for clubs either as an undergrad. I was working 30ish hours a week trying to keep up with bills. Extracurriculars can be anything that you do outside of school that you enjoy and do more than once in a while. Don't panic about not being in clubs; I found most of them to be vastly overrated.

 

[ATX00]

Thanks for all the input, guys! I feel much better knowing that I can list hobbies - I have those! 😀

SDN is really great at saving me from unnecessary panic. 😳

 

[cowgirla]

I'm not sure how clubs work at your university. At mine, I'm a member of the biology society. Meetings are held once a week during lunch time and are generally only 20 minutes long. We plan a hike, which takes up a Saturday afternoon, have a couple of bakesales, and attend a weekend-long conference in February. I'm already at the school for the meetings, so it's not like I have to go out of my way to attend meeting. Also, I'm thinking of volunteering for the Women's Centre in the fall. You volunteer there whenever you want for however long you want. I'm thinking of doing it whenever I have hour-long gaps in between classes.

I don't know how it works for you guys in the states, but at the school I'm applying to (AVC), extracurriculars make up 5% of your application. I know someone who was rejected because their extracurriculars weren't up to par.

I was accepted to AVC as an international student, and I literally did not have a single EC activity from college. I never joined any clubs, fraternities, etc. And I still got in 🙂 I listed the Equestrian Team from senior year of high school, and left the other parts blank. (It says activities from the last five years)

So like we always say, "it all depends." It is definitely possible to get in without doing any clubs or anything; I think the most important part is to show that you were doing something besides sitting at home and playing video games in your free time.

 

[NStarz]

I agree with most of the posters above. I don't think they're a make-it-or-break-it part of your application. The ADCOMs just like to see a well-rounded individual. If all you did was go to school and obtained a 4.0 but nothing else, that would probably be a negative. If you were working and engaging in other activities, that would fine 🙂

I think the EC's can only help you (unless you're a part of an Abortion Club or something controversial like that). For me, clubs were a great way to highlight my leadership skills and I plan to include them in my apps for that reason. Of course, leadership can take other forms, such as being a head tech or teaching a new technician new skills.

That said, if it's between two people with identical apps (like that every happens!) and one had EC's and the other didn't, the one with EC's would probably win out. Engaging in your community is important, and one of the reasons I am pursuing vet med. I think the ADCOMs know this as well.

Joining clubs now would look like a last ditch effort, so I wouldn't recommend it if you'd only be doing it for that reason. You can DEFINITELY put down hobbies and other aspects of yourself that you spend a lot of time on. Good luck!

 

[168135]

I was accepted to AVC as an international student, and I literally did not have a single EC activity from college. I never joined any clubs, fraternities, etc. And I still got in 🙂 I listed the Equestrian Team from senior year of high school, and left the other parts blank. (It says activities from the last five years)

Just wondering, were you accepted before they changed their admission requirements? I know a vet who got accepted with the minimum 40 hour SA and 40 hour LA requirements, but I wouldn't recommend getting just the minimum now 😛

The person I know who got rejected (not waitlisted... rejected!), was told that they had an above average GPA, good veterinary experience, a good interview, but she needed to work on her extracurriculars. It boggles my mind.

I emailed someone at AVC about how to describe my extracurriculars, and this is the reply I got: "Thank you for the message on the veterinary experience, and extra-curricular activities. You are so right in paying attention to this component of the AVC admission process. It is valued at 15% of the total score."

Seems to be some inconsistencies between the website and the email.

I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'm not too worried... since I can count my highschool extracurriculars, I have more than 10.

 

[cowgirla]

Just wondering, were you accepted before they changed their admission requirements? I know a vet who got accepted with the minimum 40 hour SA and 40 hour LA requirements, but I wouldn't recommend getting just the minimum now 😛

The person I know who got rejected (not waitlisted... rejected!), was told that they had an above average GPA, good veterinary experience, a good interview, but she needed to work on her extracurriculars. It boggles my mind.

I emailed someone at AVC about how to describe my extracurriculars, and this is the reply I got: "Thank you for the message on the veterinary experience, and extra-curricular activities. You are so right in paying attention to this component of the AVC admission process. It is valued at 15% of the total score."

Seems to be some inconsistencies between the website and the email.

I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'm not too worried... since I can count my highschool extracurriculars, I have more than 10.

I was accepted this past cycle for class of 2014 🙂

 

[168135]

I was accepted this past cycle for class of 2014 🙂

Congrats! It still boggles my mind though why the other person wasn't accepted

 

[nyanko]

I emailed someone at AVC about how to describe my extracurriculars, and this is the reply I got: "Thank you for the message on the veterinary experience, and extra-curricular activities. You are so right in paying attention to this component of the AVC admission process. It is valued at 15% of the total score."

Seems to be some inconsistencies between the website and the email.

Yeah, but you asked about veterinary experience in addition to extracurriculars.

 

[168135]

Yeah, but you asked about veterinary experience in addition to extracurriculars.

Good point 👍

 

[hunterjumper12]

Congrats! It still boggles my mind though why the other person wasn't accepted

With situations like that, I always have to wonder how the LOR were. Perhaps that person had some not so great or even bad LOR...? Or maybe the admissions committee just threw darts at the applications on the wall

 

[168135]

With situations like that, I always have to wonder how the LOR were. Perhaps that person had some not so great or even bad LOR...? Or maybe the admissions committee just threw darts at the applications on the wall

AVC doesn't require LORs.

 

[hunterjumper12]

AVC doesn't require LORs.

Hmm, that is crazy. I guess this just goes back to the seemingly random selection of applicants.