Is my non-clinical volunteering sufficient?

[bellpepper67]

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Hey y'all, I'm currently a junior and I'm planning on applying at the end of my senior year. I've been volunteering with two different orgs the past couple years, but I'm not sure if they're the type of non-clinical volunteering that med schools are looking for. I'm wondering if what I have is sufficient or if I should add something else in the 3 semesters before I apply.

- Volunteering 1: volunteer tutoring for refugee children in their homes in my community (105 hr so far, ~170 expected when applying). I've recently realized that the general rule is that tutoring isn't volunteering, so I don't know if these hours will "count." However, I think they might since it's with an underserved group outside of a strictly academic setting

- Volunteering 2: food distribution (100 hr so far, ~225 expected when applying). For this, I collect, package, and organize donations, then deliver them to other food banks in the community. My concern is that since I'm not serving anyone hands-on, schools might not view this as quality volunteering... is this an issue?

Both of these activities are super meaningful to me and I'll keep doing them either way, but I don't want to get to application time and realize that I don't have what schools are looking for. If not, I'll start volunteering in a more traditional setting this semester. If anyone with experience could let me know their thoughts that would be a big help. Sorry for the long question and thanks in advance!

 

[Goro]

I think you're good to go. Love what you do and do what you love

 

[AsclepiusAdvisingLLC]

Hey y'all, I'm currently a junior and I'm planning on applying at the end of my senior year. I've been volunteering with two different orgs the past couple years, but I'm not sure if they're the type of non-clinical volunteering that med schools are looking for. I'm wondering if what I have is sufficient or if I should add something else in the 3 semesters before I apply.

- Volunteering 1: volunteer tutoring for refugee children in their homes in my community (105 hr so far, ~170 expected when applying). I've recently realized that the general rule is that tutoring isn't volunteering, so I don't know if these hours will "count." However, I think they might since it's with an underserved group outside of a strictly academic setting

- Volunteering 2: food distribution (100 hr so far, ~225 expected when applying). For this, I collect, package, and organize donations, then deliver them to other food banks in the community. My concern is that since I'm not serving anyone hands-on, schools might not view this as quality volunteering... is this an issue?

Both of these activities are super meaningful to me and I'll keep doing them either way, but I don't want to get to application time and realize that I don't have what schools are looking for. If not, I'll start volunteering in a more traditional setting this semester. If anyone with experience could let me know their thoughts that would be a big help. Sorry for the long question and thanks in advance!

Always remember, medical school admissions committees aren't looking for something, they're looking for someone. As Goro said, as long as you love what you do and are able to articulate how it has made an impact on your life and your community as a whole, then it will fit nicely into your future application.

That said, make sure to have sufficient volunteering exposure to the medical field and demonstrate that you have spent time learning about what it means to practice medicine as a premedical student. Other volunteering and leadership experiences are essential, but you must ensure that you have spent enough time working in a medical environment prior to submitting your application to medical school.