Indicating charitable giving during applications?

[In Missourah]

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I'm a graduate student who is looking to perhaps apply to medical school sometime in the future. I've searched for threads that deal with my question, but found nothing satisfactory.

I currently donate regularly to charitable causes and have done so for several years now. I am a monthly supporter of St Jude Children's Hospital and Heifer International. I also donate regularly to the Honors Program at my alma mater, the Assistance Fund at my current university -- which was set up to assist graduate students with unexpected medical expenses -- and a border clinic in Thailand. In the past, I've given to Doctors Without Borders, UNICEF, and the Red Cross. I've been giving to these organizations since 2006. I began doing so mostly because I had an intense schedule in undergrad (>24 credit hours/semester plus a 20 hour/week job) and had not much free time to volunteer (I figured if I could not give my time, I could give my money). I've kept doing so and increased my donations when I got into grad school and began getting a monthly stipend.

I do not give to please anyone; no one knows I support these organizations, and I will continue to support them far into the foreseeable future. Nor do I do so out of any religious obligation. My reasons for my giving are mostly personal. I am an international student originally from a poor country and there were times before I came to the US that my family did not know where our next meal would come from, which is why I support programs like Heifer that help the poor, hungry, and destitute. I support the Honors Program at my alma mater because that Program provided the scholarship that made it possible for me to come to the United States to study, and its funding was cut after I graduated.

My question is that I believe that my giving is an important dimension of me that I think adcoms should know about. But will they view it that way? What do you guys think? Mention or no?

 

[QofQuimica]

No. While it's laudable that you support these organizations, talking about charitable giving has high potential for coming across as tacky. I imagine this is why you've had the good sense to keep quiet about it up till now. That is a good policy, and I'd stick to it.

(For the record, I'm saying this as someone who also regularly donates to several charities that are meaningful to me, and who even fundraises for some of them. I put none of that on my apps. Nor will I do so in the future.)

 

[AvidAvatar]

I find it imprudent to ever discuss monetary donations. I understand why you want to do it, but it just seems risky. 🙁

 

[startoverat40]

I agree with Q, and also think that you do need to give with your time and not just with monetary donations. That's the unspoken requirement for med school, to show your dedication to humanism, by devoting a part of your life to it. I think if you spent time working with these organizations, then maybe indirectly and in combination with describing your activities, you could mention that you gave both with your time and with your money, to describe your humanitarian philosophy, and "why [you] support programs like Heifer that help the poor, hungry, and destitute."

 

[dmf2682]

Fundraising should be OK though, right?

 

[militaryman]

I agree with the above. I would not put your charitable donations on your applications. I think it is great you donate, but putting it on an application does come across as tacky. I am a medical student, work part time as a PA-C, and have a wife and children, and I still find time to volunteer. You should get some volunteer hours to help your application.

 

[MT Headed]

I endowed my own scholarship at Johns Hopkins University, listed it as an EC, and the topic never came up at any of my interviews.

For what it's worth, I never applied to JHU for undergrad or med school (now THAT would have been tacky!), and I established the scholarship about 15 years ago, long before I considered a medical type career.

I struggled for a long time whether or not to list it as an EC, and eventually decided I would because it was consistent with one of my application's three themes (education of those who come after me).

But I don't think it made any positive benefit to my application. Everybody wanted to talk about sailing through the Caribbean, really.

 

[In Missourah]

I agree with the above. I would not put your charitable donations on your applications. I think it is great you donate, but putting it on an application does come across as tacky. I am a medical student, work part time as a PA-C, and have a wife and children, and I still find time to volunteer. You should get some volunteer hours to help your application.

In response to this, I volunteer now. I've been volunteering at the Emergency Room at my school's hospital. I'm on track to have more than 300 hours when the time comes for me to apply.

On a further note, I have mentioned my giving on two occasions, and they were during interviews. Since I was an undergraduate at the time, I stressed that I had a really busy schedule and because I found it difficult to give my time, I gave my money instead. It was actually looked upon with favor, and I was accepted at both places. One of my interviewers also gave to one of the organizations I support and was familiar with their work.

I know this is an awkward subject, and there is a fine line I should walk if I even mention this at all. But it would be hard to make the case that I consider myself a caring individual without concrete evidence to back my claim up. It is not a "once in a blue moon" thing, but consistent, month-in-month-out giving for more than 4 years and counting, even though I could have used the money for other things. Moreover, taking the border clinic in Thailand as an example, I obviously cannot volunteer with them even though I care about what they do, which is why I support them financially.

In this process we are judged by how we spend our time, and are expected to present ourselves in the best possible light. How come the subject of how I spend my money is verboten, even though it can also add to the picture of who I am as a person? 😕 (But I will listen to the previous advice, and not mention it).

 

[startoverat40]

giving financially is very admirable. but on the other had it is kind of like arm-chair activism. it does show caring, but not to the extent of being on the field and getting your hands dirty. and you can go to Thailand or many other places and do volunteer work. not with the humani-tourism companies, but with some reputable NGOs. remember you need to show not only that you have the intention to do good, and humanitarian spirit, but also that you have had the experience of working with/for underprivileged people, people of different backgrounds, and in situations from which you have learned skills applicable to medicine.

 

[LingoLaine]

My husband and I also donate to several charities on a consistent basis but the thought of listing them on my application honestly never crossed my mind. Although admirable, I don't think it's really relevant.