I want an honest advice about what medical schools prefer. Is it high GPA and MCAT with average ECs or the other way round?

[Medigal]

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So I have this question as I am a rising sophomore and am more of an academic person with a 4.0 cGPA and 4.0 sGPA. This is not to brag, it is just how I was raised outside of the US that my parents did not let me participate in extracurricular activities and always pushed me to excel academically so I became a nerd even though I had other interests. Now I find it difficult to participate in ECs as I think I will end up getting bad grades and also, I don't have that much skill to be a part of clubs or other activities. I do, however, volunteer at a hospital and do basic stuff which gets boring after some point as they don't have any work to assign me. I will be joining a good hospital soon next month where I may enjoy volunteering. I have always been interested in research and hence, I am going to join a lab either this summer or upcoming fall. I also have a high probability of getting a job as a TA for Gen Bio next semester. My point is, I am concerned about how I will find meaningful ECs to demonstrate my commitment to medicine. I may not get a leadership position if I don't participate in a club. I also don't have many hobbies. If I get a good GPA and MCAT and focus on research, volunteering, and TAing and not have something to stand out in particular, will I still be competitive enough for medical schools in the east coast (I am from the west coast)? I want to move to the east coast permanently so I think it would be better if I attended medical school there as well.

 

[Rachapkis]

Your grades, MCAT score AND a demonstrated interest in medicine are all material factors in getting accepted into medical school, particularly the top schools. Not only will extracurricular activities help demonstrate your interest in medicine and highlight the traits that make a good doctor (leadership, ability to communicate well with others, etc.), they will also show you whether you will enjoy being a doctor and possess the traits/skills to be successful. Dive in and enjoy.

 

[candbgirl]

They want the whole package. If volunteering is boring how are you ever going to be sure you even want to work with the sick, injured and dying for the next 30+ years. What brought you to consider medicine in the first place? You didn’t mention shadowing and you need that too. Especially spend some time with a primary care doctor. And since medicine is a service profession you have to show your altruism to ADCOMS. This means providing service to the unserved/underserved in your community. You should get out of your comfort zone and start working and interacting with people unlike yourself. You know, people you most likely will be seeing as patients.
Numbers wise it is usually recommended that you have around 50 hours of shadowing, at least 150 hours of clinical experience and at least 150 hours of nonclinical volunteering. Of course these aren’t the only things you need. You’ll have research(although it isn’t necessary some places), activities that make you stand out in a sea of applications are important too. This can be hobbies, sports, etc..
You have plenty of time to get everything done but you need to try to enjoy some of these activities or you’re looking at a long frustrating experience. And really applying to med school is tough. Every year only about 40 percent of applicants are accepted. That means 60 percent are rejected and that includes applicants with stellar applications. You only want to apply one time with the best possible application possible. So take a deep breath and start working on those ECs. Your GPA is great, hopefully you will continue that and do well on the MCAT. Now settle down and work on those ECs.

 

[Aslanim]

GPA and MCAT first. Everything else comes second. Don't get distracted by all the noise like I was.

 

[DoctorVenom]

The admissions director at my school said he looks for the "balanced" applicant. Good GPA, MCAT, and EC's. Your only as strong as your weakest link

 

[Osminog]

It's better to have 90th percentile stats with 50th percentile ECs than to have 50th percentile stats with 90th percentile ECs. GPA and MCAT aren't the be-all and end-all, but they do carry the most weight in the admission process.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

You need all of it. Sacrificing one for the other is a dangerous game.

But GPA and MCAT come first. Don't let anyone fool you, those two are still king.

 

[beattheprocess]

ECs can be improved much easily. A bad GPA is an long and expensive fix. A bad MCAT is less expensive but improved scores are averaged with your worse scores. EC hours on the other hand can be piled on easily even if you don't like it.

 

[tiny turtle]

I think it's an anomaly to have such good ECs that you can slide with a bad MCAT/GPA. I think the people who can do that are rare and exceptional, and it probably involves a certain amount of luck (stumbling upon the right opportunities at the right time). I'd say, from a statistical standpoint, you're much better off with a good MCAT/GPA and do a couple ECs that you actually enjoy without killing yourself over them.

 

[Goro]

Stats get you to the door. ECs get you through it.

 

[Phoebus Apollo]

I hear you.

To hone in on one thing: I’ve done some unsatisfying volunteer work in my day — and a lot of it has been in hospitals. Think about it: you have no medical skills yet; you likely have nothing to offer to a clinic or hospital besides an ability to do little errands and stand around.

Clinical volunteering is a box to check, but other types of service can be much for fulfilling for someone at your level of training (I.e. undergrad).

You should look for non clinical volunteer work that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Write letters to convicts. Overnight at a shelter for people experiencing homelessness. Find out what the problems are in your community and help out locally. You don’t need any special skills for that, and it just might light a fire under your butt that makes you more than a bookworm. (And bookworms are great, by the way! But it’s time to become multidimensional.)

 

[Medigal]

They want the whole package. If volunteering is boring how are you ever going to be sure you even want to work with the sick, injured and dying for the next 30+ years. What brought you to consider medicine in the first place? You didn’t mention shadowing and you need that too. Especially spend some time with a primary care doctor. And since medicine is a service profession you have to show your altruism to ADCOMS. This means providing service to the unserved/underserved in your community. You should get out of your comfort zone and start working and interacting with people unlike yourself. You know, people you most likely will be seeing as patients.
Numbers wise it is usually recommended that you have around 50 hours of shadowing, at least 150 hours of clinical experience and at least 150 hours of nonclinical volunteering. Of course these aren’t the only things you need. You’ll have research(although it isn’t necessary some places), activities that make you stand out in a sea of applications are important too. This can be hobbies, sports, etc..
You have plenty of time to get everything done but you need to try to enjoy some of these activities or you’re looking at a long frustrating experience. And really applying to med school is tough. Every year only about 40 percent of applicants are accepted. That means 60 percent are rejected and that includes applicants with stellar applications. You only want to apply one time with the best possible application possible. So take a deep breath and start working on those ECs. Your GPA is great, hopefully you will continue that and do well on the MCAT. Now settle down and work on those ECs.

