I feel like I am off-track. As a second yr premed,I haven't really dont anything

[alexfoleyc]

For example, my fellow premed friends are working 2 jobs, doing internships, researching, etc..and I kind of slacking off. I can't seem to balance academic life with other components. I haven't volunteered or did anything special that would make me standout as a premed. I only shadowed one doctor and it wasn't exciting either; I watched her file paper work about 80% of the time. How can I get back on track? This semester is coming to an end and I have a tough semester ahead. A lot of my friends are "EMTing", volunteering, and doing very well in classes. How are they doing this? And yes, they party too! It would be nice if someone can get me started with a plan.

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[alexfoleyc]

I feel like I am off-track. As a second yr premed, I haven't really done anything

 

[SoutherNtellect]

I did:

Weekdays - academics. Maybe once a week was a club meeting
early Saturdays - volunteer
Friday and Saturday night - party
summer - work, shadow, research

 

[rockaction]

just do some volunteering. get involved with some clubs on campus. do medical and non-medical stuff. have hobbies. have a life. being a sophomore doesn't mean you've lost your chance to do things.

you'd be surprised what adcoms are looking for. i was asked more in interviews about playing drums in a band than about my research. so...take this time to indulge in your interests, no matter what they are, and enjoy this time.

i hardly did anything before applying. i really did not have a calculated plan. it all worked out for me (though scoring well on the MCAT and having a near-perfect GPA helped).

 

[J ROD]

The only way to do it is to get out there and do it!!

 

[dd128]

You don't need a super involved plan, just like someone else said do some volunteering. It doesn't have to be a lot, just 3 or 4 hours a week, doesn't have to be medical either. You need to get a handle of your school work as well, find out if you're taking too many classes or just studying unproductively. Once you get that under control you'll feel better about branching out to other things.

 

[Amadelphous]

This is about the time sophomore year (right before/during winter break) that I had a freak and really stepped my game up on out of class activities. Its hard to get really involved earlier than sophomore year when you are trying to focus on your grades and handle adjusting to school. Now is the perfect time to figure out how to get in your other premed stuff.

 

[TheMightySmiter]

You don't have to go overboard with ECs and activities right away, don't worry. But you should try to step it up. I reiterate previous suggestions to start volunteering several hours a week. Since you haven't mentioned any activities that are currently taking up any of your time apart from classes, you might try volunteering at a couple of places to broaden your experiences.

 

[m11p]

I'm a sophomore too and I haven't done anything major yet but I have started signing up for volunteering activities (mostly stuff that I thought was cool last year but just didn't do) and I'm still searching for a doctor to shadow. I have a pretty difficult semester too but I try to schedule the volunteer activities on the weekends or during the in between times I have between classes so it doesn't take anything out of my studying time. Why don't you call a local hospital and see if they have a volunteer program? Or find an activity that you are interested in and search for opportunities in that in your area. For example, I enjoy reading and hanging out with kids so I volunteered to read to elementary school children in an inner city neighborhood. Hope this helps!

 

[jvesco22]

I haven't really dont anything

lol i had to!

 

[Sammich117]

You don't need a super involved plan, just like someone else said do some volunteering. It doesn't have to be a lot, just 3 or 4 hours a week, doesn't have to be medical either. You need to get a handle of your school work as well, find out if you're taking too many classes or just studying unproductively. Once you get that under control you'll feel better about branching out to other things.

I love your avatar!!!!


To the OP: It's not too hard to do. Start of small and see what you can fit in. It's definitely not too late to get some good experience.