I am going to shadow a family medicine doctor in fall and I have planned to volunteer at a food bank as well. I am in the process of becoming a part of the American Cancer Society by serving as a Legislative Ambassador to help enact laws or advocate in general. Are these activities along with the one I mentioned before enough to stand out?

 

[meronebib]

MCAT and none will say it explicitly. But that doesn’t mean that a high MCAT by itself is sufficient.

 

[gonnif]

MCAT and none will say it explicitly. But that doesn’t mean that a high MCAT by itself is sufficient.

My two advisees with under 504 MCATs got acceptance, neither was URM
My 520+ (Got it twice as first take expired) took 3 cycles to get in

 

[DoctorVenom]

My two advisees with under 504 MCATs got acceptance, neither was URM
My 520+ (Got it twice as first take expired) took 3 cycles to get in

whaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttttttttttt forreal!? Why didnt the 520+ get in? yield protection?

 

[Peter Pan.]

whaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttttttttttt forreal!? Why didnt the 520+ get in? yield protection?

Bad ECs, top heavy school list, bad essay writing, etc. I know someone with a 522 and 4.0 who didn’t get in. He didn’t have any volunteering and like 20 hours of shadowing. Wasn’t apart of any school clubs. Since then he has started volunteering so he should get in after better ECs.

 

[Dr panda]

Depends on a school. There are mission-driven schools that look for students who fit in their mission. As far as I know different schools look for different types of students, some want research heavy applicants, some highly favor those with experience with underserved population, some really like veterans.

 

[Dr panda]

Now I find it difficult to participate in ECs as I think I will end up getting bad grades and also, I don't have that much skill to be a part of clubs or other activities. I do, however, volunteer at a hospital and do basic stuff which gets boring after some point as they don't have any work to assign me.

You don't have to rush into 40+ hours ECs per week, you already do some and presumably you are still fine. Like in a gym, increase weights steadily over time, start with small weights and just few exercises, don't mimic Ronnie Coleman's workout on your first day. Same with ECs start with couple hours per week and raise it up to a sufficient amount over time, and you should be fine.

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Plenty of students with 4.0s and perfect SATs dont get into Harvard. It all starts with GPA and MCAT to get in the door to interview. Then ECs and your interview performance seal the deal

 

[theKingLT]

OP please don't go overboard with what everyone is telling you here about the importance of EC's. Yes they are important but your GPA and MCAT are much more important right now. Do what you can with the time you have but don't overextend yourself to the point that your grades start dropping or you can't study for the MCAT (in fact I recommend dropping most to all EC's during MCAT study if possible). Bad GPA or bad MCAT is hard to repair, whereas weak EC's are easily remedied with a gap year or 2

 

[gyngyn]

Schools are focused on applicants with stats at or slightly above their historic matriculation numbers.
The further you go below the norm, the more you need something (e.g. a personal quality or experience) that is in high demand.
The further above the median, the closer your ties to the the school need to be (e.g. geographic, familial).

 

[Peter Pan.]

If you don’t work a job or only work part time there really isn’t an excuse not to have ECs. You can’t tell adcoms you didn’t have time. Even people that work a job full time and go to school are still expected to have ECs.

What do you mean you don’t have skill to be apart of activities or clubs? It’s time to start honing these skills. Adcoms want to see initiative, drive, time management, leadership, networking, and social skills. You don’t need to be an expert to join. And over time you start to develop these skills if you are currently lacking in some. Get started now. Try out some ECs and pick some that you really like.

 

[capriccio]

even though I had other interests.

Maybe this is a good time to reconnect with your old interests!

Now I find it difficult to participate in ECs as I think I will end up getting bad grades and also, I don't have that much skill to be a part of clubs or other activities.

Start slow. Typical clubs are usually 1-2 hours a week for regular members, tops—it's really only if you're on a leadership board that those hours might start piling up a little (but that once again depends on the nature of the club, and you wouldn't need to worry about that if you're newly joined). Go to your student club fair (or something similar) and try signing up for a couple things that sound cool/interesting, dip your feet in a little and figure out how to balance it with school. If you really like it and get used to it, then you can start trying to increase your involvement. However, never ever sacrifice your GPA/MCAT for the sake of an EC, because GPA/MCAT are the first metrics that you'll be judged by. It's fine to scale back involvement if you're having a tough/busy semester.

Many clubs also usually have very low entry requirements—for many of them it's the primary recruitment draw. If you don't know how, someone will teach you. It is also just an EC and you are among fellow students, there isn't too much pressure to be amazing.

I am concerned about how I will find meaningful ECs to demonstrate my commitment to medicine.

You really just need a solid/interesting clinical experience with some sustained involvement and shadowing to demonstrate a commitment to medicine. Demonstration of commitment to service in general would be done with non-clinical volunteering. Sounds like you have this covered from one of your other comments.

I also don't have many hobbies.

There must be SOMETHING you like doing outside of school, or something you're interested in talking about with friends! It doesn't have to be something mind blowing like running marathons in your spare time—even if you just like reading books or discussing movies with friends, that's a hobby.

 

[chemdoctor]

This topic has been talked about ad nauseam dude. Anyways, you need all three. This is a competitive process. However, it is far better to have a high GPA, high MCAT with decent ECs because ECs can BE EASILY FIXED. You can spend an entire summer volunteering and get over two hundred hours... You need all three.